The Cowboys defense took on a fast and loose persona under Quinn, and most of the time, it worked to perfection. Unfortunately, when things went poorly, they went very poorly, and Zimmer was largely brought in to stop those bipolar moments.
Things got off to a rocky start under Zimmer. Not only did the Cowboys fall to the bottom of the NFL in defensive ranking but they stopped producing those turnovers they’d been notorious for under Quinn. While much of that could be chalked up to a new system and significant injuries, the responsibility still fell on Zimmer, and he certainly felt that weight.
https://cowboyswire.usatoday.com/2024/12/26/mike-zimmer-return-cowboys-2025/
Take a snapshot this last week and watch this Sunday's game.
Suddenly a future with Zimmer running the defense didn’t sound so crazy. After ranking 30th in overall defense through the first 11 weeks of the season, the Dallas defense has
bounced up to seventh overall in the weeks following. It’s nothing short of amazing getting this defense up into top 10 status and to think he’s done so with three of the biggest stars, Trevon Diggs, DeMarvion Overshown and DeMarcus Lawrence, out for the year.
