The Dallas Cowboys will reportedly get David Irving back in Week 5 against the Houston Texans, which should give a good defense an even bigger boost.
Over the course of a 2-2 start, questions have been raised about the quality of the Dallas Cowboys. However, the bulk of the mystery about what this team is or isn’t revolves around the offense. On the other side of the ball, the Cowboys might have the best defensive unit that we’ve seen from America’s Team in quite some time.
From Byron Jones looking like a star after moving to cornerback from free safety to Demarcus Lawrence showing that his breakout 2017 was no fluke, the Cowboys defense has high-end talent and depth. Thus, it’s not surprising that Dallas currently ranks seventh in the NFL in scoring defense heading into Week 5. And now they’re about to get another boost for that unit.
Against the Houston Texans in Week 5, Cowboys owner Jerry Jones told the team’s official website that he expects David Irving to make his 2018 debut. Irving just finished serving a four-game suspension handed down by the NFL, a troubling trend for him throughout his still-young career.
When on the field, however, there’s no denying what Irving can bring to the table. Bringing immensely valuable versatility to the defensive line as a player who can line up inside or on the edge, Irving has 11.5 sacks in 35 career games. Most impressively though, that includes recording seven sacks recorded in the eight games he appeared in last season.
Even better for Irving is that he’s returning to a tasty matchup for the Cowboys defense. The 1-3 Texans have been mostly disastrous offensively to start 2018, largely due to the play of their offensive line. The line has done an abysmal job protecting Deshaun Watson, allowing pressures at an alarming rate. In fact, in Pro Football Focus’ last offensive line rankings, Houston’s unit came in at 30th, ahead of only the Seahawks and Cardinals.
MUST READ: NFL Trade Ideas at Week 5
With a bad offensive line that already has to deal with the aforementioned Lawrence and budding players like Taco Charlton, adding Irving to the rotation seems like a recipe to harass Watson throughout Sunday night’s matchup.
Now, there is a chance that Irving is on a limited snap-count in Week 5. After all, he missed most of the offseason as he left the team to deal with personal matters. What’s more, he was dismissed from practice on Thursday. Having said that, with Jones saying that he should play, it does indeed appear he’ll be on the field in some capacity.
While the matchup against Houston could truly highlight Irving’s value because the Texans offensive line is as bad as they’ve been, the long-term value is also with Irving returning.
As the Cowboys offense continues to try and find their footing, they are going to need to win tight games, which puts defensive play at the forefront. In years past, that would’ve been a huge concern. With what the unit has shown this season, however, there is some optimism that Dallas can succeed with that formula. And if you add Irving to that already successful formula, things could be even more fruitful than expected for the Boys.