Seattle Seahawks vs. Dallas Cowboys: 5 X-factors for Wild Card Round
By Randy Gurzi
3. Leighton Vander Esch, LB, Dallas Cowboys
In years past, the Dallas defense has gone as far as Sean Lee takes them. He’s been the heart and soul of that side of the ball, but unfortunately, he became more well known for missing games due to injury than the plays he was making on the field. The Cowboys moved him from middle linebacker to weak side linebacker a few seasons ago trying to limit the punishment he took but that wasn’t able to completely cure the problem.
That’s why they used the No. 19 pick on Leighton Vander Esch out of Boise State this season. And LVE showed up for them in a big way this season when Lee went down injured. Despite starting just 11 of 16 games, Vander Esch led the team in tackles with 140. He added seven pass break-ups and two picks. He was also instrumental in their wins over Philadelphia and New Orleans that turned the season around.
The Wolf Hunter showed up in those games by making huge stops on third down plays that forced the offense to either punt or try a fourth-down play that also ended up failing. He proved to be as big of a spark plug as Lee has been for them and was able to play in every game this season.
Against Seattle, they’re going to need the LVE that was dominant during that two-week stretch. This game will be hard fought and the Cowboys will need some clutch stops — and they’ll be needing that from their big rookie.