Dallas Cowboys defensive end DeMarcus Lawrence is eager to play the New Orleans Saints. He’s looking forward to the matchup, confident that his team can keep up its red-hot pace. The Cowboys have run roughshod over the three worst teams in the NFL (the 1-2 New York Giants, the 0-3 Washington Redskins, and 0-3 Miami Dolphins) and leaders like Lawrence are going out of their way to tell anyone who will listen how confident they are.
When asked what his goals are for their next team, inside the Mercedes-Benz Superdome on Sunday Night Football, Lawrence was boastful.
“Go to New Orleans and hear the whole crowd talk about some ‘Who Dat’ or whatever,” Lawrence told David Moore of The Dallas Morning News. “It’s a great opportunity to show them ‘We Dat.'”
He wants to quiet the crowd, and leave with a statement win over a team missing its Hall of Fame-bound quarterback. Lawrence and the Cowboys would love to add a “We Dat” plaque to their trophy case, which last won a Super Bowl victory when starting quarterback Dak Prescott was three years old.
Oddly, this isn’t the first time Lawrence has tried to appropriate New Orleans culture. He nicknamed the Cowboys’ pass-rush unit the “Hot Boyz,” referencing the New Orleans-based hip hop group formed by Lil Wayne, Juvenile, and several of their friends. It kind of feels like Lawrence would rather wear a fleur-de-lis than the Dallas star.
Lawrence has played the Saints twice in his career, getting shut out a year ago by the same right tackle who will line up against him on Sunday, Ryan Ramczyk. Ramczyk limited Lawrence to one quarterback hit, no sacks, and just three tackles (two assists) in their last meeting, and shut down other elite pass rushers early this year like Seattle Seahawks linebacker Jadeveon Clowney and Houston Texans superstar J.J. Watt. The last time Lawrence and the Cowboys visited New Orleans, they were sent out with a 26-20 loss after running back C.J. Spiller outran the defense in overtime for a game-winning score.
But back to the present: Lawrence claims he hasn’t been paying attention to the quality of his opponents, who have combined for one win in nine games through the first three weeks of the season. When told the Saints would likely be his toughest competition to-date, Lawrence kept himself muted: “To be honest, bro, I don’t know who is 3-0,” Lawrence answered. “I don’t know who is winning. I don’t know none of that. All I know is we’ve got a job to do and (expletive), well, we’re going to do our job. Period.”
