Blogging The Boys
In this episode of Between the Lines we flip the attention to the defensive line, where chaos meets strategy. This is where the Cowboys’ games are won and lost so let’s dive in.
Osa Obdighizuwa
(2025 Stats: 115 Total snaps, 9 Total Tackles, 0 TFL, 6 Pressures, 0 Sacks)
Grade: 77.5
Solomon Thomas
(2025 Stats: 82 Total snaps, 13 Total Tackles, 1 TFL, 3 Pressures, 0 Sacks)
Grade: 61.5
Kenny Clark
(2025 Stats: 120 Total snaps, 10 Total Tackles, 1 TFL, 9 Pressures, 1 Sack)
Grade: 73.7
Mazi Smith
(2025 Stats: 18 Total snaps, 0 Total Tackles, 0 TFL, 0 Pressures, 0 Sack)
Grade: 44.5
Jay Toia
(2025 Stats: 39 Total snaps, 1 Total Tackle, 0 TFL, 0 Pressures, 0 Sack)
Grade: 29.3
The Cowboys’ interior front enters Packers week with the leverage to reshape the pocket. If Kenny Clark and Osa Odighizuwa can get a push, Jordan Love’s platform compresses, Matt LaFleur’s timing concepts lose rhythm, and Josh Jacobs is forced to operate in cramped space. Dallas acquired three-time Pro Bowler Clark and he is already credited with one sack this year, proving to be a true A-gap anchor alongside the explosive, slashing Odighizuwa. Odighizuwa has shown to be effective with his rapid wins, heavy inside hands, and the lateral quickness to cross a guard’s face on stunts.
On paper, the five Packers offensive linemen are supposed to be Rasheed Walker, Aaron Banks, Elgton Jenkins, Sean Rhyan, and Zach Tom. That’s a starting lineup that offers size, talent, and solid technique. Moving Jenkins to center in place of Josh Myers gives the Packers a Pro Bowl–level communicator at the point of attack, while Banks’ arrival from San Francisco adds heft on the left interior.
The issue for this starting lineup is they have struggled to keep that together because of injury, and in three weeks have had nine different line combinations. This means Green Bay’s first-rounder Jordan Morgan, and second-rounder Anthony Belton has rotated in as those injuries arise. That much turnover invites communication gaps, precisely the seams Dallas will target with movement fronts, late stems, and twist games.
Zach Tom is expected to miss this week and that reshapes Green Bay’s slide rules and the center’s help priorities. Dallas can stress those adjustments by sugaring the A-gaps late, then bailing post-snap and looping into the opposite B-gap, forcing the new center and rotating guards to try and execute. If the Cowboys keep protection in flux, Clark’s blunt-force power and Odighizuwa’s first step will compress the pocket around Love.
Dallas has the interior tools to win this matchup, but Green Bay does have answers with a savvy center and a deep, interchangeable line that can disrupt the Cowboys’ rhythm. Dallas must win early downs and own the A-gaps, Green Bay on the opposite side must sharpen its calls and live in the quick game until those double-teams start moving bodies. Shift either of those dynamics, and it likely decides who controls the final quarter....
