Cowboys rookie leads new pecking order at important position as coaching staff looks for answers to defensive woes

Though a tie is bittersweet, there's no denying the Dallas Cowboys exceeded expectations against the Green Bay Packers. They entered the week as the largest home underdog of the week and managed to drop 40 points on one of the best pass defenses in the league led by Dak Prescott playing elite football.

And while the defensive woes are truly concerning, at least we can appreciate head coach Brian Schottenheimer is making a clear effort to shake things up. He teased personnel changes and the Cowboys' snap counts from Week 4 show he meant it.

From a new pecking order at DE to competition at offensive tackle and an unlikely standout at cornerback, below are my biggest snap count takeaways from Sunday's big game.

New pecking order at DE

On the rise: Donovan Ezeiruaku, James Houston

Though it wasn't as advertised as other personnel changes like a shakeup at cornerback and linebacker, the pecking order is changing for the Cowboys defensive ends in front of our eyes. For the first time this season, Sam Williams didn't lead the position group in snaps. Instead he fell to third place as second-round rookie Donovan Ezeiruaku led the way with a 48% count. Dante Fowler closely followed at second with a 41% count.

Williams' drop to 35% is noteworthy as it seems his "starting" role has been put in question. Also noteworthy was James Houston's rise to over 20% of the snap count. NBC color analyst Cris Collinsworth noted he might need to play more and it's hard to argue against him. The preseason darling forced and recovered a fumble for the lone takeaway of the game.

Nate Thomas puts Cowboys tackles on blast

On the rise: Nate Thomas

Before he took over an injured Tyler Guyton late in the game, Thomas was already taking snaps from right tackle Terence Steele. It's clear the second-year tackle has impressed the coaching staff to the point of earning a chance to compete for starting reps. His play Sunday night will only add to his chances.

Though not perfect (Thomas was responsible for an illegal formation immediately after entering the game), the young lineman had some big moments, including beating Micah Parsons in pass protection without help. For a team that's preaching competition, it will be hard to keep Thomas away from the starting lineup.

All bets are off at linebacker

On the rise: Shemar James

The Cowboys shook things up at linebacker on Sunday Night Football. It started by benching Damone Clark, who replaced rookie Shemar James as the team's "healthy scratch" at the position. James ended up with 26 defensive snaps in his NFL debut and another 15 on special teams.

Additionally, Marist Liufau took more snaps on defense, proving the defensive staff is open to make changes at the position. Liufau, however, will probably not benefit a lot from having played more on Sunday. He made consecutive costly mistakes in the final minutes of the fourth quarter in the Cowboys' tie to the Packers, including a missed tackle in open space and a late hit that led to a personal foul.

Reddy Steward is here to stay

On the rise: Reddy Steward

While the Cowboys rotated their outside cornerbacks following DaRon Bland's return to the field, Steward appears set at nickel, logging a 66% snap count, the highest among Dallas cornerbacks. The young corner has been a pleasant surprise this season as he's brought physicality with good open-field tackling and a knack for fitting the run. He's not perfect but he's been good enough to allow the Cowboys to be confident in keeping Bland outside.

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