ARLINGTON, TX – As soon as the schedule was released in May, this week was the first thing almost everyone circled.
Really? The Cowboys play both of last year’s Super Bowl teams over a four-day span? This is going to be the most difficult part of the schedule.
And every week, when quarterbacks like Bryce Young, Russell Wilson, Bo Nix and Jacoby Brissett shared this defense, all I could wonder was what Patrick Mahomes was going to do against them.
Guess what? These guys didn’t play against THIS defense. No, THIS defense is something we only saw a few weeks ago. THIS defense is absolutely relentless, regardless of the deficit on the scoreboard and regardless of the injuries suffered. Plain and simple, THIS defense is undefeated.
Sure, I know it’s been three games, but those are three crucial games for a team that was 3-5-1 going into the bye week and then was forced to deal with the most tragic loss of all with one of its brothers.
But it was THIS defense that came together with a combination of new players like Quinnen Williams and Logan Wilson, and the return of others like DeMarvion Overshown and Shavon Revel for the first time this year, and then injured veterans like Malik Hooker and Donovon Wilson.
If this sounds like a new defense, that’s because it is. And it definitely starts with Williams, who has been an absolute child in the middle. Do you think it’s a coincidence that Osa Odighizuwa has come back to life in the last three weeks? Or that we’re seeing more pressure in the form of Jadeveon Clowney? Even Sam Williams and Dante Fowler are playing their best ball of the year.
Quinnen Williams eats double teams and beats them too. So far, this has been an incredible trade for the Cowboys because they not only got a great player, they saw improved play from about six or seven (don’t do it) other players on this defense. When you add that up, it’s no wonder the defense has come alive here over the last three games.
If you’ve heard any of my podcasts on History of the Cowboys or maybe some of the radio hits on 105.3 The Fan, I’ve been pretty consistent in talking about what this team needs. He wasn’t really a big player in the middle like Williams. It wasn’t the need to get two or three extra sacks per game or force two turnovers per game. All of those things are great and all, but what this team needed more than anything was stops! Nothing fancy, just good old fashioned stops on third down to get out of bounds.
That’s it. Get about three or four more stops on defense per game and imagine how good that offense would be.
Well, we don’t need to imagine that anymore. This is exactly what has happened here over the past three weeks. The Cowboys leave the field – with no points scored – and the offense takes advantage.
In this Thursday game, the Chiefs scored touchdowns on their first two possessions of the game. Last week, the Eagles did it three times in a row.
But again, THIS defense has amnesia. They don’t care what happened a few plays ago. They certainly don’t care about what happened earlier this year. This is a different group, and they know how to make adjustments on the fly.
After the Chiefs scored on the first two drives, they punted four times in a row, and that was the difference in the Cowboys taking the lead and being able to play in front for most of the day.
Now, let’s be honest here. The defense was not perfect. That gave the Chiefs 28 points, and when they were down, Mahomes engineered quick scores to keep himself in the game as one would expect from a two-time NFL MVP and three-time Super Bowl MVP.
But what happened – throughout the match – was the constant pressure. And it doesn’t just come from the guys from before. There were a few coverage sacks that suggest this banged-up secondary is still playing good football.
Another thing to point out: Some of the drives that failed for the Chiefs were due to penalties. How many holding calls did we see in this game because the Chiefs just couldn’t block them from the start? I know they took a beating along the O-line, losing a key player in Trey Smith, and then both tackles as well. Okay, sorry. This is happening because we saw it this year with the Cowboys, who also played without their starting left tackle.
But of the five drives that ended in punts, four were due to Kansas City penalties. I don’t think it’s just mental errors on their part, but rather the playmaking ability of this defense and the way Kansas City had to try to contain it.
This defense is simply relentless and it has – all of a sudden – become a major problem for opponents. Add in an offense that has been a problem for defenses all year long and some of the best special teams players in the NFL, and you finally have a complete team, a team that is playing its best football here these days.
If you’re old enough to remember Bill Parcells’ days here, you’ll remember that he also dismissed any discussion of playoff pictures or division standings until Thanksgiving, essentially saying it was too early to try to figure things out by then.
Well, here we are now…and the Cowboys have positioned themselves in the chase.
For that, it’s something to be grateful for.
