Is Mazi Smith’s success against the Giants sustainable or a one-hit wonder?

Coming off a bounce-back effort in defending the run against the New York Giants on Thursday night in a game that the defense only allowed 26 yards on the ground, the Dallas Cowboys are now looking to build off that success against two run-dominant offenses in the coming weeks against the Pittsburgh Steelers and Detroit Lions.

Where that success began and ended on Thursday night starts with second-year defensive tackle Mazi Smith who has drawn criticism from fans for not living up to his first-round billing from 2023, but his response on Thursday – accounting for three tackles and clogging running lanes to allow teammates to finish tackles at or behind the line of scrimmage – has him trending upward going into the second quarter of the season.

“Settling in, understanding the looks and just trying to play good football, fundamental football,” Smith said about his play recently. “This is the process paying off. I’m trusting the people and pieces around me. It’s finally coming to fruition.”

The trust in not only teammates around him but also in defensive coordinator Mike Zimmer has shown up in his play, as Zimmer sees a more confident Smith in year two in the league and year one under his system.

“I think Mazi has a lot more confidence right now,” Zimmer said. “When we got to training camp, I’m not sure he had that kind of confidence. It’s going to continue to grow. He’s a guy that the more times you catch him doing things right, the better he does things. Hopefully, he’s walking around with his head and chest out this week.”

Speaking on Monday afternoon after reviewing the game tape from Thursday night’s win, head coach Mike McCarthy echoed the same beliefs in his first-round pick from 2023.

“I think you’ve just seen Mazi get more confident and comfortable,” McCarthy said. “Those are the two things that I see from him each and every day.”

Has the switch finally flipped for Smith after almost 20 career games of sub-par play? That remains to be seen, as consistency is one of the key factors at the defensive tackle position. However, Zimmer and the rest of the coaching staff sees certain aspects of his game turning the corner which could offer confidence about what his future play could look like.

“I think the biggest difference is that he’s been playing blocks pretty well,” Zimmer said. “He hasn’t done as good of a job of getting up and getting off of blocks and going to make tackles [before the Giants]. Last week against the Giants, he pushed the center back quite a few times. There were a couple of times that he stunted and made some plays. That’s all a process that myself, Mazi and the defensive line coaches have to run through to see what we can do better with him.”

Smith remains in the building stage early in his NFL career. With Micah Parsons and DeMarcus Lawrence out for the next handful of games, it will be more important now than ever for Smith to help man things down on the defensive line to keep its run defense efforts from a week ago going.

To do that, Smith will be leaning on the guys around him, just as he wants them to lean on him.

“We’re all working together,” Smith said. “That’s how you get the run stopped.”