The Dallas Cowboys defense will face its toughest test of the season against the high-flying New Orleans Saints on Thursday.
One matchup to watch is the game-wrecking Cowboys defensive front versus the Saints' stout offensive line. New Orleans' O-line is one of the best units in the NFL, plowing open holes for Alvin Kamara and Mark Ingram, and giving Drew Bress plenty of time to dice up secondaries.
On Tuesday, Dallas defensive end Demarcus Lawrence took a shot at the Saints offensive line when asked if it's the best he's faced all season.
"I don't know, (expletive) I got to see first," he told Calvin Watkins of The Athletic. "They ain't faced us. We don't know yet, we can talk about it afterwards. I'll be honest with you too."
Boasting Pro Bowl talent across the line, New Orleans entered Week 12 ranked first in pass protection and second in run blocking by Football Outsiders. Stud left tackle Terron Armstead, however, is expected to miss his third straight game.
Dallas' defensive line, meanwhile, has been stout against the run, giving up the fourth-fewest yards per game on the ground, and Lawrence leads the Cowboys with 8.5 sacks.
The fifth-year pro knows that to slow down Brees, et al., the Cowboys defensive front will need to be a difference-maker Thursday.
"We've been talked up as being the difference," he said. "They're going to have to match our intensity, (expletive), for 60 minutes straight. If you hit (expletive) in the mouth they ain't doing what they regularly doing, and putting up 50 points, and they start to get a little distressed. So now you got them where you want them at and then (expletive) choke they (expletive) out."