Tag: 435084

ARLINGTON, Texas — Brock Wright’s eyes were on the end zone. The tight end thought he was about to give the Detroit Lions a fourth-quarter lead.

Dallas Cowboys linebacker Micah Parsons had a different idea.

Parsons was 5 yards behind Wright at the time of the reception. He weaved his way through traffic — reaching 20.41 mph, according to NFL Next Gen Stats — collared Wright at the 2-yard line and brought him down at the 1. At initial glance it looked like Wright might have scored, but replays eventually showed he was down.

On the next play, Lions running back Jamaal Williams lost the first fumble of his career, with linebacker Anthony Barr scooping up the loose ball for the critical takeaway in a game that turned into a 24-6 Cowboys win.

“I mean, I tell people I’m going to be tired, but you’re going to be more tired than me because I’m never going to stop,” Parsons said. “And I practice that way. I work that way. Just being relentless, understanding that anything can happen on the field.”

Parsons’ play symbolizes what the Cowboys’ defense has become in 2022:

• A unit that will not go down without a fight; the Cowboys have given up more than 19 points just once.

• A unit that can rush the passer as well as anybody in the league; their 29 sacks through seven games are the most the Cowboys have had since 1987 (34).

• A unit that can take away the ball, too; they have 11 turnovers in their past five games.

For the first time this season, the Cowboys did not allow a touchdown, holding the Lions, who entered with the No. 3 scoring offense in the NFL (28 points per game), to two first-half field goals.

This came a week after the Cowboys allowed two touchdowns in a game for the only time all season in a 26-17 loss to the Philadelphia Eagles. The next day, defensive coordinator Dan Quinn used the term “pissed off” nine times in his weekly news conference.

If this is what “pissed off” leads to, opponents better watch out.

“Like they say,” said defensive end Sam Williams, who became the first rookie with two sacks, a forced fumble and a fumble recovery in the same game since Nick Bosa in 2019, “you play with the bull, you get the horns.”

Quinn actually told his defenders this was Shark Week.

“Every day we saw sharks,” Parsons said.

And when the blood got in the water Sunday, they circled.

“Sometimes you get one of them,” Parsons said. “And sometimes they attack in packs. It’s just like that.”

The first bite was cornerback Trevon Diggs’ interception of a deep pass from quarterback Jared Goff intended for wide receiver Josh Reynolds on the first drive of the third quarter. The Cowboys turned that into the first of running back Ezekiel Elliott’s two touchdown runs for a 10-6 lead.

“They’re playing into my game,” Diggs said. “I want the ball to go up, especially the deep ball. I feel like that’s when I’m at my best.”

The next takeaway was Barr’s recovery after an apparent punch free from defensive end DeMarcus Lawrence at the Dallas goal line. While the Cowboys did not turn that into points, they were able to avoid a deficit by stopping a Detroit touchdown. On the next drive, cornerback Jourdan Lewis made a diving interception of a Goff throw to receiver Tom Kennedy. Unfortunately, Lewis was lost for the season with a midfoot injury on the takeaway.

Fortunately, the Cowboys turned that into Elliott’s second touchdown and a 17-6 lead.

“When those guys go out there and get turnovers, it’s important for us to make sure we get points out of that,” quarterback Dak Prescott said. “That’s how you win games, and it’s also how you blow them away, honestly. This whole group, how hungry they are and the way that they attack is something I’ve seen in training camp and something I’ve seen in these last five weeks.”

Williams got into the act next, stripping Goff of the ball with 2:20 to play, and Parsons got his first sack/fumble on the next drive with defensive end Dorance Armstrong recovering the loose ball.

The Cowboys’ five takeaways were the most they have had in a half since they had five in the first half against the Buffalo Bills in Super Bowl XXVII.

“I don’t know that I’ve seen a defense that is influencing the team any more than this one has, even the very best ones,” owner and general manager Jerry Jones said. “Now there’s a high skill level out there. There’s a high competence level. They’re well-coached. It’s a mix of some veterans, a lot of young players. They’re getting more confidence and, frankly, getting better technically every game.”

ARLINGTON, Texas — When the outcome was still in question early in the fourth quarter Sunday and their Pro Bowl punter hit a ball off the side of his foot and saw it travel just 22 yards, the Dallas Cowboys‘ defense did not flinch.

The Washington Commanders took over at the Cowboys’ 30 with the ability to cut a deficit to one score, and they would get as deep as the 10. But then Dante Fowler Jr. recorded a third-down sack, and a fourth-down Carson Wentz throw to receiver Terry McLaurin was deflected by corner Trevon Diggs.

“It wasn’t even, ‘Oh, my gosh, bad field position,’” linebacker Leighton Vander Esch said. “It was everybody out there saying, like, ‘Do your job. They don’t get anything.’ And that was it.”

The Commanders got nothing. The Cowboys got everything, including a 25-10 victory.

Dallas (3-1) has won three straight games without Dak Prescott under center for a number of reasons: Timely offense, solid special teams, efficient running game.

But the biggest reason? The defense.

Even quarterback Cooper Rush recognizes it.

“They’re the reason we’re winning, it’s just plain and simple,” Rush said. “Those guys, I mean, 10 points in the NFL is pretty impressive.”

The Cowboys have yet to allow 20 points in a game this season. It’s the first time since 1973 the Cowboys have held their first four opponents to 19 points or fewer. They have allowed just four touchdowns in the first four games. Only the 1970 and 1972 defenses have given up four or fewer touchdowns in the first four games of the season.

That’s reminiscent of the Cowboys’ Doomsday Defense, when they had Hall of Famers Bob Lilly and Mel Renfro with Ring of Honor linebackers Chuck Howley and Lee Roy Jordan leading the defense in the 1970s.

“I’ll repeat it again: I think we’ve really got a chance to be the best defensive team in this league,” linebacker Micah Parsons said. “The way we prepare and the way we calculate, the players we have … everyone’s hungry out here. And I think that’s just been the key. Everyone’s just been relentless. Everyone’s been trying to take their chances and their shots.”

On Sunday, the Cowboys sacked Wentz twice, raising their season total to 15. It’s the eighth time in franchise history they have recorded that many sacks in the first four games of a season and just the second time since Jerry Jones took over as owner and general manager in 1989.

“We all talk about 17 [points] or less as a goal, but we all know how the rules have changed in the last 10 to 12 years, particularly with more space and so forth,” coach Mike McCarthy said. “I think it’s a real credit to our coaches and our players. You can see this really building in the second half of the season last year. As we stated throughout the OTAs and the training camp, this is a group that has a complete understanding of how we want to play. We’ve got a lot of depth, love their competitive spirit.”

Parsons is the most recognized defender, but he has gone two games without a sack.

“I started off good, but right now I’ve got to finish,” Parsons said. “I let too many plays get away from me today where I could have finished on the quarterback. That type of stuff can’t happen; [not] what a best player would do. I do think that I’ve been able to help my teammates get better.”

Against the Commanders, the sacks went to Neville Gallimore and Fowler. But it’s more than sacks.

According to ESPN Stats & Information, the Cowboys generated 16 pressures, which helped lead to two Wentz intentional grounding penalties. On the season, the Cowboys have 65 pressures, third most through four games since ESPN began tracking pressures in 2009.

“I mean, we know we real up front,” DeMarcus Lawrence said. “That’s a testament to the rush we put on the last couple of weeks. Yeah, if you was a quarterback, you’d be a little flustered too.”

And those pressures helped lead to two takeaways, including Diggs’ second interception in as many games and rookie DaRon Bland‘s first career interception, as he had to play the nickel corner spot after corner Jourdan Lewis went down with a groin injury in pregame warm-ups.

“I feel like there is no ceiling,” Gallimore said. “At the end of the day, we know what we’ve got in that room.”

Tom Brady’s Tampa Bay Buccaneers scored 19 points. The defending AFC champion Cincinnati Bengals scored 17. The New York Giants scored 16. Washington, 10.

“So next week: 7,” Parsons said. “You know what I’m saying? That’s the type of standard.”

The challenges will get stronger, starting next week with the Los Angeles Rams, followed by the Philadelphia Eagles and Detroit Lions.

“There’s another level we can get to,” Vander Esch said. “We ain’t there yet. We just got to keep chugging.”