FRISCO, Texas — Kenny Clark arrived by way of the Dallas Cowboys' decision to trade Micah Parsons ahead of regular season kickoff, and the veteran defensive tackle got off to a roaring start for a needy defensive unit. And with the addition of fellow three-time Pro Bowl defensive tackle Quinnen Williams via trade at the deadline, opposing teams are discovering something.
They can no longer simply hand the ball off and run all over the Cowboys, and they also can't enjoy a comfortable pocket that remains fairly clean, save for some pressure from the edges, on occasion. As Clark readily explained heading into the upcoming primetime matchup against the Detroit Lions, the defensive front in Dallas is in a new era of dominance.
"We're all students of the game and just understand the angles, and just how to play," he said about the instant chemistry between himself, Williams, Osa Odighizuwa and Solomon Thomas.
"I mean, we are all physical, and we all bring something different to the table," Clark added. "And I just think we're just all playing off of each other. Depending on who you double team, or whatever the case may be, we do a good job at winning our one-on-one and getting pressure. … We're winning on first and second down, getting guys to drop back situations, and we're expected to win when we do that."
And they've been doing exactly that, an interior unit that generates more pressure than does many edge units around the league, and the run defense has been one of the best in the league through the three-game win streak since exiting the bye week.
"You get pressure up the middle, I mean, that's the toughest pressure for those quarterbacks," Clark said. "I mean, you get pressure on the edge, you can step up and all that kind of stuff. So getting in their face and just disrupting throws, disrupting their timing — that's huge."
They'll look to keep the good time rolling against the Lions, but that won't be a cake walk, or even a cupcake jog, given just how scrappy and gritty the Dan Campbell-led Lions are — along with the fact there's no love lost between these two teams over the past two seasons.
Though this will be Clark's (and Williams', and Thomas') first taste of what has become of the Cowboys-Lions budding rivalry, they all understand the assignment. It's essentially a playoff game for both teams, a mode the Cowboys have been in since their Week 11 victory over the Las Vegas Raiders; and they've since mounted a historic comeback over the Philadelphia Eagles and, just four days later, on Thanksgiving, took down Patrick Mahomes and the Kansas City Chiefs.
But while that's great news as they get hot at the right time, none of it will matter to a Lions team that's lost three of their last five games and are clawing for a playoff berth as well.
"It's a lot of good momentum, but it don't mean nothing if we don't go out and handle business," said the three-time Pro Bowler. "We gotta wash all that away, what we did. It's week-to-week, and we got to just keep on proving ourselves, and getting ourselves out of the hole."
The mission: be lion tamers on Thursday.
