FRISCO, Texas — The miscommunication that hurt the Dallas Cowboys defense in the opener is not a hard fix, Donovan Ezeiruaku said Wednesday at The Star. The outside linebacker said it was never a lack of talent.
Ezeiruaku led Dallas with 10 tackles in the 28-20 loss to the New York Giants. He added a half-sack, 2 passes defensed, and a forced fumble in 42 defensive snaps.
It is a small thing, Ezeiruaku said: making sure the player next to you knows what you are doing.
“Yeah, because it’s different when, if it’s like a lack of talent. It’s never like a lack of talent. It’s just like a small thing. Hey, make sure the guy next to you knows what you’re doing and make sure you know what he’s doing at the same time and talking amongst that,” Ezeiruaku said. “That’s not a hard fix in my opinion. I think that’s the biggest thing for us is getting that win under our belt, getting that consistency and just continue to build on that.”
Donovan Ezeiruaku Says Dallas Cowboys Front Must Collapse The Pocket
Giants quarterback Jaxson Dart had success against Dallas, and Jayden Daniels of the Washington Commanders presents a similar challenge. Ezeiruaku said the edge rushers and interior linemen have to rush with awareness together.
“Just being execution, communication, doing and knowing your job, and having, especially for the front more so, rushing with awareness and being on the same page,” Ezeiruaku explained. “The edges have to be on the same page with the interior guys. The interior guys have to be on the same page with the edges, just so that we can collapse their pocket and get them to the ground.”
Communication is not just within position groups, Ezeiruaku said. It goes both ways across the whole defense.
“No, it’s more so just, like as a whole, communication is two-way. It’s giving and receiving,” Ezeiruaku said. “So it’s as a whole, not necessarily just like within our groups.”
Daniels ran 5 times for 31 yards in Washington’s 24-22 loss at the Philadelphia Eagles. Dallas sacked Dart twice. Ezeiruaku and Jonathan Bullard split one, and rookie Caleb Downs had the other.
Donovan Ezeiruaku Says First-Game Miscues Will Get Fixed
Sunday night under the lights is a different field than training camp, Ezeiruaku said, even when the calls are the same.
“Yeah, I think that’s, first game in the NFL season, that happens. It’s live bullets flying. Things that we worked on during camp, it might be the same, but it’s a different field when you’re playing Sunday night under the lights,” Ezeiruaku said. “So that’s pretty much what that is. I have a lot of confidence that it’s gonna get fixed and we’re gonna continue to progress and be consistent when it comes to that. So I’m not really worried about it.”
Dallas also travels to Rio de Janeiro to face the Baltimore Ravens on Sept. 27. Players have been tracking their sleep through the NFLPA’s WHOOP partnership.
“We’re very mindful of that. It’s something that we’ve been talking about, even with the whole NFLPA, we got the whole WHOOP thing going on,” Ezeiruaku said. “So doing that, just being able to track our sleep and see how that goes for us, that’s something that they’re looking into so that we can go out there and perform to our best.”
The trip is not on his mind yet.
“Not really. For me personally, I’m worried about this week, and I think that I can speak for the guys when I say that,” Ezeiruaku said. “Next week, whenever it’s time to travel and rehydrate after the game or get our nutrition back right, we’ll handle that next week.”
Dallas drafted Ezeiruaku in the second round in 2025 out of Boston College. Kickoff Sunday against Washington at AT&T Stadium is 3:25 p.m. CT on FOX.
