It’s hard to get excited about anything right now when it comes to the Dallas Cowboys. Sitting at 3-4-1, they are quickly falling behind the Philadelphia Eagles in the NFC East, and a push to make the playoffs seems almost laughable to discuss.
Sunday was the third time in the last seven weeks that they allowed 40 or more points, and it sure feels like the defense is multiple off-seasons away from contending. And yet, there was one bright spot in Week 8 that should help this unit get back on track at some point. That is none other than Donovan Ezeiruaku, the second-round pick from Boston College.
Cowboys rookie Donovan Ezeiruaku had another strong performance in Week 8
If you just looked at the box score, it seemed like a day to forget for Ezeiruaku. He finished the day with one tackle and one quarterback hit. But anyone watching the game knows that he had an impact. Ezeiruaku created multiple quick pressures, but the failure of the secondary ultimately led Bo Nix to have wide-open receivers that negated his pass-rush wins.
Ezeiruaku was the team’s highest-graded defender in Week 8, according to Pro Football Focus, after racking up at least three pressures for the fourth-straight week. While he needs to do a better job of converting some of those pressures into sacks, there is only so much he can do when the quarterbacks are getting rid of the football so quickly against Dallas.
The good news for Dallas is that Ezeiruaku is starting to stack strong weeks together, and that has led him to be PFF’s No. 5-ranked EDGE rusher in the NFL since Week 4. He is one spot behind Micah Parsons over the last month of the season in over grade:
#Cowboys EDGE Donovan Ezeiruaku is @PFF's No. 5-ranked EDGE rusher since Week 4. pic.twitter.com/Yk782gEc8P
— Marcus Mosher (@Marcus_Mosher) October 27, 2025
Ezeiruaku isn’t a full-time player yet and that’s because he is still having problems stopping the run. Unfortunately, that’s the case with every other defensive end on the roster right now. But it might be time for the Cowboys to ramp up his snaps on defense because he is creating pressure and no one else is at the moment.
The Cowboys need to add 5-6 quality defensive players in the following offseason to field a competitive unit. But if Ezeiruaku can continue to develop at this rate, maybe pass-rush won’t be *as* big of a need in 2026 and beyond. Even in a season that feels lost, watching Ezeiruaku’s growth and development should be fun in the second half of the year.