Was this Mazi Smith's best game?

Was it just me, or were there several clear sightings of Mazi Smith against the Giants on Thursday night? He seemed to play much more aggressively at the line of scrimmage, forcing the action and getting off the ball quickly. What did he and the run defense do differently against the Giants, and can that continue in the future? – Craig Engel/Ventnor City, NJ

Nick: First of all, you want to assert yourself in this position. Make sure you don't get pushed back and create big running paths for the opponents. That obviously wasn't the case against the Giants, who averaged just 1.1 yards per carry. That makes you a solid defensive tackle, which would be an improvement over what we've seen from Mazi Smith so far. If you want to be a good to great defensive player, you have to be disruptive. You need to push your man back into the backfield a few times. You must stop the runner behind the line of scrimmage. Mazi Smith did it better on Thursday night than I've ever seen him do in his young career. To say it was his best game doesn't say much because of course he just didn't have that many moments. But it was a nice start and a necessary one considering how little depth they currently have on defense.

Patrick: Yes. Next question. … … But all joking aside, it was absolutely the best four quarters of football Mazi Smith played for the Cowboys, and to be honest, it's a continuation of what he did in the fourth quarter against the Ravens even though the game was a loss. The former first-round pick is starting to emerge as a starting nose tackle, but what he needs to establish now will remain consistent over the next few weeks. His numbers will never go away because of the position he plays, and he's not Aaron Donald because no one does, but the way he's starting to make an impact isn't just in run defense, but also in how he moves bodies to allow the linebackers a path to the pocket. If he keeps this up, he's going to prove to a lot of people outside this building that they're very, very wrong.