NFL: Dallas Cowboys at Philadelphia Eagles
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FRISCO, Texas -- Everyone with the Dallas Cowboys from coach Brian Schottenheimer to new defensive tackle Kenny Clark has been in lockstep since their narrow 24-20 loss at the Super Bowl LIX champion Philadelphia Eagles in Week 1: there is no moral victory.

"Definitely wanted to win. There's no moral victories in this sport, so we're trying to do whatever we've got to do to get to 1-1," Clark said Monday. "I'd only been here a couple days. "For me to learn the playbook and be able to play as fast as I could have, felt pretty good. Still a lot of stuff I've got to get better at, and I'm going to work at that every day."

Yes, Dallas allowed 158 yards rushing Thursday night with Eagles quarterback Jalen Hurts leading the way with 62 yards and two touchdowns on 14 carries -- 9 of which were scrambles after the picket collapsed. However, when Clark was on the field for 40 of the Cowboys' 62 defensive snaps (64.5%), 2024 NFL Offensive Player of the Year running back Saquon Barkley and other Philadelphia running backs struggled. Eagles running backs combined for 24 carries in Week 1, and they averaged 2.5 yards per carry in the 15 plays on their runs when Clark was on the field, according to NFL Media. On the nine rushes by Eagles running backs in which Clark was on the sideline, their yards per carry figure jumped to 6.4 yards per carry.

Clark's impact was so significant that the Eagles looked to bolster their running back depth behind Barkley by trading for Jacksonville Jaguars back Tank Bigsby Monday evening. Barkley's 60 yards rushing vs. Dallas in Week 1 were his lowest against a Cowboys defense since Week 1 of the 2023 season when he was limited to 51 yards on 12 carries while playing with the New York Giants. 

"That man is fire. He just came here, and you watch the film, he's like that. He's like that," Cowboys edge rusher Sam Williams said Monday. "I just feel like the whole game he came in, and we [ the defensive line] already set an identity for ourselves. He took that. His playstyle represented the identity we already had set in place."

So what's the identity Clark plays with? 

"He's violent. He's attacking. He's disruptive, and he's just a baller, bro. He's a baller," Williams said. 

When the rest of the Dallas defensive line sees Clark attacking in the run game like that against the NFL's best back in Barkley, they follow the big dawg. Williams, who has three older sisters and three younger brothers, likened the desire to play in a manner that echoes Clark's example to being like when a little brother sees an older sibling ride a bike so now they think they too can ride a bike. 

"Heck yeah, it's contagious," Williams said . ... "We see him do it [playing violently and with strong pursuit to the ball], and I feel like everybody was doing it -- it wasn't just him. It's just like 'OK, this is what we got to do, and we can do it.' It's a testament to him." 

Given Clark arrived in Dallas 11 days ago on Aug. 29 on the heels of being traded for All-Pro edge rusher Micah Parsons and two first-round picks, he's still learning new Dallas defensive coordinator Matt Eberflus' scheme, so perhaps there's higher levels to his impact yet to be unlocked. 

"Every day I'm getting better at it," Clark said. "It's an everyday improvement. I've got a pretty good lock on a lot of things, I'm pretty sure there'll be some more game plan stuff that I'll have to figure out, but I feel comfortable right now. ... The main thing is just being able to get lined up and I'll be able to do the rest. ... That was my main focus, being able to learn the blitzes, learn the movements, once I get my feet in the ground I'm good."  

It's not just Clark's teammates who were impressed by his Dallas debut. Schottenheimer and the coaching staff felt the same way, and the Cowboys coach pointed to his defense allowing just 35 yards rushing and three points in the second half as validation for their high praise of the three-time Pro Bowler.

"Just the strength he plays with and the play style he plays with," Schottenheimer said on Monday when asked what stood out about Clark's debut. "They were running a little duo play where he was getting singled and just the strength to hold the point of attack, and the back was coming down the a-gap, and he was holding the guard off with one hand, and the back came, and just the strength, and the power and the pad level that he has to -- I think it was a 1-yard run. You see the strength and the power and he's so disruptive. I thought really he settled in the second half. Our run fits were way better in the second half. Thrilled he's here, man. He's just an awesome teammate. ... It's nothing new for him. He's been playing high level football for a long time and love having him here as a teammate."

That said, Clark and Dallas' defense knows that improvement on plugging up the ground game will ultimately help them get to the right side of the scoreboard.  

"If we can stop guys from running the ball and our offense keeps playing how we're playing, we're going to be able to get up on guys and be able to rush the passer late in games," Clark said. "That's the goal, we've got to keep on stopping the run, keep getting guys behind the sticks and in third and long situations, and just keep playing complimentary football."  

Part of playing complimentary football will involve also keeping the quarterback in the pocket and not letting them ruin a game via scrambles like Hurts. That likely won't be a worry in Week 2 against the 36-year-old edition of Russell Wilson, the New York Giants' starting quarterback at the moment, but that doesn't mean the Cowboys aren't respectful of Wilson's career. Clark has played Wilson five times as a Packer and went 3-2 while producing 11 quarterback pressures without a sack. 

"He's got a great deep ball. If you give him time, he can throw a deep ball, he can scramble out of the pocket, he's very elusive and he can get the ball out quick," Clark said. "He's a vet, he's been doing it for years, I've been playing him for years, and I've got a lot of respect for Russell."  

Schottenheimer called plays for Wilson as his Seattle Seahawks offensive coordinator from 2018-2020, and their offenses averaged 26.9 points per game in that span, the sixth-best in the NFL. That left a lasting impression on the Cowboys head coach, something he spoke about on Monday despite Wilson completing just 17 of 37 passes for 168 yards in a 21-6 loss against the Washington Commanders in Week 1.

"One of the greatest deep ball throwers I've ever been around," Schottenheimer said. ... "The ability to extend plays when I was with him was incredible. He just was a great improviser. That's what our game has become. Our game is, sitting around watching the games last, watching Lamar [Jackson] and Josh [Allen] play: if you can't move around and make plays in this league, you're outgunned. Those are the first two things that pop out. I'm excited to see Russ."   

The newest Cowboy is simply excited for his home debut and to get to a .500 record while bringing the fire that has Williams and the rest of Dallas' defensive line turnt up. 

"I can't wait. I know it's going to be rocking," Clark said of his home debut. "It's going to be a great divisional game, and a game that we definitely need, so I know the crowd is going to bring it. … Our goal is to be 1-1 by the end of the week. We start off 0-1 in the division, we can't get two games behind."