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.
(2025 Stats: 168 Total snaps, 15 Total Tackles, 1 TFL, 12 Pressures, 0 Sacks)
Grade: 72.0
(2025 Stats: 115 Total snaps, 13 Total Tackles, 1 TFL, 5 Pressures, 0 Sacks)
Grade: 56.6
(2025 Stats: 178 Total snaps, 12 Total Tackles, 1 TFL, 14 Pressures, 1 Sack)
Grade: 71.7
(2025 Stats: 33 Total snaps, 1 Total Tackles, 0 TFL, 1 Pressures, 0 Sack)
Grade: 49.3
(2025 Stats: 39 Total snaps, 1 Total Tackle, 0 TFL, 0 Pressures, 0 Sack)
Grade: 29.3
The mission for Dallas this week is simple, continue to try and find its identity while trying to crush the middle. When the pocket shrinks on the inside, everything the Jets want to do slows down a half-beat. That’s where Kenny Clark’s mass meets Osa Odighizuwa’s get-off. With Ckark bringing the muscle, Odighizuwa can bring the spice. Together, they’re the “move us or else” duo for Matt Eberflus.
Across the offensive line, the Jets are a surprisingly talented group that’s fine tuning the kinks out. At offensive tackle, you’re looking at a premium blocker with their top-10 pick, Armand Membou at right tackle, he’s flying out the gates to start his NFL career. The issue has been the interior, which has been a Rubik’s Cube since Alijah Vera-Tucker went down with a tricep injury. That shuffle has Joe Tippmann bouncing inside and Josh Myers taking snaps at center, with veteran John Simpson steadying the left guard spot. The tackles can play for the Jets, but the communication issues inside is where Dallas should poke, so this is a great place for Odighizuwa to bring his A-game.
The Jets’ pass-block win rate has hovered around league average, and their run-block win rate has been living in the top 10 this season, so that’s perfect for a Jets coaching staff that wants to run first. But here’s the crack Dallas can widen. Through the first month, New York has allowed pressure on about 52% of dropbacks. When the count extends and the script means playing obvious passing plays, then it’s Clark forklift time and Odighizuwa’s cross-face special.
The Cowboys have the people to make this a phone-booth game with their main two interior defenders and guys like Solomon Thomas in rotation. Dallas’ defensive tackles need to bring the pressure so that the Jets have to plan to keep things on schedule with an evolving interior. Watch this matchup carefully this week is the best advice, as whoever owns first down decides the tone of the game. If Dallas dictates the A-gaps, the Jets will stumble between the 20’s. If New York finds its rhythm early, the pocket stays in tune and the fourth quarter gets louder in MetLife, and this...
