That’s comforting news when facing the Los Angeles Rams, the second-highest scoring

After a Wild Card Round that saw eliminations of the Ravens http://www.cowboysauthorizedshops.com/authentic-geoff-swaim-jersey , Bears, and Texans, the Dallas Cowboys are the best defense left standing in the final eight. offense in the NFL. Only the Chiefs score more points and even they fell 54-51 to these Rams in Week 11. The Rams, Chiefs, and the Saints are the definition of what the league wants. High-octane, massive yardage, explosive playmaking, and college-like scoring that sends the ratings soaring. As entertaining these three offenses have been to watch, they combine for a total of eight losses to playoff defenses. The Cowboys are the only playoff team to beat New Orleans, and at seventh in total defense, they’re leading the pack of defenses left in the playoffs:RKTMPPGYdsY/PTO1stDPass YPGOPP QBIntSackRush YPGYPCTDPen3DN%RZ%79111419212331RKThis is the time of year where the great defenses shine their brightest. The Cowboys defense is first in points allowed, yards per game Brett Maher Jersey , yards per play, and first downs allowed per game of the final eight defenses. The two key areas that stick out most as potentially problematic are:Takeaways3rd DownsStats can be deceiving as the numbers above can’t show the improvement this Cowboys defense has made. Since the bye week, including this last week’s wildcard win, Dallas has improved in both areas:Last 9 Gms PPGYPG1stDTOSkOpp QBOpp3D%RZ%DALWhen figuring out the best plan of action for the Cowboys to win this game against an explosive offense like the Rams, takeaways are the key. The Rams have turned the ball over 19 times this year (third-most among playoff teams), eight of those came in their three losses:LAR LossesTot. Yds1st DNTDTOAll three teams to defeat the Rams (Saints, Bears, and Eagles) were the better defenses in the stat sheets. Though Dallas has won shootouts this year, none were against an offense as potent as L.A. It’s encouraging to know teams that have beat the Rams do so on defense.Let’s look at the Cowboys defense in their wins compared to what happens to the Rams offense in losses to find the common path:Per Game Avg.PPGTotal Yards1st DN/GmTD/GmTO/Gm3DN%RZ%Even in defeat, L.A.’s offense still racks up yardage over the 360 mark. The Cowboys average win is 30+ yards lower but Dallas is 4-2 in games allowing over 360 yards. This Dallas defense is good enough to overcome the yards but they will need to takeaways with an opponent like this. It starts with limiting the Rams passing game and attacking their young quarterback, Jared Goff.Since the devastating injury to Cooper Kupp, Goff has had four of his season-low passing performances in the last six games. In those four games, L.A. averaged just 192 passing yards per game against the Lions Authentic Antwaun Woods Jersey , Bears, Cardinals, and 49ers. Other than Chicago, the others combined for 13-35 record this season. Before we get too excited, this Rams offense still averaged 376 yards over the final six games. We’re not suggesting their offense is broken without Kupp, they did win four out of six, but this latest dip could be favorable for a good defense. Now, let’s talk about the most favorable trend for the Cowboys if they can capitalize on the opportunity. The Rams, namely Jared Goff, have been a little careless with the football lately. An astounding 12 of their 19 turnovers this season have come in these six games. The Rams offense has only one clean, turnover-free game in that time and Goff was sitting before the end of the third quarter. L.A. is also averaging about two giveaways per game. Goff has 12 fumbles on the season, eight in the last six games, and zero recoveries. Dak Prescott also has 12 fumbles this season but has been fortunate to keep eight of them. The Cowboys offense has the second-lowest turnover rate of the final eight playoff teams. Which is a good thing too because they must protect the football against this sneaky Rams’ defense.Say what you will about their inability to stop the run Youth Taco Charlton Jersey , allowing a league-high 5.1 yards-per-carry, or how they are the second-worst scoring defense in the playoffs, but despite a defense that is middle-of-the-pack at best in most categories the Rams are the best playoff team in takeaways with 30 on the year. For all the bad, taking the ball away has been an effective deodorant. In the second-half of the season, nobody accrued more takeaways than the Rams with 17, 11 of those were interceptions.Back to the Cowboys defense for a moment. Dallas didn’t get a single interception or fumble out of a Seahawks’ offense that has the least turnovers this season. Prior to that game, the Cowboys defense had gone nine straight with at least one takeaway and averaged 1.5 per game since the bye week. This Dallas defense has had takeaways in 13 total games, that’s third behind the Colts and Rams defenses.We all know how loaded this L.A. roster is with mega-talents on the defensive line and a few Pro-Bowlers in the secondary. The Rams also hardly ever play from behind, averaging an eight-point lead at the start of the third quarter. Which is no coincidence why 60% of the Rams takeaways are in the late stages of the game. The only three teams to have a lead to start the third quarter were coincidentally the same teams that beat them. Dallas is no stranger to leading late in games, even though most of their games end in one-score possessions. The Cowboys defense has shown that they know how to play with a lead, it’s what every defense hopes for. If you force the opposition to chase points, it opens up more margin for error. The Bears and Eagles showed the Cowboys the exact blueprint as they forced the Rams into seven turnovers in the span of eight quarters. That’s why this Cowboys defense must match that opportunistic intensity and hunt for the ball because winning the turnover battle is line one to winning multiple playoff games.2018 Dallas Cowboys rookie class falling short of previous rookie classes... so far [Ed. Note: A previous version of this article contained some incorrect data that has since been corrected, but has necessitated a partial rewrite. Apologies.]The 2018 Cowboys draft class has gotten off to a so-so start into its first NFL season http://www.cowboysauthorizedshops.com/authentic-leighton-vander-esch-jersey , as things started off on the wrong foot almost from the beginning with this year’s rookies. First-round pick Leighton Vander Esch suffered a groin strain that kept him out of action for three preseason games. WR Cedrick Wilson suffered a shoulder injury in the first padded practice of training camp and was placed on injured reserve, which means he will not play a snap for the Cowboys until at least 2019. RB Bo Scarbrough didn’t make it through final roster cuts, and has been languishing on the practice squad.Driven partly by injuries and partly by other considerations, this year’s rookie class has only started in a somewhat disappointing five games so far. But a look at the snap counts gives us a more positive view of this draft class than the number of starts does. Here’s on overview of the offensive and defensive snaps accumulated by the 2018 draft class so far this season: The 2018 draft class has combined for 563 snaps on offense and defense, which adds up to 10.2% of all snaps the offense and defense have played in four games.Compared to recent draft classes, that’s not a bad number. Here are the snap percentages of the last 11 years, keeping in mind that the data from 2007-2017 is for the full rookie seasons, while the 2018 number is for the first four weeks only. If we assume that adding the equivalent of two starters (or 9.1% of all snaps) to the roster is a good target for a rookie class, then the Cowboys look to have been fairly successful at restocking their talent cupboard over the previous five drafts, and the 2018 draft looks to have surpassed that benchmark (as measured by snap percentages), even if it comes in at the lower end of the percentages established by the recent draft classes ... so far. But it’s early days.When you ask around what constitutes a successful draft, the answer you’re most likely to get is that if you get two starters out of a rookie class, you’ve done a good job. Veteran NFL General Managers like Baltimore’s Ozzie Newsome set three starters as the benchmark for a successful draft Connor Williams Jersey , but those three guys don’t have to be first-year starters, eventual starters in later years count as well.Daniel Jeremiah, a former scout for the Baltimore Ravens who now works for NFL Network, explained Newsome’s thinking.Do the Cowboys have three future starters in the 2018 draft class? Connor Williams (4 starts) is already a starter. Leighton Vander Esch (1 start) looks like a future starter, especially after his standout performance against the Lions (PFF included him in their team of the week). After missing most of preseason, the Cowboys have been slowly ramping up his snap counts, and he’ll likely not be a full starter as long as Sean Lee is around (and healthy), but his future looks bright.Michael Gallup hasn’t had a start yet, but given the housecleaning likely to happen at WR after the season, he looks like a lock to be a future starter.Those three players may be enough to keep this draft class above the 9.1% threshold by the end of the season. But it sure would be nice if the rest of the draft class steps up and moves this class more in the direction of the 2013 or 2016 draft classes - even if that may not happen before next year. Custom Pittsburgh Steelers Jerseys