It's no surprise that the Dallas Cowboys' offense kept humming in Week 5, but the defense finally came to life after a listless start to the season. Whether that is sustainable remains to be seen, but five sacks, 14 quarterback hits, and 32 pressures are nothing to sneeze at.
However, it wasn't all sunshine and rainbows. For all of their flaws, the Jets still managed to compile 144 rushing yards, including 113 from Breece Hall on a whopping 8.1 yards per carry.
A big reason for that, yet again, was the Cowboys' linebacker play. It is comfortably the weakest position on the roster, and Kenneth Murray has been at the heart and center of those problems. Murray is raising more and more concerns with each passing week.
Kenneth Murray is a major problem for the Cowboys' defense right now
Murray has all of the physical tools to be an excellent linebacker, but the best linebackers are great at processing. That has always been a weakness of Murray's, and it's reared its ugly head on far too many occasions over the first five games.
A big reason Hall had a field day against Dallas was because of Murray's slow processing. It's one thing to overpursue and fill the wrong gap. It's something entirely different to leave your defensive line out to dry because you have no idea what's happening in front of you.
This is who Murray's been throughout his career. The occasional good plays are overshadowed by several terrible reps. It's not hyperbolic to say he's been one of the worst linebackers in the NFL in the first month of the year.
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Murray's 41.2 PFF grade ranks 125th out of 137 linebackers, and his 32.1 run-defense grade ranks 133rd at the position, per Pro Football Focus. That is a testament to his inability to read and react. He is also 91st in coverage grade, and for someone who's around the ball a lot, he only has 35 tackles and eight defensive stops.
Unfortunately, DeMarvion Overshown is still at least a month away from returning. And even when he does, it stands to reason he won't take Murray's place in the starting lineup.
Trading for Murray, however cheap, never made sense. He's always been a flawed player. First-round picks typically aren't on their third team in year six. If there is any position that Dallas chooses to upgrade before the November 4 trade deadline, it has to be linebacker.
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