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I didn't talk to the Dallas Cowboys players today after the Kansas City Chiefs 17-16 victory but I did read through a transcript of Tony Romo and Jason Garrett's post-game press conference. It's interesting to see what they said about what the Chiefs defense did to stop Romo and the Cowboys.
Dez Bryant blew up in the first quarter with 100 yards on five receptions. It looked and felt like it was going to be a long day after that quarter. The Chiefs were hanging on, but it didn't feel like their day with the way Dallas was able to move the ball.
Romo said after the game that the Chiefs "definitely did" change up what they did to stop Bryant. He had just four catches in the next three quarters.
The Chiefs saw what was happening and adapted. Novel concept, huh?
"Yeah, it was about the coverage and where they were," Romo continued when asked about the Chiefs fourth quarter defensive effort. "I think more than anything, they did a good job on some of the man-to-man routes and taking away what we wanted to do in the slots. You've got to fit the ball in down there, but at the same time, you have to try to protect it. It's a fine line at that point in the game."
This is also interesting from Jason Garrett:
"I don't think we had great rhythm on offense," Cowboys coach Jason Garrett said. "We didn't really have the balance we wanted, we weren't able to run the ball like we like to. They're a pressure-oriented team and they can challenge you a lot of different ways. The way to beat them is the way we play them when we're having success; get those receivers matched up outside. Dez had a big ball game. Some of the man-to-man coverage outside we kept winning; Tony made some big throws. But they can make you sloppy just based on their style and you have to fight through that and make some plays and make the plays really count. At times we did that today and at times we didn't do enough of that."
Both of them mentioned the "tough environment" of Arrowhead. So good job Chiefs defense and good job Chiefs fans.
They both also mentioned that the Cowboys need to run the ball better. Perhaps that's because the Chiefs are pretty good at stopping the run.
Overlooked a little bit so far: Chiefs gave up only 37 yards rushing. 71 last week.
— Arrowhead Pride (@ArrowheadPride) September 15, 2013