FRISCO, Texas — The emotion of the day weighed intensely upon the heart of the Dallas Cowboys as a collective, and DeMarvion Overshown as a close friend of Marshawn Kneeland, working to balance grief over the loss of someone he considered his brother with the excitement of returning to the field for the first time since tearing his ACL last December.
Initially thought to be on a pitch count in his return to action, Overshown instead racked up 31 total snaps in the Cowboys' plundering of the Las Vegas Raiders on Monday Night Football, more than half of the defensive reps tallied at Allegiant Stadium — carrying Kneeland's spirit with him every step of the way.
"Being around my brothers helped a lot. It kept me smiling the whole game and I was doing what I do — keeping the energy up and running around," said Overshown. "… We've been telling ourselves for the past week and a half that we're playing for him. If it takes seeing that jersey on the sideline to remember what we're doing, our brother is on the sideline with us, whether that's figuratively or spiritually.
"He's there, so having his jersey out there is the least we can do. We know Marshawn is out there on the field with us."
One thing that helped Overshown, newcomer Logan Wilson and every other linebacker fly around in Vegas was the debut and dominance of First-team All-Pro defensive tackle Quinnen Williams, a lights-out performance delivered by the three-time Pro Bowler.
"Bro, you ain't gotta worry about me," Overshown said Williams told him before adding even more spice to it: "I got [you]. I'm telling you, I'm a dawg. They gotta block me because I'm gonna get to the ball. You're gonna be free."
There's no denying that when it comes to Williams, the same can be said about Overshown when he's healthy, and now that he is, there's a ceilingless potential for his future with the Cowboys. Against the Raiders, Overshown played as if his hair was on fire, one play in particular leaping off of the film from the Cowboys' statement win in Nevada.
It was when Geno Smith was under duress and checked the pass down to Ashton Jeanty in the flat, knowing the rookie running back and former Heisman candidate made a name for himself at Boise State for making defenders miss in space, but not with Overshown patrolling.
The latter exploded to the sideline and broke down to make a clean tackle on Jeanty, disallowing a single yard after the reception, and it was at that moment everyone understood exactly how back Overshown was/is.
It's the second time he's returned from a torn ACL and with zero rust, so what's his magic pill to avoid needing the same grace so many others require when coming back from a devastating injury?
"Look, it's really been every day. I give myself situations and challenges to overcome," he explained with his trademark smile dressing his face. "Throughout this whole process, I knew I was going to be a football player again. I knew I was going to be the linebacker I was before. It was just, 'How do I attack every day to get back to that point?'
"It's a confidence thing, knowing that you're one of those dudes that's supposed to make that play and then go make that play. I didn't really think twice about it at all when I saw [Jeanty] out in the open field because I'm aware of my abilities. I ain't losing [any] steps. … It felt good to be out there, though, and now you're going into a short week [with] the Eagles coming into town."
Needless to say, two things are true of Overshown and the Cowboys' new-look defense: they are effectively on the right track after having rarely, if ever, being on it through the first nine games, and there are much bigger tests on the way over the remainder of the schedule.
The first of those major exams comes by way of the Philadelphia Eagles this coming Sunday, and then Patrick Mahomes and the Kansas City Chiefs only four days later on Thanksgiving, for starters, and then the Detroit Lions await them at Ford Field just one week later.
But, again, there's a very real spark now for Dallas' defense.
"That was the first time the defense played together," Overshown said. "It's only up from here. I already know what our offense is gonna do, but the defense is only up from here."
