DALLAS — Dual threat quarterbacks have had their way against the Dallas Cowboys defense all season.
Russell Wilson threw for 315 yards and five touchdowns in the Week 3 loss at the Seattle Seahawks, while rushing six times for 22 yards. In Week 6, while Kyler Murray was 9-of-24 for 188 yards and two touchdowns through the air, he flustered Dallas with his ability to extend plays and rush 10 times for 74 yards and a score in the Monday night loss.
Lamar Jackson’s 13 carries for 94 yards and a touchdown, combined with his 12 completions on 17 attempts for 107 yards and two touchdowns, were key in trouncing Dallas 34-17 on a Tuesday night at M&T Bank Stadium and casting doubt on whether the Cowboys would ever win another game in 2020.
With the season on the brink, defensive coordinator Mike Nolan knew it would be insanity to try the same thing against Philadelphia Eagles rookie quarterback Jalen Hurts. The 61-year-old had an idea to use cornerback C.J. Goodwin, a special teams ace, as the spy on Hurts, but he wanted to run it past special teams coordinator John Fassel first.
“He said, 'Hey, I'm thinking about this, and I'm thinking about C.J. for it. What do you think?' And I'm like, 'Yeah! I mean, he'll be great at it, just to kind of creep up in there and go shoot the quarterback when he escapes the pocket.’”
The results were evident as Hurts, who had just one lost fumble and five total touchdowns in his last two starts, looked more like a newcomer against the Cowboys with one passing touchdown, two interceptions, two fumbles, one lost, and three sacks.
The “C.J. package” enabled the Cowboys to effectively spy Hurts, taking the responsibility of contain off of the pass rushers and allowing them to attack the passer.
“With C.J. doing what he was doing, the rushers were allowed to just kind of pin their ears back and go after the quarterback, and it worked well for us,” Nolan said. “That combined with the coverage I thought on the back end, we had guys doing a good job."
Goodwin provided one assisted tackle among his 16 defensive snaps. However, the threat of Hurts getting chased down when he escaped the pocket is immeasurable.
Said Nolan: “If he didn't chase him down, it was nice to keep him in the pocket, and I think after a few times that he saw that C.J. was chasing him down, I think it kept the quarterback in the pocket more often than we'd like to think just because he knew if he got out of there, he was going to get run down quickly because a lot of teams have a player that they put and assign to the quarterback, but C.J. was pretty unique in the fact that he can get on you real quick. That makes a difference as opposed to just having someone who's athletic and can run well that doesn't really know how to do those things.”
Fassel was pleased to see one of his special teams stars make an impact on the defensive side of the ball.
“It was great to see him on the field on third down,” said Fassel. “C.J. can do a lot of things, and that was cool to see him out there with a real specific role for this game.”
According to Nolan, the Cowboys had been kicking around the idea of using Goodwin as a spy earlier in the season. Though they were unable to put the concept into action, possibly due to availability issues throughout the roster in the middle of the year, the Cowboys found the perfect instance to feature Goodwin.
“I thought he did an outstanding job,” Nolan said. “It really helped us a lot on the third down, because like I said, it either kept him in the pocket or, when he got out of the pocket, it was someone on him pretty quick, and C.J. did a really good job with it."
The success of the “C.J. package” has enabled the Cowboys to play a meaningful Week 17 game against the New York Giants. If Dallas wins, combined with the Eagles beating Washington on Sunday Night Football, they will win the division. In the playoffs, the Cowboys might have more chances to use Goodwin on defense.
Do you think the Cowboys waited too long to creatively use Goodwin on defense or was it smart to not show their hand until the last moment? Share your thoughts with Mark on Twitter @therealmarklane.