Demarcus Lawrence was the final piece to the Cowboys defense

Demarcus Lawrence, also known as Tank Lawrence, has been utterly outstanding since returning to the football field in Week 13. Lawrence has two sacks, one forced fumble, a pick-six, and he’s been a wall against the run since Week 13. 

In his most recent showcase, the Cowboys DE got the rare, impressive pick-6 against Washington on Sunday night in a 56-14 thrashing of the Ron Rivera-led squad. Not only has Lawrence been a titan-like figure at the DE position, but his whole defense has been playing like the old Top 5 unit they once were under Rod Marinelli. 

The Dallas Cowboys lead the league in takeaways per game (2.2). The secondary is of course led by Trevon Diggs, who has now tied the team record in interceptions with an astronomical 11 picks. The next closest interception leader is J.C. Jackson with 7 ints. 

We know the Cowboys have Lawrence and DPOY candidate in Diggs at CB, but it’s unheard of with how impressive Micah Parsons has been at LB. The rookie out of Penn State has 13 sacks and three forced fumbles in just his rookie campaign. His performance thus far has garnered him comparisons to the freak talent of Lawrence Taylor. Parsons is clearly the DROY favorite, but it doesn’t appear that he will be the second rookie ever to win DPOY (LT being the other of course). T.J. Watt, Trevon Diggs, and Myles Garrett appear to have a more favorable edge over Parsons in the DPOY race. 

So, how stellar has Dallas been with the trio of Lawrence, Diggs, and Parsons? Well, they’ve been quite impressive over the previous four games. They’ve allowed 14.25 points per game in that span. It’s safe to say that the points per game signature in the past four weeks is more impressive than their 20.5 PPG allowed on the season. The Cowboys are finally sound on each level of their defense. 

The football world knows the Cowboys offense orchestrated by Kellen Moore is firing on all cylinders. Nonetheless, let’s not forget about the Cowboys defense that is heating up at the perfect time.