Cowboys’ Trevon Diggs tears ACL: Why losing top CB may not be as big a blow to Dallas’ defense as it seems

The 2023 NFL season, thru two weeks, used to be going completely for the Dallas Cowboys … too completely. 

Dallas leads the NFL in a few classes: issues scored (70), issues allowed (10), level differential (+60), giveaways (0), takeaways (seven), turnover margin (plus-seven), overall yards consistent with recreation allowed (193.0), yards consistent with play allowed (3.5), crimson zone landing share allowed (0 p.c), sacks (10, tied with the Commanders), quarterback force charge (63.6%) and passer ranking allowed (34.2). 

Cowboys Pro Bowl and 2021 First-Team All-Pro cornerback Trevon Diggs published Dallas believes that no different group within the league can if truth be told defeat them in the event that they play a blank ballgame following Week 2. 

“If we don’t shoot ourselves in the foot, no one can beat us,” Diggs said Sunday after the group’s 30-10 victory over the New York Jets.

To no fault of his personal, Diggs’ phrases ended up as ominous foreshadowing since he and the Cowboys have long past thru some large misfortune. 

The 25-year-old, who celebrated his birthday on Wednesday, suffered an damage throughout a one-on-one consultation in follow on Thursday and used to be noticed within the locker room on crutches in a while. NFL Media then reported an MRI showed Diggs tore his ACL, inflicting him to pass over the rest of the 2023 season. CBS Sports Lead NFL insider Jonathan Jones also confirmed the report. 

The group made it official Thursday afternoon:

Cornerback Trevon Diggs suffered a left knee damage throughout nowadays’s follow. A next MRI used to be carried out that showed a torn ACL. A timetable for Diggs’ go back to play has not been established, however he’s recently projected to pass over the rest of the present season.  

The 2020 second-round choose, whose 18 interceptions since getting into the league 3 years in the past lead the NFL and whose 52 passes defended rank as the second one maximum within the NFL, signed a five-year, $97 million contract extension with the Cowboys early on in coaching camp, a deal that holds a max worth of $104 million. This season, Diggs had allowed completions on best two of the 8 passes thrown his means with one interception, no touchdowns allowed and a league-leading 0.0 passer ranking on 98 snaps. 

While losing a Pro Bowl, All-Pro-caliber cornerback would be catastrophic for many groups, the Cowboys are uniquely provided to climate the typhoon led to by way of Diggs’ season-ending damage. The two the reason why their Super Bowl hopes can stay alive with out Diggs is on account of their their NFL-best move rush — powered by way of two-time First-Team All-Pro linebacker Micah Parsons and three-time Pro Bowl defensive finish DeMarcus Lawrence — and powerful intensity on the cornerback place. 

Dallas will raise 2019 NFL Defensive Player of the Year cornerback Stephon Gilmore to its CB1 spot with Diggs headed towards the injured reserve listing. The five-time Pro Bowler and two-time First-Team All-Pro grew to become 33 on Tuesday and is in his twelfth NFL season. Gilmore has already compelled one turnover in simply two occupation video games with the Cowboys after coming over from the Indianapolis Colts in a industry this previous offseason. He hauled in a diving interception of New York Giants quarterback Daniel Jones in Dallas’ 40-0 Week 1 highway win whilst protecting the Giants’ top goal, Pro Bowl tight finish Darren Waller. 

“It’s one of those plays where you just fight and just try to make a play,” Gilmore stated on Sept. 14. “I was able to get under the ball. Hopefully we keep that going, feeding off each other. A lot of guys made plays that game. They rushed the quarterback out of the pocket and they were able to get him off the spot. I was able to make a play on the ball. That was more of a scramble drill, staying with my guy, and the quarterback was running. He was able to buy a lot of time, and I able to make a play before the tight end that was there [Pro Bowler Darren Waller] did.”

That play did not marvel Cowboys head trainer Mike McCarthy, and it even led him to examine Gilmore to some other Defensive Player of the Year cornerback he has coached: Pro Football Hall of Famer Charles Woodson. McCarthy spent 13 seasons as the Packers head trainer from 2006-2018, coached Woodson for seven seasons from 2006-2012, the defensive again’s age-30 to age-36 seasons.  

“Stephon looked like that at practice every day,” McCarthy said postgame on Sept. 10. “He’s an incredible route reader, just the pattern of concepts and understanding of the [route]stems. The way he sees the game is exceptional. I look back at Charles Woodson and some of those guys that had that special trait, and he definitely has that.”   

The Cowboys’ top broad receiver, 2022 Second-Team All-Pro CeeDee Lamb, seconded McCarthy’s sentiments, just lately calling Gilmore “the smartest DB” he has ever confronted. 

“I just made a comment today that he’s probably the smartest DB that I’ve ever lined up against,” Lamb stated on Sept 14. “I get one yard down the field off of a release and he knows, he’s kind of eliminating routes in his head. So you can beat him, you got him, but I don’t know if you can do it twice even if you do a good job. Love that guy. Glad he’s on our team.”    

Gilmore appreciates the top esteem his boss and an incumbent Cowboys offensive chief holds him in. 

“That’s a compliment, Charles Woodson was a great player for a long time,” Gilmore stated. “One of the corners I looked up to as a kid. He was making plays for a long time. It’s a great compliment. [As for the one] coming from CeeDee, one of the best wide receivers in the league, to get that compliment from him, it’s good. We just have to keep it up and keep playing at a high level.”

Diggs himself counseled how impactful Gilmore’s presence within the Dallas secondary has been thru two weeks on Wednesday, a day earlier than struggling his season-ending damage.

“Yeah, 100%, I just know that side [Gilmore’s side] is just locked down, shut down,” Diggs stated Wednesday. “If I do my facet and my project, my activity, it’s the similar means. So, you realize, it [the addition of Gilmore] simply is helping out the defense

Another Cowboys cornerback who’s enjoying at top stage and serving to out the defense is DaRon Bland, one of the vital NFL’s maximum underrated defensive backs. The 2022 fifth-round select of Fresno State has performed each inside of at nickel as smartly as out of doors for defensive coordinator Dan Quinn’s defense, and anyplace he has coated up in his younger occupation, he has been a turnover magnet. Bland intercepted 5 passes as a rookie in 2022, tied for the 5th maximum within the league a season in the past. His pick-six of Jones in Week 1 offers him six for his occupation, tying him with Steelers All-Pro Minkah Fitzpatrick, Broncos All-Pro Justin Simmons, Falcons All-Pro Jessie Bates III, Seahawks’ Pro Bowler Tariq Woolen and Lions protection C.J. Gardner-Johnson for probably the most since Bland entered the NFL in 2022. 

As for who will slide into the nickel function within the slot for Bland, that may be Jourdan Lewis, who made his 2023 season debut in Week 2 in opposition to the Jets after lacking the overall 12 video games of the 2022 season — together with playoffs — after struggling a foot damage. That illness used to be to begin with described as Lisfranc damage, in accordance to Lewis, however it ended up being worse. On Aug. 29, Lewis stated he felt “really good, the best I have in a while.” Lewis, a 28-year-old third-round select of the 2017 NFL Draft, changed into a full-time starter for the Cowboys defense again in 2020, so he brings quite a few revel in into the Dallas secondary. Lewis performed 9 defensive snaps in Week 2 in opposition to the Jets with Wilson throwing an incompletion at the one goal that went Lewis’ route. 

For intensity functions, the Cowboys do have 23-year-old, former first-round choose (thirtieth general in 2020 NFL Draft) cornerback Noah Igbinoghene. Dallas got him on roster cutdown day in a change with the Miami Dolphins wherein it despatched 2021 second-round choose cornerback Kelvin Joseph down to South Florida. He logged 12 defensive snaps in rubbish time of the Cowboys’ 40-0 smackdown of the Giants in Week 1, permitting one eight-yard catch at the two passes thrown his means. Igbinoghene additionally returned a blocked box objective 58 yards for Dallas’ first landing of 2023.

Dallas additionally has one of the vital inner most protection rooms within the NFL with Donovan Wilson, Malik Hooker and Jayron Kearse. Hooker flashed in a big means in opposition to the Jets on Sunday, working throughout with reference to all of the filed to intercept a Zach Wilson move that used to be meant for receiver Garrett Wilson. Diggs used to be in protection, and Hooker sprinted over the top of the play like a centerfielder to protected the soccer.  

“He did an excellent job being over the top, having the safety help and just trusting that one of his guys was going to be there,” Diggs stated Wednesday. “That’s what I was piggybacking on, just everyone being in tune with their assignments. Helping each other out and being there for each other is just going to help the defense.”

Diggs being dominated out for the season is a nightmare come to existence for the Cowboys, however they have got the items recently in position to proceed fielding one of the vital NFL’s ideally suited defenses and handle hope in all in their 2023 season targets going ahead.