40 takeaways? Cowboys have lofty, borderline unattainable, defensive goals

The Dallas Cowboys’ defense wants to get 40 takeaways.

That’s double what they had last year. Is it even realistic?

The NFL hasn’t had a defense hit the 40 takeaway mark since 2012. That season saw two teams accomplish the feat — Chicago (44) and New England (41).

Of course, Chicago’s defensive coordinator at the time was Rod Marinelli, who holds the same position now with the Cowboys. So it’s understandable that Marinelli would like this Cowboys defense to do the same.

But the Cowboys certainly have their work cut out to get there. They had only one takeaway in the season-opening victory over the New York Giants on Sunday night.

Cornerback Anthony Brown came through with a game-sealing interception of Eli Manning with 7:54 left in the game.

It marked Brown’s second career interception — both against Manning — and he acknowledged that it’s only the first step toward the defense’s ultimate goal on Tuesday.

“We got 39 to go,” Brown said.

Brown and Giants receiver Roger Lewis fought for the ball to the ground, and Brown won the battle as he first had possession.

“That was a huge fight,” Brown said. “But that’s what we do. We fight every day.”

This story was originally published September 12, 2017 at 7:35 PM with the headline "40 takeaways? Cowboys have lofty, borderline unattainable, defensive goals."