The Dallas Cowboys defense looked better in the second half of the loss to the Eagles on Thursday night, but one issue we knew would happen was the lack of a pass rush, still a lot of positives outside the first half. The delay could have had something to do with it also.
Still, the linebackers for the Dallas Cowboys and the secondary played well, but one name that should be earning more snaps is second-year guy Marist Liufau.
He got most of his run on special teams, but I saw nothing but good things and he is clearly earning his chance.
A Lot Of Bodies
The Cowboys line backing core has a lot of bodies, so I get it may be hard to get the snap count up, but still, Liufau is the most athletic guy they have at that spot.
Get him on the field!
Cowboys HC Brian Schottenheimer was asked about LB Marist Liufau playing only six defensive snaps. “Marist is earning those rights to play more.”
I think the issue maybe he is still understanding the defense completely, a little like Jalen Tolbert went through even though that was his rookie year.
They see him in practice every single day. There is a reason for it, just like when Mazi Smith was a healthy inactive. They know more than we do.
Here was the #Cowboys LB snap count in week one out of 62 possible snaps:
Kenneth Murray Jr. – 62
Jack Sanborn – 47
Damone Clark – 41
Marist Liufau – 6I’m having a tough time wrapping my head around that number for Liufau. https://t.co/02EjURtZRY
— Nick Harris (@NickHarrisFWST) September 5, 2025
I was not impressed with Kenneth Murray, but he is the green dot, so I don’t see him losing any of his snaps anytime soon.
Liufau’s explosiveness and ability to close space quickly could help Dallas contain those scramble lanes that Hurts repeatedly exploited.
The Eagles exposed a vulnerability in the Cowboys’ linebacker corps, being a half-step slow on key downs, and Liufau could be the answer. His limited usage on defense does not reflect his upside.
The Giants are so bad that the Cowboys may be able to try a few things out and see what works, because once this game is over on Sunday, they have the Bears and Packers back to back.
Both sides of the ball are going to need to be ready for those two games. We will see how the Bears look tonight, but the Packers looked good, or the Lions just don’t have it anymore and missed their window.
Either way, I think we all liked what we saw in the second half from the defense, so hopefully that will contuine going forward.
