
2. Tarrell Basham and Chauncey Golston show their value
Everyone was expecting the Cowboys to make a move at the NFL Trade Deadline and they did, trading for Jonathan Hankins. The other move they made was releasing defensive tackle Trysten Hill after trying to trade him. While the move isn’t going to be seen as a big one, it does give the Cowboys the ability to move their defensive ends inside on passing downs to create pressure up the middle.
Cowboys sack leaders through Week 8:
— RJ Ochoa (@rjochoa) October 31, 2022
- Micah Parsons, 8
- Dorance Armstrong, 5
- DeMarcus Lawrence, 4
- Dante Fowler, 4
- Donovan Wilson, 3
- Osa Odighizuwa, 2
- Sam Williams, 2
- L. Vander Esch, 1
- Jayron Kearse, 1
- Jourdan Lewis, 1
- Neville Gallimore, 1
- Chauncey Golston, 1
Dan Quinn’s play calling has been all about creating matchup issues with his defensive line and with Hill now gone the Cowboys are able to add another defensive end on the game-day roster. Look for him to use Demarcus Lawrence and Chauncey Golston more inside to collapse the pocket on Rodgers and Basham to fill the left defensive end spot they are vacating. Basham has been a solid run defender for Dallas, so having him on the edge shouldn’t hurt the Cowboys.
He’s also been effective in getting pressure on the quarterback when rushing the passer so he shouldn’t be a liability there either for Quinn.