The Dallas Cowboys defense has been getting a lot of justified criticism thus far this season. However, on a short week, with a win desperately needed, the unit stepped up and kept the New York Giants out of the end zone all evening.
It wasn’t perfect, and the Cowboys lost some key pieces in the process, but the defensive group looked to have found some of their groove on Thursday night, and this young player played an underrated role in it all.
Cowboys underrated player vs Giants: DeMarvion Overshown
What we all saw on Thursday night, and what we have had a glimpse of early in this season from linebacker DeMarvion Overshown, is what had people so excited about before his injury last preseason.
Now Overshown is fully healthy and flying around like a freak athlete who is starving to make plays. That youthful willingness to put his body on the line, to play sideline-to-sideline with reckless abandon is exactly what the Cowboys defense needed, and is why he was such an underrated star against the Giants.
He finished with eight total tackles, six solo, and one passed defended. However, what may have been so impressive was his processing. Overshown was able to read, react, and attack as if he was a veteran who has seen it all, countless times.
He hits with authority, runs like a rare athlete, and plays like a man who is just out there having fun. His playing style is refreshing, but is also impactful.
There were a lot of questions surrounding the linebacker room heading into this season, with the hopes of the group resting on his development. And while he’s just scratched the surface of his capabilities, the early returns have been encouraging, and Thursday was the latest example of that.
Now Dallas heads into some uncertain times on defense with Micah Parsons and DeMarcus Lawrence expected to miss some time. It will be Overshown who gets a chance to potentially elevate his game and making an even bigger impact.
There is a lot of belief he is able to do just that, and Thursday night’s underrated performance plays into that.