It is now the bye week for the Dallas Cowboys, and just as we all expected — The Cowboys sit at 6-2 and are in second place in the NFC East.

After last Sunday’s game against the Chicago Bears, defensive end Demarcus Lawrence had this to say:

Cowboys DE DeMarcus Lawrence on what frustrated him most Sunday from Bears: "That I missed two sacks today. …I feel like [Justin Fields] exposed some areas where I can get better at. Glad he did, so now I know, and if anybody else tries to try it, we’ll see what happens."

— Michael Gehlken (@GehlkenNFL) October 30, 2022

Why is this important?

This quote speaks volumes about the 2022 Dallas Cowboys football team. When Demarcus Lawrence says Justin Fields exposed some areas where he can get better, he means it. All season long when this team has been exposed in one area, they have found a way to fix it. Let’s face it – when Dak Prescott went down with his thumb injury in week one, nobody gave this team a chance. In fact, a lot of people started looking forward to the draft.

Last season, the Cowboys got embarrassed by the San Francisco 49ers in the Wild Card round of the 2021 NFL Playoffs. There were a ton of questions surrounding the Cowboys and many wondered how this team would respond coming into the season.

The Cowboys have seemingly answered every question thrown their way and have not blinked. This team is full of grit, and as Mike McCarthy talked about before the season started – this team is resilient. We saw after that ugly loss to the 49ers, the Cowboys wanted to point fingers at the officials and place blame for their loss. It was ugly in all facets.

But this year, something is different. We’ve talked all season long about how prepared this team looks, how different they are, and how they’ve handled adversity. This quote from Demarcus Lawrence goes deeper than just acknowledging how Justin Fields exposed some of his play. This quote directly represents the mindset within the Cowboys’ locker room.

The Cowboys know what people think of them. They hear the outside chatter and the media who criticizes their every move. But the Cowboys don’t succumb to the noise – they put their head down and win football games. Too many times in the past we have seen this team crumble under pressure and adversity.

This year, the Cowboys have a chance to set the record straight. The Cowboys have a chance to change the narrative about their football team. We will see in the second half of the season if the Cowboys can continue this gritty mentality, and ultimately, we will see how they truly respond to adversity when January comes around and the playoffs begin.

If there is anything we can take away from the first half of the season, it’s that this Cowboys team is truly different. The Cowboys seem to be finding that championship mentality they’ve long hoped for.