The Dallas Cowboys picked up a much-needed win against the San Francisco 49ers this past Sunday but perhaps more importantly, several young players performed well. Safety Donovan Wilson logged his first career interception, running back Tony Pollard racked up 132 all-purpose yards and two touchdowns, and wide receiver CeeDee Lamb pulled within 177 yards of breaking Bob Hayes’ franchise rookie receiving record of 1,003 yards.
There was another young stud who flashed, but in the trenches. Rookie defensive tackle Neville Gallimore continued to show why he was taken in the third round with his best performance of 2020.
Two plays in particular stood out for Gallimore on Sunday. The first came at the end of the first quarter.
On first and goal he does an unbelievable job of using his speed to split the right guard and right tackle and stuffed running back Raheem Mostert for a three-yard loss.
Neville Gallimore just completely swallowed up Raheem Mostert #Sooners pic.twitter.com/Vx0VUUxGkg
— Josh Callaway (@JoshCallaway714) December 20, 2020
The next big play came late in the third quarter with the Cowboys clinging to a 24-17 lead. On 2nd-and-8 from inside the 20, Gallimore again shows off great speed and also technique with a stutter step and swim move on the center, splitting him and the right guard and batting down a pass to force a third and long.
Neville Gallimore beats the double team.#OUDNA | #DallasCowboys pic.twitter.com/gpKhjAKR35
— Sooner Gridiron (@soonergridiron) December 20, 2020
Gallimore finished with a season-high five tackles (one tackle for loss), a pass deflection, and a quarterback hit.
This isn’t the first time Gallimore has shown he can be a big-time contributor on the Cowboys defense.
In his second career start against the Pittsburgh Steelers in Week 9, he graded out as one of the best interior defensive linemen in the NFL in terms of run defense grade, run stops, and run stop percentage according to Pro Football Focus.
The Cowboys potentially have a solid four-man rotation set up for 2021 on the interior defensive line with Gallimore, Antwaun Woods, Eli Ankou, and a healthy Trysten Hill. Of course, they’ll still need to address it in free agency and the draft, but that’s a pretty good starting point.
Gallimore has two more games (possibly more if the Cowboys make the playoffs) to make an impact in what’s been a respectable rookie campaign. He’s taken full advantage of his opportunities and looks like a great building block for the Cowboy’s interior defensive line going forward.
[vertical-gallery id=660700][listicle id=660678][lawrence-newsletter]