The Dallas Cowboys’ defense might have given up 24 points on Sunday night to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, but if you watched the game you know Mike Zimmer’s unit played out of its mind.
Jourdan Lewis and DaRon Bland helped Dallas clinch the win with incredible interceptions and strip-fumbles, respectively, but they were far from the only standouts.
Donovan Wilson laid the lumber all game and delivered a vintage performance, while rookie Marist Liufau tallied four pressures, two defensive stops and a career-high 78.0 PFF player grade in his second start filling in for the inured DeMarvion Overshown.
Down Overshown and Eric Kendricks, many expected Dallas’ linebackers to struggle against a multi-pronged Bucs offense. Liufau starting was a given. Rather than start Damone Clark, who started all 17 games a season ago, Zimmer turned to grizzled vet Nick Vigil.
The Cowboys signed Vigil during training camp for depth. Vigil has made a huge impact on special teams all year. His defensive reps have been few and far between, but he was absolutely everywhere Sunday night.
Zimmer and Vigil’s paths overlapped with the Vikings.
Then-Minnesota’s head coach, Zimmer signed Vigil before the 2021 season and the vet put up impressive numbers despite playing next to an established star in Kendricks. In 12 starts, Vigil compiled 85 tackles, four tackles for loss, 31 defensive stops and a 92.6 passer rating allowed in coverage, which is exactly league average for quarterbacks,
RELATED: Cowboys left with obvious Mike Zimmer decision after dominant win vs. Panthers
Despite not practicing all week due to a foot injury, Vigil played more defensive snaps against the Bucs (69) than he had all season (53). The 31-year-old posted more tackles (10) than he had in his previous five appearances this season. His 10 tackles led the defense.
Vigil also showed great awareness to recover a Baker Mayfield fumble, but replay determined he was out of bounds.
It was Vigil’s second bit of horrible luck in three weeks. He nearly won the game for Dallas against the Bengals when he blocked a punt late in the fourth quarter only for Amani Oruwariye to fumble the live ball. He’s made an impact regardless of his role.
Lewis, Bland, Liufau and Wilson will receive most of the plaudits for their splash plays, but Vigil was in the middle of everything defensively. He is the perfect depth linebacker and Zimmer and defensive run game coordinator Paul Guenther deserve praise for bringing him aboard.
