Matt Williamson is a former scout for the Cleveland Browns and spent 10 years at ESPN as a scout and co-host of "The Football Today Podcast." Find him on Twitter @WilliamsonNFL.
Things looked bleak for the Dallas Cowboys in Arizona on Monday.
The Cardinals dominated the game early, but after a missed field goal, Arizona was still only up 7-0 as the first quarter ended. Neither team did much on offense in the second quarter, but because the Cardinals didn't go up big despite outplaying Dallas, the Cowboys could stick with their ground game.
Dak Prescott also showed great leadership and resiliency, and, before long, Dallas pulled out to a lead that it wouldn't relinquish to bring its record to 2-1, moving it into a tie atop the NFC East.
As it was a year ago, the Cowboys' formula for victories is pretty simple. No team in the last decade or longer has had three offensive linemen on par with Tyron Smith, Zack Martin, and Travis Frederick. Prescott was a revelation in his rookie season, but the ball-controlled offense goes through Ezekiel Elliott, who hit his stride as that Week 3 contest went on.
That strategy wears down the opponent, but has also masked a defense that isn't exactly brimming with talent. Sean Lee is a great player, and Dallas' defense is much better with him on the field, and there's a lot of hope for Jaylon Smith. Byron Jones is great too, though the rest of the secondary is clearly a work in progress.
The real problem has been that the defensive line hasn't made life easier for the second and third levels of the defense. The pass rush just hasn't been there, which is why the Cowboys used their first-round pick on Taco Charlton.
But a funny thing is happening this year: the pass rush has come to life, and that was evident Monday night. The Cardinals don't have the best offensive line, and were without two starters, but Carson Palmer was sacked six times.
(Photo courtesy: Action Images)
Charlton has shown some promise but isn't a full-time player, and Maliek Collins has certainly improved from the interior, but it's Demarcus Lawrence who's taking this unit to a whole other level.
Lawrence tormented Palmer on Monday, finishing the evening with three sacks. He routinely whipped Jared Veldheer, the Cardinals' best lineman. Arizona gave Veldheer more and more help as the game went on, but to no avail. Lawrence continued to wreak havoc with a fantastic display of burst off the snap, a combination of speed and power, and a nice array of pass-rush moves. He's highly athletic with rare flexibility.
When Lawrence entered the league, he needed to get stronger, and he's clearly done that without losing his agility. He was relentless in his pursuit of Palmer and brought it snap after snap.
Talent has never been a problem for Lawrence, but staying on the field has been. He missed significant time in his rookie season, as well as in 2016. A major back issue was his latest obstacle, and there were concerns that he might never be the same player because of it.
Clearly, that isn't the case. In fact, Lawrence is better than ever. And because of it, Dallas' defense is in much better shape now than it was last year, when the Cowboys went 13-3 and won the NFC East.
