DeMarcus Lawrence has no qualms about how the 2019 season ended after only tallying five sacks. The Dallas Cowboys defensive end was coming off two Pro Bowl seasons in 2017 and 2018 where he amassed 14.5 and 10.5 sacks, respectively — yet he won't dwell on the massive letdown of his numbers being more than halved last season.
“Nothing happened to me last year. I know I ended the season with five sacks, but I also helped other players boost their numbers back up to double digits,” said a confident Lawrence, according to The Dallas Morning News. “It’s not a one-man game and I know how to play the game the right way. I know how to make plays when plays come my way. And I also know how to make sure my teammates are making their plays. You don’t have to worry about nothing. Trust me, the sack number will be back up.”
Sacks can be an arbitrary statistic, considering they can be split between two players and that is largely at the discretion of the scorer.
Lawrence, however, also had a steep decline in his tackling — going from a career-best 64 (42 solo, 22 assisted) in 2018 to merely 45 in 2019 (30 solo, 15 assisted).
The defensive end seems plenty confident that he can bring the numbers up this season, but that also will depend on the help he gets from his other Cowboys' teammates in the trenches.
“I think it all comes down to knowing who you are and focusing on what’s in front of you,” said Lawrence. “We had so many obstacles come our way and it kind of divided us as a team. We were worried about other things around us instead of sticking to our jobs and the coach. We didn’t capitalize on the opportunities we had to win.”
If he can bring up his sacks and tackles once again, this might be another Pro Bowl year for “The Tank.”