The Dallas Cowboys are still scrambling for answers on defense after they allowed 40 points to Jordan Love and the Packers, including five straight scoring drives from the third quarter through overtime.
Despite that, Matt Eberflus seemingly doesn't have any plans to tweak his scheme. Star cornerback Trevon Diggs, who was a first-team All-Pro and an interception champ as a man corner, would like to play more man coverage. While Eberflus said he values Diggs' opinion, he also stated the defense is "growing as a group" and "there's improvement in the play."
If that made you roll your eyes, Eberlfus finally admitted that James Houston should be getting more playing time.
Cowboys' DC Matt Eberflus finally concedes that James Houston deserves more snaps
Our only question is, how did it take a full month for Eberflus to come to this realization? It goes back to Eberflus not knowing his personnel and trying to fit square pegs into round holes, like deploying Donovan Wilson as the last line of defense. Coverage has never been Wilson's forte.
Houston has been the Cowboys' best EDGE this season. Donovan Ezeiruaku came on strong last week against the Packers, but Houston has been more consistent.
The 26-year-old leads the team with two sacks, and he changed the game vs. Green Bay with a strip-sack of Jordan Love that led to Dak Prescott's touchdown pass to George Pickens before halftime that gave the Cowboys their first lead of the game.
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Houston also leads Dallas with a 78.7 pass-rush grade, and he's first amongst EDGEs with a 13.8 percent pass-rush win rate, per Pro Football Focus.
It's obvious to everyone that Houston deserves to be soaring up the depth chart, if not starting outright. And yet, he's just 18th on the team in total snaps through four games with only 60, per PFF. That's 81 fewer than Sam Williams, who's posted a paltry 8.3 percent pass-rush win rate, and 47 fewer than Marshawn Kneeland, the next closest EDGE.
Eberflus should be starting Jadeveon Clowney and Houston. Marshawn Kneeland will get plenty of burn because of the physicality he offers against the run, but Clowney, Houston, and Ezeiruaku need to be leading the snap share.
It is a perfect and sad encapsulation of the Cowboys' season so far that Eberflus is just now realizing that Houston deserves more playing time. He'd better put that into practice this Sunday.