Under the lights of their 80th ever Sunday Night Football appearance , the Dallas Cowboys will be taking on Justin Field's 3-1 Pittsburgh Steelers for Week 5 of the 2024 NFL season.
The matchup won't be an easy one for the defense as the Cowboys will be taking on a passing offense that has discreetly cracked into the league's Top 10 units in dropback EPA/play, per RBSDM.com .
Arthur Smith has found a way to get Fields going and even though it's far from an explosive offense, it's a well-coached unit. It'll be up to Cowboys defensive coordinator Mike Zimmer to exploit its weaknesses , most of which can be found in the trenches as the Steelers have already lost three starting offensive linemen to season-ending injuries.
The problem? Zimmer himself is dealing with a shorthanded defense as Micah Parsons and DeMarcus Lawrence are both expected to miss Sunday's game (Lawrence is officially on IR, Parsons is considered a longshot to suit up).
The Cowboys are betting on their guys to step up with a "next man up" philosophy, with second-round rookie Marshawn Kneeland probably being the most important man on that plan. However, if Zimmer is going to get some pass rush going, he'll have to manufacture it and live up to the nickname recently shared by Steelers head coach Mike Tomlin.
"Mike Zimmer is no novice, he's been around, we've competed against him over the years," Tomlin told the media earlier this week. "I’ve got a lot of respect for his approach to ball, his aggressive schematic demeanor. He's one of the godfathers of double-A pressure, if you will, in one dimensional passing moments. I've seen it in Cincinnati. I've seen it in Minnesota."
Zimmer being called the godfather of double A-gap pressure should be no surprise. The Cowboys DC heavily emphasizes such looks, with two players (mostly LBs but sometimes DBs as well) mugging the A-gaps to each side of the offensive center. It's a great way to confuse offenses and keep quarterbacks on their toes, as these stand-up A-gap players can either drop back to pass or blitz.
"I'd imagine he's going to going to pack it and bring it to Pittsburgh this weekend," Tomlin said of Zimmer's A-gap pressures. "You know, we better prepare ourselves for multiple blitz looks and so forth. I'd imagine that he's going to have all the schematic tools at his disposal in terms of creating pressure on the quarterback, particularly, maybe with his edge guys out, you do what you’ve got to do from a coach's perspective. I use the phrase all the time, ‘if you’ve got red paint, you paint your barn red.' (...) We better get ready for a lot of schematic pressure from him."
Considering the Cowboys haven't generated a lot of pass rush beyond Parsons, it's easy to see why Tomlin expects a lot of pressure looks from Zimmer. Players like DeMarvion Overshown could very well turn into the best athletes on the field on Sunday and he and others might have to step up in several blitz looks against a banged up Steelers' front.
Sending pressure might force the Steelers to throw it short and keep it moving short gain after short gain, as Fields has the lowest average depth of target when facing the blitz at 3.8 yards. Explosive plays might come at a premium as a result.
If the Cowboys are to beat the Steelers, Zimmer will have to live up to the nickname given by Tomlin and manufacture some pressure out of thin air through his signature blitz packages.
With all that being said, Parsons is not yet ruled out and Tomlin is well aware of that.
"But we better also prepare for the likes of Parsons, man," Tomlin candidly said. "A guy like him, he's not the normal in any circumstances, and so we better be prepared if he shows up in stadium to work to minimize him and how they move him around, and his unique talents, particularly in one dimensional passing moment."
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