FRISCO, Texas – The Cowboys have invested heavily in their offensive line in recent years, looking to carry on the tradition of strong play at the position dating all the way back to The Great Wall of Dallas, The Wall 2.0, and so on and so forth.
One of their biggest returns on investment has been Tyler Smith, a first round pick out of Tulsa in 2022. He's been coined the next in line to lead the Cowboys' next chapter of offensive line greatness, and the next opportunity to do so comes Sunday against a stout Denver Broncos defense that Smith is impressed by.
"I think they've got dynamic guys on the line," Smith said. "I think they know their strengths, they know their weaknesses. One thing that they really harp on is ball get off, I think that's something that their defensive line coach and other people around their organization kind of harp on is getting off the ball and affecting the passer."
"So I think it's just on us to be on our keys and fundamentals and make sure that we're doing the stuff that we're trained to do."
Earlier in the week, QB Dak Prescott discussed how this was a game that the Cowboys would need to "win dirty," speaking in terms of grit going against an equally gritty, grimy Denver team that's always hard-nosed.
Smith views the matchup the same way, and trusts he and his teammates are prepared for any situation that arises on Sunday.
"There's definitely games where you know it's going to be more physical," Smith said. "I think physicality is always gonna be the name of the game. I think we're an extremely physical offense, I think they're an extremely physical defense, so I think ultimately it'll come down to who fights longer."
"And I know the people we got in our corner, the guys I got on my left and my right, we're gonna fight all game. Even if it goes after four quarters, we can do that too."
Does Smith prefer the grimy, gritty, even "dirty" type of games, or does he favor, well, whatever the opposite of that would be?
"Something that I've learned playing football is you shouldn't expect anything," Smith said. "You should be prepared for anything. I think that's the way I play ball. I'm preparing for a game whether it's going to go, we might blow somebody out by 40 or it might be a dog fight all game. You go into the arena with the mindset that no matter what, as long as we get this win at the end of the day, I'll do whatever it takes."
One of the things that it could take, aside from holding up for Dak Prescott's against a Broncos defense that leads the league in sacks, is a strong showing on the ground from Javonte Williams.
Williams is making his return to Denver after spending the first four years of his career with the Broncos. He downplayed his emotions on the trip back to face the team that drafted him in the second-round in 2021. Naturally though, as a competitor, anybody would have a little bit of extra juice, and Smith wants to be able to help open up the run lanes for him to have a big day.
"I'm carrying a neutral mindset regardless, but obviously I do feel like there'll probably be emotions in this for him," Smith said. "That was his first team. But I'm extremely glad to have him here, and I want to go out there and showcase the special back that he is on Sunday. I want to do my part in making sure that he can do that, for sure."
