CHARLOTTE, N.C. — Don't look now, but the Dallas Cowboys are boasting a defense that has flipped the switch during the back end of the 2024 season, and that's thanks in large part to contributions from depth players asked to step up due to injury, but also from cornerstone players like Micah Parsons and Osa Odighizuwa.
And both Parsons and Odighizuwa had a field day in the upset of the Panthers in Carolina.
"As a veteran guy, [Osa] just consistently keeps making jumps," said Parsons. "He keeps getting better. ... I just see a guy that comes in every day and maximizes his potential — being a leader and a vocal leader, at that. He demands the best and greatness from everyone.
"Am I surprised? No. Am I happy for him? I'm super excited. He makes my job easier. ... I can't speak for anyone who's a better person than Osa."
In all, it was an afternoon that saw the Cowboys' defense maul former first-overall pick Bryce Young, mostly stifling him on the heels of a stretch that saw him build confidence against playoff contenders leading into the Week 15 matchup against Dallas.
Young was sacked six times, intercepted twice and the Cowboys recovered both of their forced fumbles — Parsons and Odighizuwa combining for three sacks six quarterback hits.
The latter had four quarterback hits on his own, and continues to prove he's one of the best defensive tackles in the entire league.
"There's still so much to play for, whether things are going well or not," said Odighizuwa. "With that in mind, we've just gotta keep approaching it the same way whether it's going good or not. There's only one way to approach it, and that's the right way."
Even more impressive for Mike Zimmer's defensive group is in how they were able to bottle up Young without the aid of DeMarvion Overshown, who suffered a season-ending knee injury six days prior in the loss to the Cincinnati Bengals.
In his absence, others like Marist Liufau and Eric Kendricks ratcheted up the intensity to keep the linebackers' corp impactful (read: game-changing), and the efforts of the front seven were married perfectly to a strong, even if not perfect, outing from the secondary (e.g., Jourdan Lewis' pass break up on Adam Thielen leading to Kendricks grabbing one of the two aforementioned interceptions).
"I feel like we did a good job of playing complementary football and giving the offense as many chances to get on the board as possible," said Odighizuwa.
Parsons agrees wholeheartedly.
"We've just got to keep stepping up. This was a good team. They gave the Eagles a fight, the Chiefs and the Broncos. We didn't want to come in here and take them lightly because of the film they put out there. We've just gotta ways to keep putting it together. We've got a[nother] explosive team next week, too."
The Panthers struggled to run the ball, Chuba Hubbard failing to run for more than 40 yards, and Young could scarcely get much going in the air, save for a chunk play or two at varying points in the game and, all told, the Panthers could only muster XX points on the afternoon.
Parsons and Odighizuwa made sure to set the tone early, and often, and it's something they've been doing for weeks now.
And that is an energy they expect to bring all the way to season's end.
