Byron Jones talks Cowboys’ strong defense in playoff win vs. Seahawks

In some ways, it looked like a case of schematic brilliance, of the Dallas Cowboys’ defense getting the better of the Seattle Seahawks’ offense by virtually eliminating wide receiver Doug Baldwin (who caught only three passes on six targets for 32 yards) and bottling up the NFL’s No. 1 rushing offense that produced only 73 yards and averaged only three yards per carry.

As far as Cowboys cornerback Byron Jones was concerned, however, it wasn’t a case of outsmarting the Seahawks with Xs and Os in Saturday night’s 24-22 wild-card playoff victory.

‘There was nothing special to our game plan’

It was matter of the Cowboys’ D doing what it does best.

“There was nothing special to our game plan,” Jones told Zig Fracassi and Max Starks on Late Hits. “Our identity is make our fits, make our hits, stay on top, eliminate the deep ball. For the most part, I think we did a really good job at doing that.

‘When you play sound defense and you limit the offense to small plays like that, you win the game’

“We like to get the ball and take the ball away and create turnovers. But when you play sound defense and you limit the offense to small plays like that, you win the game.”

“For us, one thing you learn very quickly is you can’t take what we do for granted.”

The Cowboys did a good job of maintaining their poise after an extremely frightening moment when wide receiver Allen Hurns suffered a gruesome injury to his left ankle that would require surgery. Not only did Hurns’ teammates avoid being deflated and distracted by the injury, they used it as motivation.

‘We’re all playing for all our brothers out there and especially for Allen Hurns’

“For us, one thing you learn very quickly is you can’t take what we do for granted,” Jones said. “I think, at any point, you can be taken out of the game or injured. And just seeing that, I think it woke a lot of guys up (to) understand that, ‘We have an incredible opportunity to win a playoff game.’

“Of course, we’re out there and we’re all playing for all our brothers out there and especially for Allen Hurns. We’re playing for him right now. But this team is extremely resilient and we’ll use that to our advantage.”