Cowboys

Dallas’ defense had a players-only meeting on Monday, leading to one of their best performances of the young season. Cowboys HC Brian Schottenheimer loves the direction the defense is headed, and he explained the increased man coverage game plan for the Commanders. 

“It gets me jacked,” Schottenheimer said, via Jon Machota of The Athletic. “It gets me excited. When we went out and got (Murray), one of the things we loved about him was the leadership and the passion for how he plays the game. I was not aware of that. But you saw a defense that was ‘connected,’ that was his word. I could not agree with it more. The play style, running to the football, the passion.”

“At the end of the day, this was a team we wanted to play man-to-man against. There was numbers and analytics that said that was the right way to play these guys. And each week is different. But I thought we played man-to-man very well. But we got to improve our zone coverages as well.”

Cowboys owner Jerry Jones gave the utmost praise to Schotteheimer for getting more involved in the defensive approach against Washington.

“To some degree, we didn’t have no way to go but up on defense,” Jones said. “But I didn’t expect this kind of performance from our defense. So, kudos to (defensive coordinator  Matt Eberflus) and certainly Brian Schottenheimer. He had a lot of fingerprints on this. … He’s the head coach, obviously he calls the (offensive) plays, and there he is spending a lot of (last) week working with the defensive coordinator. That’s a coach. That is a coach right there.”

• Cowboys WR Jonathan Mingo, after returning in Week 7: “I feel great. I’m excited. Been waiting. First time I get a chance to play with Dak. I got traded last year, he was hurt. (Then) I missed 7 games this year, so I’m finally happy to go out there and play with him. We had a good connection in camp.” (Jon Machota)
• Dallas third-round CB Shavon Revel Jr. will have his 21-day practice window opened on Wednesday as he works back from a knee injury. (Nick Harris)

Eagles

• Eagles DE Brandon Graham said he “really didn’t want to retire in the beginning. It was kinda tough.” (Olivia Reiner)
• Graham said GM Howie Roseman reached out at the start of the season, but he wasn’t ready at the time. (Reiner)
• Graham talked about his return: “I’m coming back, baby. …No expectations. I’m excited just to get after it. Of course, I believe in the team. That’s a big part of it, too. I think they got everything they need. Just want to add more value.” (Zach Berman)
• After the Super Bowl, Graham would have returned if Philadelphia wanted him back, and he didn’t want to play elsewhere even though the opportunity was there: “This is the only time in your life you can do it. Because after awhile, nobody’s calling no more.” (Berman)

Giants

Giants HC Brian Daboll said that he’s not considering any staff changes following the team’s loss to the Broncos.

“No, I’m not considering that,” Daboll said, via ESPN. “But we all have to do a better job, and it starts with me. There are plenty of opportunities to finish that game the way we wanted to and didn’t get the job done.”

Giants OLB Brian Burns was visibly upset about the defensive playcalling and yelled out “drop eight!” along with expletives throughout the locker room.

“Yeah, look, there’s plenty of plays that we had opportunities to make throughout I’d say the fourth quarter and we just came up short,” Daboll said. “It’s not about one play. It’s not about one player. It’s not about one specific side. It’s a collective and, you know, I can do a better job.“