Getty Michael Bennett
The inaugural 60 minutes of football for Michael Bennett in a Cowboys uniform couldn’t have gone better. Dallas won in resounding fashion, Bennett notched a sack, and, heck, even stood for the National Anthem, no doubt appeasing hardline owner Jerry Jones.
It was a quick turnaround for the grizzled defensive lineman, shipped from New England on Oct. 24 at the cost of a conditional 2021 seventh-round draft pick. But an ultra-productive turnaround. Bennett played 43 snaps (60 percent) in Monday’s win over the New York Giants, and he made the most of each, recording two tackles for loss, four quarterback hits, and a sack in the Cowboys’ 37-18 victory.
His handlers — from Jones to passing game coordinator and de-facto defensive boss Kris Richard — were blown away.
“I thought he had a really productive game considering that he hadn’t truly played a lot of football in maybe about a month, three weeks to a month,” Richard told reporters Thursday, via Rob Phillips of the team’s official website.
The intimation from Richard is that Bennett’s best is still yet to come. At least, the best a 34-year-old role player can offer. If he makes that big of a mark in just 11 days with the club, how high is his ceiling for the remainder of 2019?
High, the Cowboys are hoping. At 5-3, they’re holding off the Philadelphia Eagles for first place in the NFC East and, with a Super Bowl-caliber roster and similar expectations, in the throes of a playoff push.
Dallas’ next test, a Sunday night showdown with the 6-3 Minnesota Vikings, may prove to be difficult for Bennett. The Vikings have surrendered the ninth-least sacks (16) and seventh-least hits (35) on quarterback Kirk Cousins, who ranks fifth in the NFL with 16 touchdown passes and has thrown only three interceptions.
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Bennett Made League History in Week 9
Bennett’s debut with the Cowboys was a smashing success. So successful, in fact, that the former Pro Bowler propelled himself into the NFL record book. As unearthed by Dallas’ PR department, Bennett became just the 19th player in league history to notch at least one full sack with five different teams.
An aside: Cowboys quarterback Dak Prescott — noted Giants killer — pulled off quite the impressive feat himself on Monday night. Per the Elias Sports Bureau, Prescott joined the legendary Roger Staubach as the only Dallas QBs to ever win six consecutive starts against New York. (Staubach won 11 straight starts throughout the 1970s, per Elias.)
Jerry Doubles Down on Bennett Praise
Operating behind $105 million man DeMarcus Lawrence and Cowboys sack leader Robert Quinn, Bennett did exactly what Jerry Jones expected, what he surrendered capital for — an immediate contribution.
“I thought he was outstanding,” Jones said after the game, according to Todd Archer of ESPN.com. “I thought he was really impactful in there. I thought you could see the team in general were feeding off of what he was bringing. Of course, very likely he was feeding off what [DeMarcus Lawrence] was doing out there and what [Robert Quinn] was doing. Still, he really is a great addition for us. I don’t use that word much, but he’s a great addition.”
Jerry didn’t (couldn’t?) stop there, however. During Thursday’s appearance on 105.3 The Fan, he again gushed over Bennett, who had been a thorn in the Cowboys’ side during his time with the Seattle Seahawks and Philadelphia Eagles.
“Turn on the tape. We’ve been trying to block him for years. We finally get him. Smart player … remarkable,” Jones said, per Maven Sports’ Mike Fisher.
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