Cowboys' Jayron Kearse Preaches 'Play Our Brand' vs. Vikings; 2 D-Lineman OUT - Injury Practice Report
The Dallas Cowboys will have to pick themselves up after the gut-wrenching loss to the Green Bay Packers as they face another NFC North team in the Minnesota Vikings on Sunday.
Cowboys' safety Jayron Kearse knows the challenges the 8-1 Vikings present after last season's matchup and stated that if the much-vaunted defense "plays our brand," it can compete with any team in the league.
"We just have to play our ball," Kearse said. "We can play with anybody in this league as long as we're playing our brand of football. And if we're not playing our brand of football, then show our three losses. That's just what it boils down to."
The biggest issue on defense through nine games for Dallas has been stopping the run and on Sunday, they will again face a team that can run the ball as well as anyone, thanks to running back Dalvin Cook.
After the Cowboys' defense went their first five games with only conceding one offensive touchdown, since the Week 6 loss to the Philadelphia Eagles that saw them surrender 20 first-half points, the defense hasn't looked the same since (Detroit Lions game aside).
In the last two games, the Dallas defense has given up four touchdowns to both the Chicago Bears and the Green Bay Packers.
That is not - the players insist - the Cowboys' "brand.''
Along with conceding eight touchdowns in two games (three rushing touchdowns), defending the run has been an arduous task. The Bears rushed for 240 yards and the Packers for 207 yards.
Cook is up next and more than capable of more of the same.
For Kearse, the answer to the unit's inability to stop the run is simple: Everyone do your job. Oh, and stay healthy; check out Dallas' Thursday injury/practice report here ...
"Everybody just has to do their job," Kearse said, echoing the scolding administered to his teammates by Micah Parsons. "[Don't] try to do too much, just do your job. If every single individual does their job, we'll take care of the run."
Defensive coordinator Dan Quinn was "pissed" after his unit's efforts against the Eagles in Week 6. One can only imagine what he is feeling in the wake of the collapse at Lambeau Field.
Quinn wanted that "ass-kicking" performance from start to finish, but in the last two games, it has been Quinn's unit getting its tails whipped.
The danger, of course, is that the Dallas defense becomes "branded'' with such failures.
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