For the first time all year, the Dallas Cowboys put together a complimentary, complete performance on defense in their Week 5 37-22 win against the New York Jets. We’ll take a look at the top two PFF grades on this side of the ball, as well as the lowest for accountability’s sake. As a reminder, we’re only looking at guys that played a minimum of 20 snaps. 

Dante Fowler, DE, 86.3

Fowler has been the subject of many fans’ ire, although that scorn may have been unearned. His lowest grade all season was in Week 4 against the Green Bay Packers when he recorded an overall 54.6 grade. Going into Sunday, he’d actually had two grades higher than a 73, showing that he so far had a respectable floor and very good ceiling. 

His performance on Sunday blew all of those out of the water though, as he recorded his first sack of the year, four hits, a hurry, and six total tackles for an 86.3 overall grade. Most notably, he had his highest pass rush grade of the year at 84.2.

The Cowboys pass rush has been much maligned, and rightfully so. However, if Fowler can truly start to turn a corner, then perhaps the floor of the unit is higher than we expected. 

Kaiir Elam, CB, 74.0

For the second week in a row, a struggling Dallas cornerback posted his best PFF grade of the year after having his role reduced. Following in the steps of Trevon Diggs in Week 4, Elam had his highest quality performance while playing his lowest snap total of the year.

In  34 total snaps, Elam gave up no catches on four targets, leading to a 74.1 coverage grade. Before Sunday, his highest grade in that area was a 63.6 mark in Week 1, with the lowest coming in at 37.7 in an abysmal Week 3 showing. 

The Cowboys’ corner group seems to finally be stabilizing, with DaRon Bland, Diggs, and Reddy Steward at least providing a higher floor the last two weeks than what had been previously shown early on in the season. 

If Elam can continue at this level in a reduced role, the ceiling may have been raised as well. 

Jadeveon Clowney, DE, 48.9

There are bound to be ups and downs as Clowney continues to ramp up after not signing until three weeks ago. After a promising team debut against the Packers that included a 72.0 overall grade, his 48.9 mark is a bit of a letdown. 

With that in mind, it’s a grade likely dragged down by a penalty he committed and his run defense grade, as his pass rushing and tackling grades were actually both higher. This game is likely the absolute floor for Clowney and, as he gets his feet under him, a floor he’s unlikely to approach again.