(Editor's Note: Time to check the mail! The DallasCowboys.com staff writers answer your questions here in 'Mailbag' presented by Miller Lite.)
I'm loving this five-man front the Cowboys are utilizing. They stopped the Eagles run game and shut down Jalen Hurts, a quarterback who has been criticized for not being aggressive enough. But there's definitely no such criticism about the Chiefs' Patrick Mahomes, who is mobile and will sling it around with the best of them. Do you see the Cowboys doing anything different defensively to contain him? – Michael Simmons/Houston, TX
Patrik: This is never an easy question when the topic is Patrick Mahomes. Here's what we know: Mahomes is the king of improvisation and not because he's the fastest quarterback when he takes off and runs, but because everybody knows the downfield opportunity isn't deleted until he crosses the line of scrimmage and, by that time, he's already gained five or more yards before someone peels off of coverage to get to him. This, for me, is where Logan Wilson and especially DeMarvion Overshown come into play. Of course, and it goes without saying, the first line of defense is literally the defensive line, so Quinnen Williams, Kenny Clark, Osa Odighizuwa and Solomon Thomas need to collapse the interior to disrupt his timing and to force him off his spot; but that's not enough.
The edge rushers and linebackers (e.g., Wilson, Overshown) then need to hunt him like cheetah stalking prey — don't react too soon or it's a completion over the middle but when it's time to break on him, do it with lightning speed, something Overshown is known for. The secondary will need to find a way to frustrate and delete Travis Kelce as well, Mahomes' security blanket, and win the turnover battle ... a must in this game. Oh, and leave the penalties in the parking lot.
Mailbag
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