Cowboys defense, so dominant early in 2018, still ticked by Rams’ debacle
The Dallas Cowboys defense was the backbone of the team for much of last season.
While their offense struggled to find a rhythm — and the end zone — for the first half of 2018, the defense remained reliably stingy.
But that didn’t last late in the season as they allowed at least 20 points in each of their final six games, including 30 to the Los Angeles Rams in their divisional round playoff loss.
The Rams’ ability to dominate still stings for defensive coordinator Rod Marinelli and his players, including linebacker Jaylon Smith, entering the season opener against the New York Giants at 3:25 p.m. Sunday at AT&T Stadium.
“Yes, absolutely,” Smith said. “Any time you’re competitive and you want to win you thrive off of things that happened in the past.”
The Cowboys’ defense was in the top five in the league in stopping the run but the Rams’ racked up 273 yards on the ground. That’s almost more than the total from their three previous games combined.
“Our job is to play one-gap defense and get to the quarterback each and every play and stop the run on the way to the quarterback,” said defensive end DeMarcus Lawrence, who missed the preseason after having shoulder surgery. He wasn’t sure whether he’d be ready for Week 1. “Through the grace of God and this training staff helping me get ready for this season. I’m truly blessed to be ready to have this opportunity to go out here in Week 1 and cause some havoc.”
The performance against the Rams may have left a bad taste in their mouths, but the expectation is it will be an even better unit in 2019.
‘For us, this is a new year and we have to go out and prove ourselves,” said Smith, who was second on the team to Leighton Vander Esch with 121 tackles. “We pride ourselves on stopping the run and being physical and sprinting to the ball every single play. We understand our identity, we just have to go out there and prove it each and every week. That’s the goal.”
This story was originally published September 5, 2019 at 4:55 PM.
