The Dallas Cowboys' defense actually looked like it had some identity and life in their blowout win against the Washington Commanders. After loud calls to end the Matt Eberflus experiment, it seems like Sunday's win bought him more time to fix the defense.
Da'Ron Bland, the pick-six king, returned another interception for a touchdown, and Kenneth Murray had arguably his best game as a Cowboy. Even Jadeveon Clowney got in on the party with five tackles, a sack, and a fumble recovery.
It was clear that something needed to change, and Cowboys fans should be proud of the way the defense performed, but they also need to take note of how Eberflus reacted to a specific play.
After Washington missed a fourth-down conversion in the second quarter, the FOX broadcast showed Eberflus fired up, yelling, "Let's go!" as he was celebrated by other coaches on the Dallas sideline. Eberflus is not a coach who shows much emotion during games, so it was refreshing to see him bust out of his shell and celebrate a big stop from his defense.
Matt Eberflus' passion is exactly what Cowboys fans wanted to see
Obviously, it's not a rarity to see coaches get pumped up, but Cowboys fans hadn't seen Eberflus fired up to that extent since becoming presiding over Dallas' defense. Just watching him show even a semblance of emotion illustrated how much he cares about his job.
Beyond showing some internal fire, Eberflus made some long-overdue changes to his game plan. The Cowboys' DC brought more blitz packages and dialed up more man coverage, which made a huge difference. Haters will make light of the defense's performance because Washington was without star wide receivers Terry McLaurin and Deebo Samuel, but they made Jayden Daniels highly uncomfortable before he exited with a hamstring injury.
Eberflus' excitement - and willingness to adapt - is exactly what Cowboys fans want to see. It was nice to see energy as if his job was on the line. Some coaches can be mild-mannered, which is fine, but Eberflus clearly heard the noise from last week's embarrassment from the Panthers game, and he answered with authority.
This is what the Cowboys can look like regularly if they execute just a tad more on defense. They don't have to be the best defensive team in the world, but just don't be the worst, especially with Dak Prescott playing at an MVP level and the offense putting up points at will.