Dallas Cowboys lose important starting defender for season

In their 24-6 victory over the Detroit Lions, the Dallas Cowboys once again proved their dominating defense was the driving force of their team. Even with the return of Dak Prescott, the Dallas offense struggled. They struggled running. They struggled passing. They struggled blocking.

It was the Dallas Cowboys defense that kept the surprisingly strong Lions offense from stealing the game. Dan Quinn’s unit leads the NFL in sacks and before Sunday’s slate of games, had the Cowboys run defense ranked 21st and the pass defense ranked fourth.

The Dallas Cowboys suffered a hit to their starting defense when they learned Jourdan Lewis would be out for the season.

In the second half of Sunday’s contest, Jourdan Lewis fell to what looked like a very serious injury. He was helped to the sideline but required a cart to take him to the locker room. Shortly after the game, fears were confirmed, it was a serious enough injury that would require surgery and effectively end his season.

But if you’re going to go out, go out with a bang. And Jourdan Lewis did that, jumping a pass and stealing an interception on what would be his last play of the season (and possibly his Cowboys career).

The Dallas Cowboys re-signed Lewis a season ago to a three-year, $13.5 million contract loaded with per game roster bonuses and incentives. The team friendly deal was designed to help the Cowboys survive injuries and/or under achievements from the CBs in front of him on the roster.

Lucky for them, they did because their 2021 second round pick, Kelvin Joseph, has struggled to get snaps on defense and their expected slot CB, Anthony Brown, has been forced to play outside all season. As a result, Lewis has been the Dallas Cowboys starting nickel CB, and has done quite well manning the inside on this nickel-heavy defense.

Next man up become DaRon Bland. Bland was a training camp surprise for Dallas this year. The fifth round rookie out-performed more pedigreed picks Nahshon Wright and the aforementioned Joseph.

While fans are eager to see what Bland has to offer, Lewis was starting ahead of him for a reason. It will be a lot of pressure for the 6-foot, 200lb CB out of Fresno this season. He is playing on an elite unit which demands a lot form it’s players. And since Brown is locked in on the outside, there aren’t many contingency plans inside, should Bland struggle.

Jourdan Lewis will be missed, and depending how Kelvin Joseph and Nahshon Wright progress, this may be the end of the road for Lewis in Dallas.

Next man up mentality but luckily for the Cowboys, they have an intriguing “next man.”