LANDOVER, Md. -- The names on the Dallas Cowboys offense roll off the tongue like a who’s who of the NFL.
Dak Prescott. Ezekiel Elliott. Amari Cooper. Tyron Smith. Zack Martin. CeeDee Lamb. Michael Gallup. The first five players have been multiple-time Pro Bowlers. Lamb is destined to be one, maybe even this year. Gallup has a 1,000-yard season to his credit.
When the 2021 season started, the names on the Cowboys defense did not roll off the tongue. Defensive end DeMarcus Lawrence, a two-time Pro Bowler, was the most recognizable name. Linebacker Leighton Vander Esch made the Pro Bowl as a rookie in 2018. Linebacker Micah Parsons, the No. 12 overall pick in the 2021 draft, was more promise than anything else in September.
But a funny thing has happened over the last three months and especially in Sunday’s 27-20 win against the Washington Football Team.
A "who’s that?" defense has turned into a "Who’s next?" defense.
Parsons should have the defensive rookie of the year award under lock and key at this point, and he is also a viable candidate for defensive player of the year with any of the biggest names in the NFL from Aaron Donald to T.J. Watt to Myles Garrett.
Cornerback Trevon Diggs leads the NFL in interceptions, and while he did not have a pick on Sunday he held Terry McLaurin without a catch before Washington’s leading receiver left the game with a concussion in the second half.
“If our offense goes out there and scores 50 points that’s great, but if they go out and score zero, we got to hold their offense to zero,” Parsons said. “That’s the expectation. Don’t matter what they do, we’ve got to be account for what we do. If we got to win a game on us, that’s what we got to do. I think we’ve all been taking that standard and approach every week and we’ve been living up to ‘we hit, we don’t take hits.’ I think we just got to keep doing it.”
None of this seemed imaginable coming off a season in which the Cowboys allowed a franchise record for points (473) and spent a large portion of the season giving up big plays and big yards.
Through 13 games a year ago with Mike Nolan at coordinator, the Cowboys had allowed 400 points and 48 touchdowns. They had just five interceptions and 24 sacks.
Through 13 games this season with Dan Quinn at coordinator, the Cowboys have allowed 287 points and 32 touchdowns. They have 21 interceptions and 31 sacks.
When the one-year transformation was mentioned to Mike McCarthy after Sunday’s win, he sarcastically said thank you for the trip down memory lane.
“Definitely a great performance today by our defense,” he said. “I think just not only all the changes made, but you could see this building. You could see this building in the spring and see it build in training camp. It’s a great group. The love, the tightness, the energy. Now to have everybody back, too, it’s great to see.”
With the return of defensive tackle Neville Gallimore from injured reserve because of a hyperextended elbow, the Cowboys had their full complement of defensive players for the first time all season.
Lawrence was playing just his third game of the season after suffering a broken foot in practice after the opener. He had a one-armed sack of quarterback Taylor Heinicke to end the third quarter.
Parsons had two more sacks, giving him 12 on the season and in position to break the league’s rookie record of 14 set by Jevon Kearse in 1999. His first sack caused a fumble that defensive end Dorance Armstrong returned 37 yards for a touchdown and gave the Cowboys an 18-0 lead in the first quarter.
Only Julius Peppers (13), Reggie White (13) and Leslie O’Neal (12.5) had more sacks in their first 13 career games than Parsons since sacks became an official stat in 1982. He has recorded a sack in six straight games, tied for the third-longest streak by a rookie.
“It feels good to just get home and the coaches dial up my number more and more with the belief that I’m going to get home,” Parsons said. “We’re feeding off each other.”
Defensive end Randy Gregory, playing for the first time in a month because of a calf injury, had the tempo-setting play with a first-quarter interception, tipping a Heinicke pass into the air before coming down with the first pick of his career. Four plays later, the Cowboys had a touchdown.
In the fourth quarter Gregory stopped what would have been an epic collapse by the Cowboys, who led 24-0 at halftime and 27-8 after three quarters, with a sack of quarterback Kyle Allen for a forced fumble that was recovered by Jayron Kearse with 2:24 to play.
The fumble recovery by Kearse, who is the nephew of the man Parsons is chasing for the rookie sack record, was the Cowboys' 27th takeaway of the season. The last time they had that many in the first 13 games was in 1999.
The Cowboys defense has scored five touchdowns this season, which is the most in the NFL. (By the way, their seven non-offensive touchdowns are three more than any other team in the league, according to ESPN Stats & Info.)
Prescott is glad to have this kind of defense. He posted the lowest QBR of his career (9.9) with two interceptions and 211 yards on 22-of-39 passing with four sacks. Before Sunday, the Cowboys were 0-9 when Prescott had a QBR under 25.
“Just the way that they practice, their communication, their brotherhood, yeah, this is a tough group,” Prescott said. “I practice against them every day. Just knowing the men they are, knowing how much pride they take in their job, knowing that they’re led by Coach Quinn, they’re playing lights out.”