The Cowboys’ pass rush was nowhere near what it had been through the first part of the 2017 season. Through 12 games, DeMarcus Lawrence and David Irving had wrecked the league to the tune of 19.5 quarterback takedowns. That was even more impressive considering Irving had missed the first four contests with a suspension.

That all fell down when Irving missed the rematch with the Giants in Week 14 due to a concussion. Fans often times dismiss the severity of concussions, mostly because that’s been the NFL’s modus operandi for decades upon decades. Hearing Irving’s story of why his concussion ended his promising season, through the words of CBS Sports’ Mike Fisher, provide plenty of insight into how serious it was. Irving was involved in an accident while driving his daughter to school.

“I rolled through a stop sign and got in a fender-bender with the truck ahead of me, and didn’t even realize what I’d done or where I was,’’ Irving told me on Monday in his first at-length media visit since the injury. “That’s when I knew I needed help.’’

That was the day after the Cowboys righted their ship with a 38-14 thrashing of the Washington Redskins. Irving had a quarterback hit, pass deflection, tackle for loss and a bone-crushing hit to Redskins QB Kirk Cousins.

If he was injured in the first half but finessed his way back into the lineup, it’s possible more damage was done when the following play occured.

“It’s hard to put my words in order,” said Irving, who endured a headache while in the locker room during Monday’s Exit Interviews. “I’ll be talking and I’ll know what I want to say but then when it’s time to talk, I can’t say it. … Like a deer caught in headlights.”

Irving has progressed through each of his first three seasons in the league after being undrafted out of Iowa State. Dallas’ front office, led by Will McClay, plucked the former Cyclones player (who had been dismissed from the team) off of the Kansas City practice squad in 2015. He appeared in 12 games his rookie year before playing in 15 games last season.

The breakout was obvious early on, as he forced three fumbles in an early game against the Packers. He flashed again late in the season when he completed dominated the entire fourth quarter against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.

The issue was his inconsistency, but that all went away in 2017. From his return in Week 5, he excelled despite being permanently forced to the three-technique defensive tackle position.

Irving revealed to Fisher he bulked up from 280 to 305 pounds to take on the extra pounding. His speed was clearly not impacted at all.

Irving finished the season with seven sacks and six pass deflections, honoring the teachings that if a pass rush isn’t effective, turn into a pass defender.

The biggest issue for Irving will be getting healthy. Being able to do daily life activities sans impediments is paramount. Getting back to his old self on the football field is secondary.

Dallas will tender Irving a one-year contract, as since he doesn’t have four accrued seasons, he is a restricted free agent. The Cowboys will decide between a first-round and a second-round tender. The monetary values are different, but the gist is any team that wants to sign Irving to a multi-year offer sheet will have to give Dallas a draft pick matching the level of the tender.

He’ll be with the Cowboys for at least one more year. Irving’s suspension was for PED use, and he claims it was from taking a substance which he didn’t get cleared by the team’s medical staff. Outside of the suspension, there were rumblings he didn’t take his job seriously and that was the reason for his sporadic displays of immense ability. He was also suspended one game in 2016 for a on-field fight.

All of that appeared to be behind him in 2017. Capitalizing on the focus opposing offensive lines had to pay to DeMarcus Lawrence, Irving was a force who often needed to be double-teamed himself. The idea of both players having a full 16 games together may be the reason Rod Marinelli doesn’t see himself riding off into the retirement sunset just yet.

First, though, Irving will have to get his mind right this offseason, and that has nothing to do with any choices he makes.