Overall, the season opener was obviously a rough one for the Dallas Cowboys defense, as the unit surrendered four touchdowns and 394 yards of total offense to the New York Giants. But there was at least a sign of better things to come in the form of first-round pick Caleb Downs.
Making his pro debut, the Ohio State product got his first real taste of NFL action after playing only six snaps in the preseason, which was actually more than most of the Cowboys' starters. Said Downs of the experience, "It's a high-intensity game, and they have elite talent over there. So do we, so it was intense."
Starting in the slot, he finished the night tied for first on the team with four solo tackles while also tying for fourth with seven takedowns overall. Most notably, Downs had the highlight of the game for the Cowboys defense, blitzing past the right tackle to lay a crushing blow on Giants quarterback Jaxson Dart for a sack and forced fumble.
Still, whatever satisfaction he might have been able to take from his individual effort was overshadowed by the Cowboys' disappointing performance in general.
"I mean, at the end of the day, in football it always just comes down to who does their job better," Downs said. "We've got to do our jobs better as a defense and as a team. We get that fixed, and we'll be good."
Much like last season, there seemed to be confusion in the secondary on several plays, and Giants tight end Isaiah Likely had a field day, finishing with eight catches for a game-high 78 yards and two touchdowns. New York also converted 82% of its third-down attempts and was 4-for-4 in the red zone.
"That's always frustrating as a defense when you don't get off the field," Downs said. "I mean, that's part of the job, and we didn't do it at a high level today."
Which perhaps shouldn't be a big surprise. In truth, he and the defense are still trying to find their footing under coordinator Christian Parker's new scheme.
"We'll watch the film, talk about it, then you watch the Commanders film and (this game) is over with," Downs said. "I mean, we'll see what we did wrong, execute what we need to fix, and then go back and do it better during the week so that we can perform better on Sunday."
