New York Giants Week 17 Matchup: First Look at Cowboys' Defense

The Cowboys defense has struggled this year, but it's stil a unit that's not to be slept on.

The Dallas defense has been statistically much better in the last few weeks. They have forced ten turnovers in their three-game winning streak, albeit the quarterbacks were a hobbled Brandon Allen, one of the more turnover prone players in the league (Nick Mullins), and a young Jalen Hurts. 

On the season, Dallas ranks 30th in points allowed per game (30) but has only allowed an average of 19 in the last three games.

Their defense gives up the most rushing yards per game, by a lot. They average 161 rushing yards per game, and 228 passing yards per game, which ranks 11th best. 

It doesn’t seem like the personnel ever fit Mike Nolan’s scheme, and the defense is a bit too complicated. Run fits aren’t executed well, and the defense doesn’t leverage their gap responsibilities. The Eagles found success on the ground with Miles Sanders until Doug Pederson stopped running the football for whatever reason.

The Giants can find success on the ground, and their secondary probably can’t play man coverage as well as Baltimore and Arizona, so there’s hope. Still, the Giants' offense has been putrid and turnover-prone, which is concerning.

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Defensive Line

The Cowboys released high profile players on the defensive line in the middle of the season and are now playing some younger guys and long-term Cowboys. They can still be run on, but a message was sent to the locker room. 

Tyron Crawford and Justin Hamilton man the middle of the defense. Neither has a ton of pass-rushing upside, but Crawford more than Hamilton. Crawford has 23 pressures on the year and two sacks, which is down for him, but he’s a power rusher with long arms.

Neville Gallimore is a rookie 2nd round pick out of Oklahoma who is starting to show his worth. He had a slow start to the season but has picked it up in the last couple of games. 

Gallimore has solid lateral agility and can penetrate upfield but isn’t great with his hand usage yet. Eli Ankou also earns snaps on the defensive line. He’s a big space-eater who is a bit slower than the other lineman.

Demarcus Lawrence has 45 pressures and six sacks on the season. One of those sacks and 9 of those pressures were against the Giants. He’s had a down year by his standard but is still explosive, long, difficult to block on an island, and aggressive. 

Aldon Smith also proved to be a lot for the Giants offensive line in the first matchup; he also had nine pressures, and a lot of them against a struggling Andrew Thomas, who has been playing better in the latter half of the season. 

Randy Gregory is coming off a two-sack affair and has been playing really good football in December. He’s always been quick but struggled with off the field issues. Gregory is finding a groove at the right time for Dallas.

Dorance Armstrong is a situational rusher with a quick first step but cannot convert speed to power. He can win with speed, and Dallas likes to use him on pass-rushing downs. Ron’Dell Carter played snaps against the Eagles but has had a minimal role all season for the Cowboys.

Linebackers

Leighton Vander-Esch was inactive for the Eagles game with an ankle injury, and it’s yet to be determined if he’ll play against the Giants. Veteran Sean Lee filled in nicely for the injured Vander-Esch. 

Lee brings excellent processing and still has some quickness to his game. However, Lee is 34 years old, and his tackling hasn’t been as effective.

Jaylon Smith has struggled in Mike Nolan’s defense. He blows assignments, doesn’t get to his responsibilities, and seems kind of lost. Ironically enough, he looked good against the Giants. 

He’s still very quick, active, can hit hard, and has coverage upside, but it has been a down year for the former Notre Dame star. Joe Thomas is a punishing type of linebacker that is a downhill “thumper.” He packs a hard hit but isn’t a great coverage type of player.

Secondary

Dallas has been playing Jourdan Lewis as the versatile defender in the secondary, at least recently. Last season this was the role of Byron Jones, who set the market with a deal to Miami, and now Lewis assumed those duties. 

Most of the season, Lewis has been the slot cornerback and has done an effective job protecting that part of the field for Dallas. Last week against the Eagles, he started at strong safety. He’s having an adequate season.

The Cowboys have been without starting boundary corners Chidobe Awuzie and rookie Trevon Diggs, but they’re both healthy now. Awuzie has struggled a bit and allowed four touchdowns on the season, and Diggs struggled a lot early on but has started to do a better job in zone coverage. 

The struggles of Awuzie have helped Anthony Brown secure the starting position. Diggs has been targeted a lot this season and has ten passes defensed. He’s been playing better since returning from injury a couple of weeks ago.

Anthony Brown now plays more snaps than Aquzie, and he does a solid job as a boundary cornerback. He is coming off two consecutive games with an interception. He’s not afraid to tackle and does a solid job in zone coverage while being adequate as a man covering defender.

Former Giants’ third-round pick Darian Thompson plays a role at safety and has been relatively ineffective. He was dinged up last week, and Donovan Wilson ended up receiving more snaps, albeit he typically plays regardless of a healthy Thompson. Wilson is more physical and more athletic than Thompson. 

C.J. Goodwin, a journeyman, earns snaps with the injury to very underrated safety Xavier Woods who suffered a rib injury against the 49ers. It has yet to be determined if he’ll be available against the Giants.