What has happened to the Dallas Cowboys’ pass rush?

DeMarcus Lawrence overheard a conversation between a reporter and Tyrone Crawford about the Dallas Cowboys’ lack of sacks in recent weeks.

The Cowboys have gone two consecutive games without recording a sack, and they have just one in their past three games. It’s been 27 drives and counting since Lawrence took down Atlanta’s Matt Ryan midway through the second quarter three weeks ago.

It’s been a stunning drop-off for a unit that had 11 sacks in the first three games and multiple sacks in seven of the first eight games. Lawrence made it clear there shouldn’t be any legitimate excuse or reason for it.

Not the lack of holding penalties. Not the secondary struggles that have reduced the amount of time they have to get to an opposing quarterback.

“Who cares? Nobody cares. Just get to the quarterback, put pressure on him and let’s get this job done,” Lawrence said. “That’s point blank, period. Just do the damn job.”

Crawford didn’t dispute that notion, although there’s an understandable growing frustration among the pass rushers.

The top pass rushers for the Cowboys are all in the midst of droughts.

Lawrence, who is among the league leaders with 11.5 sacks, hasn’t gotten home in two games; David Irving, who has six sacks, hasn’t gotten one in three games; and Crawford, who ranks third on the team with four sacks, is on a four-game drought.

“You definitely get frustrated, but that’s what teams game plan you for,” Crawford said. “They game plan you for not letting the guys who have been getting sacks, get sacks. That’s their goal — frustrate a defense.

“That’s what we can’t let happen. We’ve got to continue to rush and it’s going to fall together.”

Maybe facing the Washington Redskins on Thursday night will help get the Cowboys back on track.

Irving sacked Redskins quarterback Kirk Cousins twice, and Lawrence and Crawford each got to him once.

“We’re always looking to get back on track,” Irving said. “It’s a team game. We can’t do it alone, but this is definitely an opportunity.”

As poorly as the results from the pass rush have been in the three-game losing streak, the Cowboys still rank 14th in the league with 28 sacks. They’re on pace for 40 sacks, a mark they haven’t reached since 2011.

And the Cowboys feel the numbers are a little deceiving of late. They have gotten decent pressure — Irving had six quarterback pressures against the Los Angeles Chargers’ Philip Rivers on Thanksgiving — but simply haven’t finished.

The Cowboys also aren’t getting any favors from officials. The most recent opposing offensive lineman or tight end called for holding happened in the Week 3 contest at Arizona.

The Cowboys, conversely, have had an offensive lineman or tight end called for holding 17 times in that stretch.

Owner Jerry Jones downplayed the holding discrepancy on his 105.3 The Fan radio show earlier this week, saying: “A conspiracy? I would not go there.”

But it’s a noticeable difference and the players are aware.

Lawrence mentioned it when discussing his lack of production in recent weeks, saying: “I’ve been getting a lot of holds and no calls, a lot of chips, they’ve been doing a lot of things. But I don’t have time to complain. I just have to get to the quarterback faster.”

That’s the mindset along the Cowboys’ entire defensive line.

“It frustrates us all. It’s amazing how many holds aren’t called,” Irving said. “It’s way different than high school, way different than college, but I’ve got used to it. It’s just part of the game. I don’t even look for refs to call it anymore.”

As Lawrence said, the Cowboys don't have to complain. Just do the damn job.

This story was originally published November 29, 2017 at 12:35 PM with the headline "What has happened to the Dallas Cowboys’ pass rush?."