The Dallas Cowboys defense proved once and for all that, while there are pieces here, the whole puzzle won’t be put together this year. Still, there were some bright spots on this side of the ball in their Week 8 44-24 loss to the Denver Broncos. 

Let’s take a look at the top two performers on that side of the ball according to PFF, as well as which player struggled the most. Each player mentioned played a minimum of 25 snaps. 

Donovan Ezeiruaku, DE, 79.8

The second-round rookie continued his ascent this week, totaling three pressures and two hurries while posting a career-best 86.6 pass rushing grade. This comes on the heels of back-to-back weeks with a pass rushing grade of 71 or higher. 

While it would be great to see EZ get home more often, he’s creating consistent pressure, recording three or more in four straight games. If he can continue to do that, the sacks will come. 

Jadeveon Clowney, DE, 77.5

Showing up in this piece for the second straight week, Clowney had an inverse of his Week 7 performance. After posting a pass rushing grade of 88.6 and a run defense grade of 67.1 against the Washington Commanders, he had a stellar run defense grade of 81.8 while struggling to a 52.1 pass rushing grade against the Broncos, his worst of the season. 

While it was well known upon signing Clowney that the former first overall pick was always more of a good-not-great pass rusher and sound run defender, the team likely hoped for more of an effective effort at pressuring the quarterback. Still, the overall product has been a net positive, something that is in short supply for the Cowboys defense. 

Trikweze Bridges, CB, 27.8

After posting a 67.3 overall grade in Week 7, including a 66.1 mark in coverage in 53 snaps, there was some optimism that the rookie could take another step forward. Instead, he took more than a few backwards. 

By giving up seven catches on 13 targets for 102 yards and two touchdowns on his way to a 27.4 coverage grade, Bridges showed that the flashes he showed in Week 7 were simply that, as opposed to the overall product that he could bring week in and week out. 

If Dallas ever falls out of contention to the extent of making this season an evaluation tool, then perhaps Bridges could get more runs, as he’s under team control for three more years. But, as long as the Cowboys are nominally trying to be competitive this year, then he should likely not be seeing significant snaps, regardless of the health of the rest of the secondary.