The name of the game in today’s NFL is creating and exploiting mismatches on any given play. Whether it’s the offense taking advantage of a defensive back who struggles in coverage or a defense taking advantage of the weak link in pass protection, the team that best exploits the opposing team’s weaknesses while hiding their own is often the team that leaves the stadium with a victory.

This week against the 2-6 New York Giants, the 4-3 Dallas Cowboys will have myriad mismatches to pick and choose from to exploit. With that in mind, let’s discuss a couple of the biggest mismatches the Cowboys can take advantage of Monday night.

WR Michael Gallup vs. CB DeAndre Baker

Attacking rookie cornerbacks is generally an effective game plan, and the Cowboys benefited greatly from attacking Giants rookie CB DeAndre Baker in Week 1.

DeAndre Baker allowed 4 catches for 132 yards and a TD against DAL in Week 1, per PFF. Here are those plays. pic.twitter.com/V27pG3MI7k — All22Hype (@All22Hype) November 1, 2019

All in all, Baker allowed four catches for 132 yards and a touchdown, per Pro Football Focus, as the Cowboys were able to take advantage deep while also profiting from his soft zone coverage. With Amari Cooper shadowed by Janoris Jenkins, Michael Gallup was the main beneficiary against Baker, as he recorded three of his catches and 111 of his yards against Baker.

Though Gallup has had a bit of an issue with drops in recent weeks (six in the last three weeks combined, the most in the NFL over that span per PFF), he’s the type of route-runner and vertical threat who can give Baker problems.

Cowboys ran a good amount of RPOs last night. Here's one to Gallup. Also, noticed that DAL pulled OL on a heavy percentage of their RPOs. pic.twitter.com/wWwZ3MXFlM — John Owning (@JohnOwning) September 9, 2019

Gallup is especially dangerous on slant routes, which could be a profitable route this week with Baker’s lax coverage. Gallup is a strong receiver who is a yards-after-catch (YAC) threat anytime he’s able to receive the ball on the move.

If the last one was a dime, this is a dime plus 99 (Mario voice). Connor Williams was a tick late picking up the slanting DE, but Dak still places it perfectly to Michael Gallup, who does an excellent job with a burst to create the late separation to make the grab. #Cowboys pic.twitter.com/1pOa7yqQFU — John Owning (@JohnOwning) September 9, 2019

Gallup has also proven to be extremely dangerous on vertical routes, as he’s doing a much better job of creating late separation to win deep. Baker often allows late separation on vertical routes, which plays right into Gallup’s hand.

The Cowboys would be smart to target Gallup down the field against Baker when New York is playing with a single-high safety. When there are two-deep safeties, Baker has enough help deep that it’s tough to attack him down the field. However, when New York only has one safety in the deep middle, it takes away Baker’s help on throws down the field and outside the numbers.

To his credit, Baker hasn’t been out of his depths as much in recent weeks, as he’s generally providing better coverage on a snap-to-snap basis. Still, Baker, like most rookies, is prone to bust coverage, leaving big plays to be had for the opposing offense. Here’s an example:

On this play, the Giants are running a Cover 3 coverage concept where Baker is responsible for the deep-third zone to the wide side of the field. Once the ball is snapped, Baker does a good job gaining depth, but he “takes the candy” by biting on the deep out route, voiding his deep-third zone. The result is a 49-yard TD pass to Lions receiver Marvin Hall.

Baker put the deep safety in an impossible situation. Given that it was third-and-15, Baker should have been aware that the curl-flat defender was going to gain enough depth to cut the out route, which would have enabled him to continue gaining the depth necessary to defend the vertical route.

Overall, look for the Cowboys to target the rookie cornerback often. While it wouldn’t be surprising if Baker gives up a big play by busting coverage, look for Gallup to be especially effective on slants when Baker is aligned in off coverage and on vertical routes down the field when New York is playing with a single-high safety.

DE Robert Quinn vs. T Nate Solder

Against the Giants in Week 1, the Cowboys pressured the QB on just 10 out of 46 dropbacks – their worst rate of the season, per PFF.

The context to that subpar pass-rushing performance is important, though.

The Giants had a different QB under center that week, as Eli Manning started Week 1 before being replaced by Daniel Jones in Week 3. Though he wasn’t great overall, Manning did an excellent job of getting the ball out of his hand quickly in Week 1, which rendered Dallas’ pass rush ineffective for much of the night.

While Jones may a better quarterback overall than Manning right now, he’s also more susceptible to sacks and pressures, as he simply holds the ball for too long. Manning was sacked just twice in his two starts while Jones has been sacked 21 times in his six starts (3.5 sacks per game).

Per PFF, 58.7% of Manning’s passes came in less than 2.5 seconds while just 42.1% of Jones’ throws do the same. As one would expect, more sacks generally come the longer a QB holds the ball, as 19 of Jones’ 21 sacks came when he held the ball longer than 2.5 seconds.

Given that Jones consistently holds the ball longer than Manning, the Cowboys pass rushers will, in turn, have more time to attack the pocket.

On top of that, Robert Quinn was absent from the festivities in Week 1, as he was suspended the first two games of the season. Quinn has proven to be an extremely effective pass rusher off the right side, as he’s leveraged his outstanding speed rush to lead the NFL in ESPN’s Pass-Rush Win Rate (33%) among edge defenders. Despite missing two games, Quinn leads the team in sacks (six) and is third in total pressures (19), per PFF.

Moreover, Week 1 was DeMarcus Lawrence’s first game action since a shoulder surgery knocked him out of the preseason. He was still effective, as he finished with a respectable four total pressures and 0.5 sacks, but it was obvious that he was still knocking off the cobwebs after missing most of training camp and all of the preseason.

This week, however, Quinn will be active and, if last week’s stellar performance was any indication, Lawrence is starting to hit his groove. The Cowboys will also have Michael Bennett at their disposal, giving Dallas three pass rushers who present mismatches for the New York offensive tackles.

The biggest of which is, undoubtedly, Quinn vs. the highest paid tackle in the NFL (by fully guaranteed money, per Over The Cap), Nate Solder.

Despite being paid to play like Tyron Smith, Solder has actually been closer to Chaz Green this season. Solder has struggled in pass protection, allowing the second-most pressures (33) among offensive linemen in the NFL, per PFF.

Trey Flowers had his way with NYG (DAL's next opponent) yesterday. Had a stretch where he recorded a sack on B2B plays.



1st is a gorgeous power pop where he sells power outside by pressing the outside shoulder before popping inside.



2nd is an outside parry to a long arm. pic.twitter.com/xbAdO9NYzh — John Owning (@JohnOwning) October 28, 2019

Solder’s issues in pass protection were apparent last week against the Lions as he was thoroughly dominated by Trey Flowers throughout the game. During one particularly woeful stretch, Solder allowed Flowers to sack Jones on back-to-back snaps (above clip).

Solder has always struggled against power, as he lacks the anchor and core strength to stymie a defender’s forward momentum consistently.

Pure speed-to-power bull rush from Robert Quinn. Lower pad level gives him the leverage advantage to put the LT on skate. Get underneath the chin and you will win. #Cowboys pic.twitter.com/7dLXsSdfGO — John Owning (@JohnOwning) October 23, 2019

Even though Quinn is naturally a speed rusher, he has also shown the ability to convert speed to power, as showcased in his Week 7 sack against the Eagles (the above clip). Because Quinn relies so heavily on his speed rush, his bull rush is a really effective curve ball for opposing tackles who are expecting speed.

Solder’s struggles versus power also are a reason why it would be wise to move Bennett to right defensive end when Quinn needs a breather. Bennett’s upper-body strength, effective hands and ability to dominate leverage should enable him to have a good amount of success against Solder.

Solder’s issues with power show up in the running game as well, as he struggles to create any displacement on edge defenders. Solder’s hand placement is a mess and his footwork rarely, if ever, adequately compensates. Quinn is prone to have a bad play or two against the run per game, but Solder is not the type of tackle who is going to put Quinn in bad spots.

Overall, even though Solder’s contract says he should be one of the best tackles in the league, his play says otherwise. Expect Quinn to spam Solder with speed rushes throughout the night before converting that speed to power, using a bull rush, to take advantage of Solder’s weak anchor.

Don’t be surprised if Quinn has a big night under the bright lights on Monday Night Football.

Enjoy this post? More film studies:

— Cowboys mock draft: What the film says about 2020 prospects Dallas should be targeting

— Film room: Here’s what defensive lineman Michael Bennett brings to the Dallas Cowboys

— Why DeMarcus Lawrence isn’t playing as poorly as his sack total suggests