Blogging The Boys
For several years now, the Cowboys have had a chronic issue with stopping the run. Their 2025 offseason did little to address this from a personnel standpoint, and Tuesday’s joint practice with the Los Angeles Rams was a reminder of how ugly it can get. As Dallas prepares for a fresh, new season, they’re still dealing with this tired, old problem.
Last year was abysmal. The Cowboys gave up the fourth-most rushing yards and the fifth-highest yards-per-carry in the league. Injuries weren’t the issue; most of Dallas’ key defensive personnel, particularly in terms of run defense, played the majority of the season. Our previous defensive coordinator, Mike Zimmer, blamed some of this on not installing more of his system earlier in the year. But considering how much worse his defense was against the run than Dan Quinn’s, that argument wasn’t overly convincing.
But even during the Quinn years, Dallas’ run defense would only finish average at best in these areas. There was a little “pick your poison” in it based on the scheme Quinn ran and the types of players he liked. Focusing on quickness and coverage is naturally going to make you a little weaker against the run. Playing safeties as linebackers and linebackers as defensive ends makes you smaller and easier to push around. You just have to hope that you get enough wins against the pass, with turnovers, and in other situations, which Quinn’s crew did a good job of.
Whatever new DC Matt Eberflus is strategizing to stop the run, he’s going to have to do it with a fairly similar cast of players. Dallas made a long-term commitment to DT Osa Odighizuwa and is giving Mazi Smith a chance to make or break his career in Year 3. They added veteran depth in Solomon Thomas, but he’s built similarly to Odighizuwa. Rookie Jay Toia is a true nose tackle but only a seventh-round pick, so relying on him to do much would be a huge gamble.
At defensive end, you still have a lot of guys who are much more edge rushers than run stoppers. DeMarcus Lawrence is gone, leaving Marshawn Kneeland as the only bigger DE who’s a lock to make the roster. Micah Parsons, Dante Fowler, Donovan Ezeiruaku, and others are here to attack the quarterback, which makes sense in what’s become a predominantly passing league. However, they can be quickly neutered if an opponent is getting consistent gains on the ground.
The linebackers are still a “TBD” group, especially given Eberflus’ reputation for coaching up this position. But we know they’ll be without DeMarvion Overshown for at least half the year. The crew gets a bit motley from there; Marist Liufau is only in his second year, Damone Clark is trying to resurrect his career after a rough 2024, and veteran free agents Jack Sanborn and Kenneth Murray Jr. remain unproven in their new digs.
An underrated loss to the run defense was veteran CB Jourdan Lewis, who was about as tough...
