DeMarcus Lawrence’s playoff perspective: 16 battles and now the war

DeMarcus Lawrence is not one to soft peddle his thoughts.

So with his fourth-career playoff game approaching, the Dallas Cowboys’ defensive end who they call “Tank,” let his feelings roll.

“If we lose, our life is over. This football game that we’re playing in, this season is over,” Lawrence said two days before the Cowboys host the Seattle Seahawks in the NFC wild card round at 7:15 p.m. Saturday. “I live for this, so I don’t want it to be over. So that’s what it’s all about. Living in the moment and taking advantage of your opportunities.”

Lawrence came up big in two 2015 playoff games when he forced two fumbles and had two sacks but he’s been waiting four years for another playoff victory.

“That’s what it’s all about. We say we want to be champions so we have to live up to our expectations,” he said. “[Being] champions is all about your mindset. Everybody in this locker room has the same mindset of being a championship team not just a champion on their own.”

The Dallas’ defense, which finished seventh in the league in yards allowed and sixth in points allowed, didn’t exactly finish with their best outings the last three weeks of the season. Tackling, for instance, hasn’t been as tight.

“[It has been] good, but it has to elevate to whole different level now,” Lawrence said. “I preach to the defense all the time that those first 16 games? They were battles. Now this is a war. You have countless battles over and over in order to get to your war. This is our war.”

This story was originally published January 3, 2019 at 2:44 PM.