What a difference a week makes for Dallas Cowboys defense, Dan Quinn and Nahshon Wright
What a difference a week makes.
The Dallas Cowboys pummeled the Atlanta Falcons 43-3 Sunday at AT&T Stadium.
The dominating win came a week after the Cowboys were embarrassed by the Denver Broncos.
Defensive coordinator Dan Quinn received the game ball from head coach Mike McCarthy after his unit held the Falcons to 214 total yards, a season-low for Dallas.
Quinn, who joined the Cowboys’ staff after being fired as the Falcons’ head coach after six seasons a year ago, had to feel especially gratified. His defense was burned for 407 yards a week ago.
“This is the first week I ever saw Q’s face turn red, you know what I mean,” Cowboys linebacker Micah Parsons said. “This meant more about him being here with the Cowboys than him trying to have some type of agenda against Atlanta. He just wanted to see us play up to the standard.”
After allowing the Broncos to convert on 8 of 15 third-down attempts, the Cowboys shut down the Falcons, holding them to 1 of 11 third-down conversions and a season-low three points. The 214 total yards is one yard more than their lowest total of the season.
“I really don’t think Q worried about the Atlanta Falcons,” Parsons said. “I think Q just wanted to come out here and punch somebody in the mouth after last week.”
It was also an especially good week for the Cowboys’ Nahshon Wright. He recovered a blocked punt in the end zone for a touchdown just before the half to push Dallas’ lead to 33 points. Dorance Armstrong blocked the punt. He also had a sack and is the first Cowboys player with a sack and blocked punt in the same game. The last player in the NFL to do it is current Cowboys linebacker Tarell Basham when he was with the Jets in December 2019.
In last week’s loss to the Broncos, Wright was the player who touched a blocked punt that allowed Denver to retain possession after recovering the ball despite not gaining a first down, per NFL rules.
The 29 points the Cowboys scored in the second quarter are the most points any Cowboys team has scored in any quarter.
The Cowboys intercepted three passes, including Trevon Diggs’ NFL-leading eighth. Jourdan Lewis and Anthony Brown also had interceptions.
“It’s a group full of dogs,” Lewis said of the Dallas secondary. “We love playing with each other, we love competing with each other. You can see from AB to Trevon, all of us, we’re just competing against ourselves to get better and be dominant.”
After forcing no turnovers last week, Dallas forced four, including the blocked punt.
“It’s the standard. That’s what we’re supposed to do,” Lewis said. “That’s supposed to happen. We’re supposed to fly around on defense and play how we did today. That’s what we plan to do at the beginning of the season, I mean in March at OTAs. We’re out there flying around and understand we’re building something special and I feel like we’re going that way.”
This story was originally published November 14, 2021 at 1:45 PM.
