Dallas Cowboys Safety Jayron Kearse Reveals Discipline Key to Beating Philadelphia Eagles

The Dallas Cowboys destroyed the Los Angeles Rams, 43-20, on Sunday. Safety Jayron Kearse spoke about taking that level of play into next week against the Philadelphia Eagles.

The Dallas Cowboys did the most sensible thing possible for working on Sunday. They got their work done as quickly as possible, mailed in the waning minutes, and got home in time to watch some football.

Dallas beat the visiting Los Angeles Rams 43-20 to affirm the good feelings that persisted through the bye week and move to 5-2 on the season. In doing so, the Cowboys have set themselves up for a massive Week 9 contest with the first-place Philadelphia Eagles.

It will be Dallas’ second matchup with a top NFC contender, and the first one didn’t go swimmingly. The San Francisco 49ers embarrassed America’s Team on Sunday Night Football and cast a shadow of doubt on both sides of the ball.

Cowboys safety Jayron Kearse celebrates a big play with fellow defensive back Donovan Wilson / © Kevin Jairaj-USA TODAY Sports

The Cowboys will hope the Week 8 win will set the tone for the coming weeks. The offense was efficient and looked legitimately different with a bye week’s worth of adjustments. Defensively, the pass rush and secondary both teed off on a Rams offense that struggled to move the ball through the air, eventually losing quarterback Matthew Stafford to injury.

Safety Jayron Kearse spoke about carrying Sunday’s momentum into the next week, compared to their last contest with an elite opponent.

“We just have to come out and play our ball,” Kearse said. “Play a physical brand of football and be disciplined. Niners week, penalties killed us: crucial downs, third downs, had us starting behind the sticks with false starts, things like that, giving up five yards lining up offsides.”

Dallas was called for just four penalties on Sunday. In turn, they held a near-100% win probability for more than half of the game. Playing disciplined football allowed the splash plays to remain splash plays and kept the faucet running.

Kearse has been shaky this season, but his presence in the locker room shouldn’t be understated. He’s well aware that playing the Eagles is a different animal than a battered Rams roster.

“Understanding that when it comes down to those top teams, you can’t beat yourself,” Kearse said. “Against the lesser teams in this league, you have a little wiggle room for those types of things to happen. But these top teams, you have to give yourself the best chance to win, and beating yourself is not going to cut it.”

Next Sunday’s game has all the theatrics in store. As much as it’s supposed to be a close game, either team is only a critical penalty or two away from shifting their odds to win the NFC East.

The Cowboys won’t be favored, nor should they, but shooting themselves in the foot is the quickest way to get laughed out of Philadelphia. Expect the importance of a clean game to be emphasized throughout the week.