Two years ago, the Cowboys struggled to stop the run, a trait that revealed itself as a defensive weakness several times throughout the season, and especially during the playoffs, when the Packers stuck 143 yards rushing and three rushing touchdowns on the D in a humbling 48-34 loss at home.
That year, the Cowboys defense allowed 4.2 yards per carry, which ranked 15th in the NFL. Again, that was not good enough for a defense that had, overall, performed admirably, ranking fifth in the league in total yards and points allowed. Problem is, what was a weak spot in 2023 was also a high point over the last five years for the Cowboys defense.
Stopping the run has been the team’s Achilles’ heel for five straight seasons, going back to 2020, when the Cowboys allowed 5.0 yards per carry and ranked 30th in the NFL. They cut that to 4.5 in 2022, but that ranked 23rd. They allowed 4.4 in 2022, but that was in the bottom half of the league, at 17th.
In 2024, when everything seemed to fall apart, the run defense was near the top of the list in disappointments: 4.8 yards per carry allowed, 30th in the NFL. In a five-year period, with three different coordinators (Mike Nolan, Dan Quinn and Mike Zimmer), the best the defense has done to stop the run has been 15th in the league.
Cowboys DC Matt Eberflus Will Emphasize Rnn-Stopping
Now comes Matt Eberflus, returning to the defense in Dallas as the coordinator. He is bringing with him the same defensive scheme he ran as head coach in Chicago, where the Bears finished 29th in yards allowed per rush in 2024, after finishing fifth in 2023. (Cue shrug emoji.)
The Cowboys are also bringing in weak side linebacker Kenneth Murray, who will be wearing the “green dot,” meaning he will be calling defenses on the field. Murray, a former first-round pick, has been a starter for nearly all of his five seasons in the NFL, spent with the Chargers and Titans. He was acquired in a trade from Tennessee this offseason.
“I’m extremely comfortable with it, ” Murray said of the green dot. “I’ve done it the majority of my career, getting us in and out of checks, being able to decipher different things, different formations, stuff like that.”
Kenneth Murray: ‘Pillar of Our Defense’
But can he and Eberflus help the Cowboys answer the one challenge that the team has pretty much flunked each of the past five years? Is this finally a team that could stop the run? It’s only May, but Murray said he thinks so.
In fact, if the Cowboys D is to be worth its salt, it should start there.
“The first thing Flus said to me is stopping the run,” said Murray. “Always, man. First thing to being a great defense is stopping the run. … I think that was really the first thing that Eberflus kind of talked about was stopping the run as a pillar of our defense. It’s definitely an emphasis for us.”
Like Heavy Sports’s content? Be sure to follow us.
This article was originally published on Heavy Sports
The post New Cowboys Starter Addresses Defense’s Big Weakness appeared first on Heavy Sports.