Mike Zimmer had a lot of work to do in his first season as coach Dallas Cowboys Defensive Coordinator. He lost Dorance Armstrong, the defensive lineman with the second-most sacks in the last two seasons, to the Washington Commanders, as well as Dante Fowler Jr., who had 10 sacks in his two years in Dallas. Also gone are starting DT Jonathan Hankins, rotation DT Neville Gallimore and starting middle linebacker Leighton Vander Esch, who suffered a career-ending injury.
Implementation of a new defense system, The team didn't add Eric Kendricks in free agency until training camp. He got some additions to the defensive line toward the end of training camp, but it would take time to pass on his new ideas to his new players. Tom made the situation worse and the injuries took hold. He lost edge rusher Sam Williams and All-Pro corner DaRon Bland for 11 games this season due to injury. Poor defensive performances against the New Orleans Saints and Baltimore Ravens were a harbinger of increasing injuries throughout the season.
Both Micah Parsons and Demarcus Lawrence were out against the Ravens, and Marshawn Kneeland was out the following week against the Pittsburgh Steelers. That left Zimmer without his top four edge rushers after just five weeks.
The coach is trying to get the team better against the run, which has been the Cowboys' biggest problem in the Dak Prescott era, but he has eliminated their pass rush, his biggest weapon. His defensive luck was no better.
The team didn't have Bland, Trevon Diggs and Jourdan Lewis together in a single game all season.
The second cornerback spot was a rotating door. They lost rookie Caelen Carson to injury, called up Amani Oruwariye and Josh Butler from the practice squad, but also lost both to injury. Rotating defensive backs Markquese Bell and Juanyeh Thomas are the latest to suffer serious ailments.
With all these disadvantages, the… Dallas' defense has continued to improve. Starting in Week 8, the defense was good in the first half of almost every game before fading in the second half. The San Francisco 49ers scored six points and the Atlanta Falcons and Philadelphia Eagles scored 14, but each came on Dallas turnovers. So did the Houston Texans, who scored 17 points at halftime. The Commanders scored only three points and the New York Giants scored ten, but DeMarvion Overshown scored a touchdown for the defense against the Giants.
Between Week 2 and Week 6, Dallas allowed an average of 19 points in the first half, but has since allowed just nine.
Zimmer has Parsons and Bland back, and it has helped go from one of the worst turnover ratios to five takeaways to one turnover in the last two games. The defense is also getting sacks now, going from 20 in the first 10 games to 10 in the last two.
The Cincinnati Bengals, Dallas' Week 14 opponent, averaged 35 points per game over their last four games. Zimmer will be tested by his old team, but if his defense can keep a subpar Cowboys offense in the game, Zimmer could officially put to rest a lot of feelings from earlier in the season.
You can find Mike Crum on Twitter @cdpiglet or YouTube on the About the Cowboys Podcast.