In the trenches: The Cowboys’ defensive front is among the elite

Special, That is what the defensive front for the Dallas Cowboys is.

With the tens of thousands of Cowboys fans in attendance, they turned this away fixture into a home fixture as they were loud and vocal throughout the game. That energy was passed to the Cowboys defense to help secure the win as Dallas defeated the Los Angeles Rams 22-10.

On Saturday’s episode of the World’s Team podcast with Meg Murray on Blogging The Boys, the predictions were interceptions, sacks, and a fumble recovery to the end zone, which all played out. The Cowboys’ defensive front managed a 52.2% success rate in QB pressures with 24 out of 46, five sacks, two fumble recoveries with one leading to a touchdown, and one interception.

The Cowboys also controlled the run defense, as the Rams were held to only 38 rushing yards, with Cam Akers rushing for 33 yards in 13 attempts, averaging 2.5 yards per carry.

From the opening drive, QB Matthew Stafford was immediately on the back foot with his offensive line struggling to hold back the Dallas defensive line, as Dorance Armstrong sacked Stafford and forced a fumble then was recovered by Demarcus Lawrence who managed to get to the end zone. Armstrong also made an impact on special teams as well as he blocked a punt from Riley Dixon and recovered the ball.

Armstrong, without a doubt, has made big leaps in his development this year, as he has recorded a total of 12 tackles, four sacks, and one forced fumble so far in the season. Armstrong is now one sack away from matching his career-best of five sacks from 2021.

Photo by Michael Owens/Getty Images

Micah Parsons recorded two sacks and one tackle for loss, and played an amazing game by constantly applying pressure to the Rams’ offensive line and getting more attention, allowing the rest of the defensive front to record 44 solo tackles with 11 tackles for loss.

Parsons is now tied for first in sacks with Nick Bosa of the San Francisco 49ers and Matthew Judon for the New England Patriots, Parsons is also tied for second in tackles for loss.

Osa Odighizuwa really worked the middle of that offensive line in both run defense and pass rush as he recorded two tackles for loss with one sack but also managed to get four QB hits in the game.

The Cowboys now have five games in a row keeping the opposing teams to under 19 points per game; the last time this was achieved was back in 1972.

Cowboys fans must begin to wonder if the offense could match the output of the defense would the Cowboys be a team that can reach the Super Bowl? If the question is just on the defensive front alone, then you can not disregard that by the production, as the Cowboys are second in total sacks with 20, tied for second in total turnovers with five, and third overall in total points allowed at 72 points, averaging 14.4 points per game sitting behind the 49ers and Buffalo Bills.

With this win against Los Angeles, the attention is now on the undefeated Philadelphia Eagles as Dan Quinn will want to stop Jalen Hurts & Miles Sanders and end their undefeated streak and take over the top spot of the NFC East.