Over the past three weeks, no one in the NFL has been better at taking the ball away than the Dallas Cowboys.
That’s a staggering realization for anyone who watched this defense during the months of September and October; the Cowboys defense intercepted exactly one pass and recovered exactly one fumble through their first seven games of 2020.
The current three-game win streak, though, has told a different story. Three recovered fumbles against Cincinnati. Two fumble recoveries, two interceptions against San Francisco. And Sunday, a pair of picks and a fumble recovered against Philadelphia.
There’s much that’s improved over the past month for Dallas. But head coach Mike McCarthy points to those takeaways- accompanied by just one turnover by the Cowboys offense in the last three outings- as the main reason for the team’s back-to-back-to-back wins.
“It’s huge,” McCarthy told reporters in his postgame press conference. “I think it’s the number one statistical component of our success. I’ve always felt that way. It’s going the way it’s supposed to go. I think we had four fumbles out; we recovered one… Our guys are doing a great job putting themselves in position to take the ball away and being aggressive with it. We’ve just got to stay after it. The last three weeks, the numbers speak for themselves. It’s clearly the identity that we want to play to.”
“The defense is definitely the catalyst,” running back Ezekiel Elliott concurred. “When they force those turnovers, when they take the ball away, it puts us in good field position to go score.”
Every football coaching staff everywhere preaches the importance of takeaways. They were supposed to be a key ingredient of the Cowboys’ 2020 defensive unit under new coordinator Mike Nolan. But between the new staff, a new scheme, a host of new players, and practically no in-person offseason program in which to bring those things together, it’s taken some time for it all to gel in Dallas.
“I think it just shows how resilient we are,” defensive end Randy Gregory told media members Sunday. “We’re hard workers. We take pride in our work. I think we’ve been a lot more consistent in our play. Guys are really believing in their play on the field, the cohesiveness is getting a lot better, and people are showing up. I know a lot of guys are proud, and we’ll continue to do this until the end of the regular season.”
Gregory had plenty to take pride in after Sunday’s 37-17 win. The Nebraska product missed the entire 2019 season due to suspension, and played in just two games over the 2016 and 2017 campaigns. He’s had quite a journey to get back onto the field. He rewarded the Cowboys for their patience with six tackles on Sunday. Three were solo, but Gregory also added 1.5 sacks and 2.5 tackles for loss, a pass breakup, and two quarterback hits. Both of those forced Jalen Hurts fumbles. One was recovered by Dallas late as Philadelphia tried to mount a comeback.
“It was one of my better games,” the former second-round draft pick said. “I think for the average viewer, they get stuck on the stats. I think I showed up there in the box score; that makes a lot of people happy. Me, along with a lot of other guys, we’re never satisfied in our work. Still more to do, still more to get better at. That’s what we’ll do this upcoming week to prepare for the Giants.”
Takeaways may not come easily against New York. Despite their losing record, Jason Garrett’s offensive unit has been effective at protecting the ball, especially recently. Giants passers have not thrown an interception in their past three games; their ballcarriers have lost zero fumbles since December 13.
For Gregory and his suddenly-opportunistic Dallas teammates, it all comes down to continuing to do what they’ve been working on all season long. As the past three weeks have shown, takeaways are contagious. Now that the Cowboys defense has gotten a taste, they hope to compound them for one more game to earn an improbable postseason berth.
“Guys are making plays. Guys are stepping up,” Gregory explained. “It’s not like we don’t have that ability; I think it’s always been there. Guys just have to go out there and seize the opportunity.”
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