DALLAS COWBOYS FOOTBALL
Cowboys-Giants was supposed to be a playoff decider. What happened?
The Dallas Cowboys have survived in the secondary for the better part of two decades. They haven't had a true star cornerback since Deion Sanders. They have stopped the pass mainly through a great rush, and occasional excellence out of the safety position. The success they have had on that side of the ball has been more incidental than anything. The Cowboys of the past two decades have been built around offense. If things continue the way that they are, though, that could be changing.
The Dallas Cowboys have survived in the secondary for the better part of two decades. They haven't had a true star cornerback since Deion Sanders. They have stopped the pass mainly through a great rush, and occasional excellence out of the safety position. The success they have had on that side of the ball has been more incidental than anything. The Cowboys of the past two decades have been built around offense. If things continue the way that they are, though, that could be changing.
Chidobe Awuzie has now started two games for the Cowboys. They have won each and allowed a total of 24 points in those games. They have four interceptions in those games compared to seven in their previous 11 games. They haven't even been at full strength for either of these matchups, as Sean Lee missed last Thursday against the Redskins while David Irving was out against the Giants today.
But with Awuzie, Xavier Woods and Jourdan Lewis making plays like this, the Cowboys can stop, and therefore beat, pretty much any team in the league.
For the first time in two decades, the Cowboys actually have a group of homegrown defenders in the secondary that are going to improve together. They get better and better every single week. They make big plays on the ball and the hold steady in coverage. Their football IQs are far ahead of where any rookies should be, and most importantly, they're under contract for next to nothing for several years.
What the Cowboys have on offense with Dak Prescott, Ezekiel Elliott and their defense, they now seem to have on defense with the defensive backs, DeMarcus Lawrence and Irving: a stable group of youngsters who are excellent now and can get the team into the playoffs, but will get better as well. The Cowboys came into this season with nothing but question marks on defense. But what will next year look like without the specter of an Elliott suspension hanging over the team's head, certainty on defense, and another year of experience for Prescott?
The Cowboys may have been so good on offense last year that they could credibly be called the league's best young team, but now that the defense has gotten to this level, that title belongs to them. Injuries and tiebreakers are the only thing that can keep them out of the playoffs this year, and next year, they go on the warpath for revenge over the season they may have lost in 2017.
With Awuzie, Lewis and Woods on the back line, it's a pretty safe bet that they won't miss the playoffs twice in a rOW.
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