The Dallas Cowboys were inept in 2016 at getting after the quarterback, but Demarcus Lawrence has stepped up to change that early in the 2017 season.
Fans most certainly want to forget what the Dallas Cowboys lived through in Week 2 of the 2017 season. At this point, it feels like every moment is something else to pile on them. They were outplayed in every phase of the game, saw injuries to their talented young secondary, and of course are now hearing the firestorm about Ezekiel Elliott quitting. The Cowboys, suffice it to say, have had better weeks.
With that said, there was one definitive silver lining for Dallas in Week 2. Even better is that it’s a continuation of something positive that we saw in the season-opener against the New York Giants. That silver lining comes in the form of No. 90 on the defense, Demarcus Lawrence.
Last season, the Cowboys pass rush was insufficient. Don’t let their 36 sacks on the year fool you (a mark around the middle of the league) into thinking they were quality in this regard. The defensive front was inconsistent at best at getting after the quarterback. No one guy stepped up and stood out to take control in that area of the defense, and the unit as a whole came up short in big moments.
The lack of a pass rush was the primary cause of Dallas’ loss to the Green Bay Packers in the Divisional Round of the postseason. Playing at home, they fell behind early because Aaron Rodgers had time to do his taxes, shave and then throw the ball wherever he pleased in the pocket. You can’t let that happen as a defense with any quarterback, but especially a future Hall-of-Famer.
Lawrence was a part of that problem as well. He was suspended to begin the year, but the hope was that he would bolster the pass rush upon returning after a productive 2015 campaign. That didn’t happen. The Boise State product never got into a rhythm and was disappointingly ineffective when on the field. He finished with one sack in nine games.
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Coming into this season, a contract year for the 2014 second-round pick, Lawrence obviously had to prove himself. Through two weeks, he’s done that and more. In Week 1, he was a monster as he dismantled the porous New York Giants offensive line. According to Pro Football Focus Elite, he registered seven pressures on 29 pass rushing snaps, resulting in two sacks and five hurries.
Though the Cowboys as a whole were waxed by the Broncos in Week 2, Lawrence still managed to shine with a star-like performance off the edge. On 23 pass rush snaps in the demeaning loss (per PFF Elite), the defensive end still notched six pressures that resulted in two sacks again, three hurries and one QB hit.
After the first two weeks of the season, Lawrence has the third-highest Pass Rush Productivity Rating among players to play 25 percent or more of the team’s defensive snaps according to PFF Elite. What’s more, PFF Edge has Lawrence graded as the sixth best edge defender in the league through two weeks and as the fourth-highest graded edge defender rushing the passer. For reference, that puts him ahead of Khalil Mack in the latter category and behind only Brandon Graham, Cameron Jordan and Von Miller.
On the whole, the Cowboys pass rush hasn’t been great. Rookie first-round pick Taco Charlton has struggled to find his footing while Benson Mayowa and Charles Tapper have been average at best. However, Lawrence is playing like an elite player at the position thus far. The way the other guys are performing was the status quo across the board. Having an outlier performing at as high a level as Lawrence is changes the entire dynamic of the defense.
If Lawrence keeps this up, offenses are going to have to account for him, thus opening up things for the rest of the defense, be it other edge defenders, defensive tackles, or even linebackers and defensive backs coming forward on blitzes. Playing at this level makes everyone else’s job easier.
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Again, it’s hard to find positives coming out of a 25-point loss that has included a fair amount of extracurricular noise. However, the belief after the Denver game should be that the Boys will be fine on offense. Bad games happen, especially against elite defenses. If healthy in the secondary, they should also be okay on defense. But if Lawrence continues to shine like this, they have the potential to be more than okay.