How the Defenses Stack Up Against Good Offenses

Instinctively we know that the Cowboys have the better defense than the Vikings.

We've seen it the last several games and for the majority of the season. The stats don't lie - Dallas led the NFC and was second in the NFL in fewest points allowed, with 250, or 15.6 per game. They also allowed 14 points in the NFC wildcard game, including a fluke 76-yard TD pass from the Wildcat, and a garbage-time score that cut the Cowboy lead to 20 points. The defense has not allowed more than 340 yards of offense in any game since week two, all the way back in September. Six times since then, they've held opposing offenses to under 300 yards.

This defensive stinginess was accomplished against many prolific offenses, including the NY Giants twice (both when the Giants had something to play for), the Eagles three times, the Packers the Chargers, the Saints, and even the Falcons with a healthy Matt Ryan/Michael Turner. In these nine games, the Cowboys held these formidable offenses to 169 points, or nearly 19 points a game (We all know that the Giants scored 64 points of those 169; take those two games away and the Cowboys gave up 105 in 7 contests, or 15 a game, or leave those two games in but take away the two defensive/special team TDs that the Giants scored, and it's down to 155 points in 9 games, or 16 per game. But we can't do either of those things, so never mind!). 

How many points per game did these offensive juggernauts score per game in 2009? Almost 27 points. But against the Dallas Cowboys defense, they could muster but 19 points on the scoreboard.

The average per game total of these offensive powerhouses in 2009? 366 yards per game. But against the Dallas Cowboys defense, they could only gain a less impressive 325 yards per game.

Meanwhile, when the Vikings played against potent offenses, they allowed 137 points in 5 games (I don't include the season finale against the Giants, in which David Carr played half the game and the whole team was planning where they are going on vacation in the off-season), or nearly 28 per game. This includes matchups against  Green Bay (twice, which the Vikings actually won handily because they scored with ease), Baltimore, Arizona and Pittsburgh. I won't count the recent games, in the midst of the race for the NFC's top seed, where the Vikings gave up 62 points against non-contenders and heretofore offensive weaklings Chicago and Carolina.

There's also no doubt that the Vikings padded their defensive stats against pathetic offenses like the Browns, the Lions (2x), the Rams and Seattle. But despite playing a weak schedule, the Vikings allowed opposing passers a 92.6 passer rating (vs. the Cowboys somehwat more impressive 83.5) and barely beat Dallas in rush defense (Minn - 1394 and 3.9 ypc vs. Dallas - 1440 yards and 4.0 ypc)

And while the Vikings had a league-leading 46 sacks (helped no doubt by facing Aaron Rodgers, Lions QBs and other lame O-lines and QBs), Dallas was not far behind with 42 quarterback traps. And let's not forget that Dallas had no sacks their first two games, had to face escape artists like McNabb and even Jason Campbell, not to mention the stellar offensive lines of the Giants, Saints and Chargers, and just had four sacks of the elusive McNabb this pas Saturday.

I believe that the only real advantage that the Vikings have is that they are playing at home, where they are 8-0. However, a few sacks of Favre or a quick defensive turnover or a quick score by the offense could take the crowd out of the game early on. Of course, that's an ideal situation.

Long FanPost short, I believe that the numbers, matchups and recent games have demonstarted that the Cowboys have the superior defense to the Vikings. And considering that their offenses are roughly equal, this could make all the difference in Sunday's game.