FRISCO, Texas — In this season of unrealized expectations for the Dallas Cowboys, there is one player with spellbinding talent who is performing beyond imagination: Linebacker DeMarvion Overshown.
His playmaking -- in what essentially is his first NFL season -- reminds of Micah Parsons’ impact as an NFL rookie.
In fact, whatever money Jerry Jones has after presumably making Parsons the highest-paid defensive player in the NFL this offseason should probably be budgeted for Overshown’s next contract.
Nothing has more dramatically impacted the Cowboys defense than Parsons returning from the high ankle sprain he suffered in Week 4. But right behind that would be the emergence of Overshown, who has become an every-down contributor and a consistent playmaker.
He is the first Cowboys player since Hall of Famer DeMarcus Ware in 2006 to have at least five sacks, an interception, a forced fumble and a fumble recovery in a single season. Even better: He also returned that interception for a touchdown -- the only defensive score of the season for Dallas. And he has five more games to play.
Is all of that the equivalent of Parsons’ 13 sacks as a rookie?
“He reminds me of somebody," Parsons said, hinting at the obvious after the Cowboys defeated the Giants. "Now, he ain't No. 11 yet, but that's Agent 0. And I think he has his own creative identity, and that's what I like. He's not trying to be like me. He's his own special specimen. He's gonna be felt on every play.’’
The coaching staff limited Overshown early in the season because of the combination of his inexperience and the fact he was barely a year removed from the surgery to repair his torn ACL -- the injury that cost him his entire rookie season. Those factors now eliminated, Overshown has played every single defensive snap except for one the past three games.
“It was never that he needed to gain our trust,’’ said defensive coordinator Mike Zimmer. “It was more about when he first came back, we were trying to get him settled in with one personnel group. But he’s proven he’s one of the better players we have. So, we talk about things: 'If we did this, well, we’d have to take D-Mo off the field.' And we don’t want to do that. That’s what you’re seeing. We’re trying to use him in as many ways as we can. He’s a unique asset in terms of his combination of strength and speed and power. When he gets to the football, he’s got physicality -- and usually he can get to the ball. So those are the kinds of things where you don’t want to take a guy like that off the field.’’
In the team's Thanksgiving victory over the Giants, Overshown became the first Cowboys player with a pick-six and a fumble recovery in the same game since 2002.
"I told you from the beginning he was gonna be a dude," Parsons said. "From his rookie year, before the injury, I said, 'That will be an All-Pro, Pro Bowl type of player. I'm just happy that he's finally showing it. I saw it from the beginning."
There's video from Thursday's game of 10-year veteran linebacker Eric Kendricks sitting on the bench next to Overshown. The two combined for a takeaway when Kendricks knocked the ball loose from Giants quarterback Drew Lock and Overshown recovered it. In the clip, Kendricks tells Overshown tjhat he hopes the young player becomes the best linebacker in the NFL -- because, Kendricks says, the former third-round draft pick seems capable of it.
“He’s really grown quite a bit,’’ Zimmer said. “It’s very detailed in linebacker room, and having Kendricks in there helps him as well. So he continues to grow each week, and I think that will continue.’’
Back in training camp, I asked Cowboys Vice President of Player Personnel Will McClay what makes Overshown unique.
“He covers so much ground and can change directions at high speeds while being under control,’’ McClay said at the time. “There’s a lot of fast players in the league, but they don’t necessarily like contact. This kid loves high-speed collisions, which makes him play faster because there’s no hesitation in his last four to five steps to the target.”
This Cowboys roster seems to have finally adapted to defensive coordinator Mike Zimmer’s system. Injured starters have been returning to the lineup. The Cowboys have won two games with backup quarterback Cooper Rush.
The defense has created five takeaways over the past two weeks. Since Parsons returned in Week 10, the Cowboys have 16 sacks -- tying the team with Denver for most in the league over the past four games.
Zimmer has seized his chance to be unpredictable with his calls and created favorable matchups with two of the NFL’s most versatile defensive players in Parsons and Overshown.
“We are trying to be more diversified in the ways to get to the quarterback than we were earlier,’’ Zimmer said. “We’re still getting some guys back and getting guys back from being injuries. We can continue to do things like that.’’
In their two-game winning streak, the Cowboys offense has been supported with points from both the defense and special teams. The special teams contributed KaVontae Turpin’s kickoff return touchdown against Washington, and the defense provided Overshown’s remarkable interception return for a touchdown.
On that play, Overshown rushed, knocked Giants running back Devin Singletary backward, tipped Lock’s attempted screen pass for Singletary, caught it and scored.
“It's great play the whole way around -- the anticipation, the instincts, ability to get control the football,’’ head coach Mike McCarthy said. “I think we're just seeing the tip of the iceberg. [I'm] so impressed with him and his consistency in his approach, and we’re just going to keep putting him in the position to progress and effectively give him more opportunities. Because he obviously can also make plays from the edge.’’
Without Dak Prescott, the Cowboys have to win because of their defense -- something they did frequently the previous three seasons under Dan Quinn. They’ve only just recently experienced success in that regard with Zimmer finally getting back some of his premier players, even as DeMarcus Lawrence and Trevon Diggs have remained out of the lineup.
The 5-7 Cowboys play at home on Monday night against the 4-8 Bengals. The Cowboys bring a two-game winning streak into the contest; meanwhile, the Bengals have lost three straight. Despite all of that, the Bengals are favored by a touchdown, with the oddsmakers apparently doubting that the Dallas defense can hold down the score against NFL passing leader Joe Burrow.
The Bengals are a scoring machine -- but one too often unable to outscore opponents no matter their point total. Cincinnati is the first team in NFL history to lose four times in a single season when scoring 33 or more points.
The solution for a Cowboys team unlikely to win a scoring contest against the Bengals with their backup quarterback is for Parsons and Overshown to create a pass rush and force mistakes.
Good thing, then, that the Cowboys are plus-2 in turnover margin in each of their past two games.
“The players have done a good job of trying to strip the ball,’’ Zimmer said. “I also think the more pressure you put on the quarterback, that allows you to get more things because he’s the one with the football most of the time -- whether it’s hitting him or forcing him into situations where he doesn’t want to throw the football. But we’ve done a good job the last couple of weeks, and [we] need to keep going.’’