Joe Burrow is going to be a tall test for the Cowboys defense.
The Dallas Cowboys are now on a two-game winning streak after defeating two division rivals in the Washington Commanders and the New York Giants. The Cowboys were finally able to stack a few wins together after five straight losses largely due to improvements on the defensive side of the ball.
The defense has done a great job keeping the team in it these past few games, holding the opposing offenses to 10 points or less each in the first three quarters of play. There is room for improvement in the fourth quarter to shut these games out, of course, but they’ve done enough to support this Cooper Rush-led offense.
One of the major reasons for this improvement is a healthy Micah Parsons. Having a player like Parsons on the field is a surefire way to improve the defense. Looking at his individual stats, he contributed two sacks against the Commanders and 1.5 against the Giants. Now that teams are needing to focus on Parsons again, opportunities are opening for the players around him as well.
As a whole, the defense logged four sacks against Washington and six against New York. For reference, the last time the Cowboys were able to get six sacks in a game was the season opener against the Cleveland Browns. A lot of different players are stepping up along with Parsons. Players like DeMarvion Overshown, Eric Kendricks, Osa Odighizuwa, Carl Lawson, Josh Butler, Mazi Smith and Donovan Wilson have each had their turn contributing to the sack count the past two games.
It’s not just sacks either. The Cowboys defense is finally generating turnovers at a higher rate. Just a few weeks ago, the Dallas Cowboys were at the bottom of the league when it came to turnover ratio. During that five-game losing streak, the Cowboys had 14 turnovers with only four takeaways. These past two games, however, they were able to protect the ball with only one turnover while generating five takeaways.
While the Cowboys defense has been improving this season, they will have to face one of the toughest challenges on Monday Night Football when they welcome the Cincinnati Bengals to AT&T Stadium.
Now at 4-8, the Bengals’ record may be deceiving. Seven of their losses were lost by one score or less. If the wind had blown just a little bit in a different direction, this Bengals team could be looking at a much better record. In these losses, the Cincinnati offense has been doing their part to win football games with their defense coming up a bit short. In fact, the Bengals have the number one passing offense in the NFL when it comes to total passing yards and passing yards per game. They are also top five in total points scored and points per game. Those stats look a little daunting when considering that the Cowboys defense ranks 29th in total points allowed and points allowed per game.
This game might be the biggest test yet for the Cowboys’ defense, but they may have a few things working in their favor. After this mini bye week, there is a longshot possibility that DeMarcus Lawrence may return to the defensive line this week, bolstering the pass rush alongside Parsons. Trevon Diggs is another name that has a chance to play on Monday and if so, it would be the very first time in over a year that Diggs and DaRon Bland will be on the field together, something every fan has been anxiously anticipating for weeks.
There is no doubt the defense will have their work cut out for them against Joe Burrow’s high-flying offense that will look much different than the Drew Lock-led offense they faced on Thanksgiving. But if the defense is able to hold up their end of the deal, the Cowboys’ offense might have a shot at getting ahead against the Bengals’ defense. The Cowboys could have a real chance at earning their second home win of the season and third win in a row.
