Dallas Cowboys defensive end DeMarcus Lawrence had himself a game in Week 1 of the 2018 NFL season. Unfortunately, it was spoiled by their loss to the Carolina Panthers.
Lawrence's performance was undoubtedly praiseworthy. However, according to Jon Machota of the Dallas Morning News, he feels it was negated by the loss:
“No comment, because we didn’t win the game,” Lawrence said. ” Plays don’t matter if you don’t win. Sacks don’t add up if you don’t win. It don’t matter. I don’t play just to get sacks, I play to win.”
It is encouraging to Lawrence seems to be more concerned about winning than he does his individual performance. Especially when he did everything he possibly could to help the team win. He finished with a team-high with seven tackles, three of which were for a loss. He also registered a sack and recovered a fumble while playing 48 of 67 possible snaps on defense.
This comes at a time when Lawrence is trying to earn a new, lucrative extension. There was plenty of speculation regarding the negotiations between him and the Cowboys. Although he was ultimately franchise tagged by the Cowboys, he has made it clear that he intends to “break the bank” in 2019.
Of course, he will need to continue playing at a high level in order to do so. Not only that, Dallas will need to show some signs of promise otherwise they could ponder using that money to help fill other holes in their current personnel. That said, it should come as no surprise that Lawrence is obviously frustrated with the team's performance against Carolina.
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