Stopping the run has been a problem for the Dallas Cowboys over what we will refer to as this little “run” that they are on. To be clear, the run in question is the three consecutive playoff seasons. The 2021-2023 seasons were ended by the San Francisco 49ers twice before the Green Bay Packers added their name to the list. There is a Wild Card win over the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in Tom Brady’s last-ever game also included.

In the first two playoff losses the Cowboys were mostly bounced because of their inability to defend the run. In the latter they were bounced because of pretty much everything possible. Needless to say that stopping opposing teams on the ground when it matters most has been an issue for this group.

Jerry Jones believes the Cowboys defense is already better against the run
Over the stretch of the 2022 regular season it became clear that linebacker Leighton Vander Esch was one of the more critical pieces on the team when it came to defending the run. While he was out Dan Quinn’s group struggled mightily, although his return didn’t prove to be the total answer.

But Vander Esch is now officially retired while Quinn is off with the Washington Commanders, poaching people he worked with while in Dallas every other second. The Cowboys have brought in one external free agent so far in Eric Kendricks and he theoretically replaces Vander Esch, but they have lost notable names in this realm like Johnathan Hankins as one example.

Nevertheless, Jerry believes that they are better off than when we last saw them.

Jerry Jones said the Cowboys expect to better against the run because a different alignment on defense. He said they are already better at linebacker with Eric Kendricks and Overshown https://t.co/xUjCPwlhQs

— Clarence Hill Jr (@clarencehilljr) March 24, 2024

Jerry specifically mentioned DeMarvion Overshown as part of the reason for his optimism in this sense (alongside Kendricks of course). Counting on a second-year player who technically does not have any live action NFL experience all while they are coming off of a torn ACL is a bit of a bold move, but one that many of us assumed the Cowboys would make.

Jerry also made reference to defensive alignment for this belief, the idea being that Mike Zimmer’s defense will be more aligned to stop the run. Quinn’s defense seemed focused on disrupting the passing game with the running game of secondary importance. Having Kendrick’s on board who is very familiar with Zimmer’s scheme should help somewhat in the installation of the defense for 2024.

Time will tell whether or not Jerry is right in that Dallas is better in this capacity. For what it is worth,their jobs became more difficult in free agency when the Philadelphia Eagles signed Saquon Barkley. They were not the only team to add a runner in the division either as the New York Giants (who obviously lost Barkley) signed Devin Singletary while the Washington Commanders brought in Austin Ekeler. Everything got more difficult all the way around.