In terms of total yardage Jalen Reagor was the third-most-impactful player on the field for the Purple.
He only touched the ball on offense twice
So yeah, the Planes have a playoff-caliber defense.
Makes it more impressive how well Swaggy C & the O were able to do in the second quarter, building the 20 - 3 lead.
It's pretty clear now that following the exposure the hole the coaches identified that lead to Cook & Mattison each getting into the end zone was resolved in the visitor's locker room while an alternative weakness was never uncovered on the home team's side.
The defense once again found ways to pick up the offense when it slumped, making few outside of Greg Zuerlein fantasy owners happy in the process. Cam Bynum got a good measure of redemption for the two picks that he's been blocked from bringing in and earlier in the game Harrison Smith added to his HOF credentials with his 34th. Even so, following another dreadful third quarter, the team put itself on a razor's edge of losing to a team which had to make five field goals to avoid getting blown-out.
You could say it was a bend but don't break operation but sustaining that through a run to the place where most top teams aspire to go seems about as likely as winning the lottery tonight.
Despite pedestrian numbers once again Cousins deserves credit for keeping the team going when they need it most. He was only sacked twice but he took plenty of other hits along the way only to get back up, deliver the ball where it needed to go & get hit again. It was a vicious cycle that referees continue to not see or allow in double-standard fashion. With just five games remaining in the regular season that isn't likely to change but could derail a conference-championship-level season.
Today's performance also isn't going to increase the amount of respect that talk-show members have for the team. You'd like to think that it wouldn't be the case because the Planes are on track to be a playoff team but with the back-up quarterback (who seems to be better than their opening day starter) the Purple will once again only get partial credit.
Who knows, maybe the disrespect card will continue to work in their favor as they move through the dog-days of the season. That would be as great as the performance was tough to watch.