Dallas Cowboys Defense: What happened to the Hot Boyz?

Last year the Dallas Cowboys had a top-10 defense and was one of the best in the league, but this year the defense is a shell of itself and is a liability.

In 2018, the Dallas Cowboys defense came out of nowhere and became a vaulted one that sacked the quarterback on a regular basis, made timely tackles, and was one of the best at stopping the run. For the first time in forever, the Cowboys had a dominant defense to go along with its high powered offense.

Finally, the Cowboys had a good defense and a premier pass rush with Pro Bowler DeMarcus Lawrence leading the way. That proverbial “War Daddy” had found a home and all of the quarterbacks were put on notice about the Dallas Cowboys fiery defense and the sack specialist that went with it.

That was an unknown for the Cowboys defense because for several years it was mediocre at best. The Cowboys defense was so bad that in a 2013 prime time game against the New Orleans Saints the Cowboys allowed the Saints to convert 40 first downs. That’s a stat that you only see in a Madden NFL 20 video game.

And the following year Dallas went 12-4 and won the division with a mediocre defense, but it was the Tony Romo led offense that saved the defense by scoring a bunch of points and keeping the vulnerable defense off the field.

That strategy worked until the Cowboys faced the Grinch of Green Bay in Aaron Rodgers and could not beat the one-legged bandit because the defense lacked efficient pass rushers.

Well the 2019 Cowboys defense is a shell of itself and doesn’t resemble the one from last season. In fact, Dallas’ defense is playing more like the one from 2013 than the top-10 one from 2018.

And I beg to ask this question: what happened to Dallas’ defense? Why is it so bad now? Why is a talented defense playing like a bunch of rookies fighting for a roster spot during preseason?

I can go on and on of course, but I’m as confused as a ninth grader taking a calculus exam on why Dallas’ defense is sinking like the titanic. It’s one thing if Dallas didn’t have the talent-from the edge rushers to the linebackers to the defensive backs.

But Dallas has the talent on all levels of the defense to be successful.

What’s even more perplexing is that Dallas’ defense is basically the same one from last season, minus a player or two like Randy Gregory. So once again what happened to the defense?

For starters, Tank Lawrence is not playing like the dominant pass rusher we’ve witnessed over the past two years. Big Tank was bringing the pain on opposing quarterbacks and played like a man that deserved a lucrative contract (he signed a five-year deal worth $105 million with $65 million guaranteed). Tank only has only five sacks with three games to play.

In 2018, Tank tallied 10.5 sacks, 64 combined tackles, and 15 TFL (tackles for a loss). No disrespect, but his teammate Robert Quinn leads the team with 9.5 sacks and is playing better than Tank.

Dallas’ pass rush has been so bad this season that they have made average to below average quarterbacks look like Hall of Famers. Sam Darnold, Josh Allen, Jeff Driskel, Daniel Jones, and Mitchell Trubisky all had big games against Dallas.

Out of all of those quarterbacks Trubisky had been playing the worse, to the point that the Chicago Bears might move on from him. That speaks volumes about how ineffective Dallas’ pass has become.

The linebacking corps of Jaylon Smith and Leighton Vander Esch is nothing like the dynamic duo from last season. Yes, Vander Esch has been hurt with a neck injury, but before the injury he was missing tackles and out of place. The same can be said about Smith, who appears to care more about posing after a tackle than actually being a consistent tackler.