After the first two games of the 2021 season, there are a few things that have surprised many fans and pundits alike, myself included. The most surprising is that the Dallas Cowboys defense, led by Defensive Coordinator Dan Quinn, are leading the NFL in turnovers. For a team that gave up a whooping 473 points in 2020, improvement on the defensive side of the ball was much needed and creating more turnovers was a huge priority for this unit.
In only 2 games so far, the Cowboys have have had 6 takeaways. That’s good enough to lead the league and 2 clear of the next closest teams the Patriots and Texans. If you were to tell me at the beginning of the season that the Dallas Cowboys defense would be leading the league in that category, I would have responded: “You must be joking right?” Well, this is no joke. It is as real as it gets and it is welcome news for Cowboys fans who have endured year after year of ineptitude when it comes to creating turnovers.
To put it in perspective just how much of an improvement they have made in that department, the Cowboys didn’t record their 6th turnover until week 8 of the 2020 season. The Cowboys have recorded four interceptions and recovered two fumbles. Last year they didn’t register their fourth interception until Game 10. They finished the season with a total of 10, which was the most they had in six seasons previous seasons. Takeaways are important, but protecting the ball on offense is equally important. Last year, the Cowboys were in the bottom half of the league in terms of overall turnover ratio. This season, the offense has only turned the ball over twice. The overall +4 turnover ratio currently leads the league. Pretty impressive results for Dan Quinn and the Dallas Cowboys defense after only 2 games.
Two of the Cowboys four interceptions belong to second year cornerback and rising star Trevon Diggs. I’m not suggesting Diggs will continue on his current pace and end up with 17 int’s by season’s end; (enough to shatter Dick “Night Train” Lane’s NFL record) but, in the first ever 17 game season, maybe he can challenge for Everson Wall’s franchise record of 11.
The Dallas Cowboys offense was never a concern coming into the 2021 season. The priority this offseason was all about improving the defense. The team hired Dan Quinn and drafted a slew of defensive players in an attempt to transform the Dallas Cowboys defense from a liability to a functional unit. From bottom of the barrel, to middle of the pack. Nobody expected the Cowboys defense to improve to such an extent that it would become a dominant defensive unit overnight. But, maybe, just maybe, this defense is on the cusp of greatness. Going back as far as the second half of last season, the Cowboys have had 22 takeaways for a +14 turnover ratio in their last 9 games. That is a pretty decent sample size and the Cowboys are trending in the right direction. The Dallas Cowboys defense is beginning to believe in themselves once again, and that makes the 2021 Dallas Cowboys a dangerous team.
*Photo by Joe Glorioso; https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/2.0/legalcode