FRISCO, Texas – The Dallas Cowboys face the Seattle Seahawks in the NFC Wild Card Round of Playoffs on Saturday. The main key on the defensive side of the ball for Dallas will be stopping the run. Concluding the 2018 regular season, the Seahawks rush offense is first in the league, along with their average of rushing yards per game. The Cowboys defense against the run is ranked fifth in the league.
Dallas has faced many of the greatest premiere running backs in the league currently this season: Christian McCaffrey, Alvin Kamara, and Saquon Barkley and Adrian Peterson twice. Facing those elite players has helped prepare Dallas’ defense for Chris Carson on Saturday. Carson finished the 2018 season with 247 carries, 1,151 yards, a 4.7 average per carry, nine touchdowns, and the title of the league’s fifth leader in rushing. During the two teams last matchup in week three, Carson posted 102 yards on the ground against the Cowboys’ defense.
I spoke with Jason Garrett on his effectiveness in week three and the challenge he poses on Saturday, “They have good offensive lineman and a conviction about running the football and he has been the focal point of that running game…they want to run the football and he is the guy they will hand it to more than anyone else. He has done an outstanding job and is a big physical guy that is hard to tackle. “
Carson has the size and speed combo that makes him hard for defenders to take down as he drives through initial contact to gain yardage. He presses the line of scrimmage to open up opportunities and has secure ball skills. In 212 carries at Oklahoma State, he never fumbled the football, and with 296 carries in the NFL, he has fumbled three.
Against the Giants on Sunday in the final regular season game, Saquon Barkley presented a great test case for the Cowboys. However, he accumulated 109 yards against Dallas’ defense. During the first round of playoffs, shutting down the run by clogging the line of scrimmage and giving Carson nowhere to go is essential for the Cowboys. Carson has become Russell Wilson’s go-to-guy, and Dallas has to disrupt handoffs, forcing Wilson to throw the football.
