ROCKFORD, Ill. (WIFR) – Firefighters battled a fire Thursday night that left a home with more than $100,000 in damage.

Just before 11 p.m., June 4, Cherry Valley Fire Protection District was called out to the 5300 block of Dallas Court in Rockford for a report of smoke coming from a roof.

When crews arrived, they found heavy smoke outside and heavy fire conditions inside the home. Eight area departments responded to assist, and the fire was brought under control in about 20 minutes.

No residents were home at the time of the blaze, and no one was hurt.

Cherry Valley Fire Protection District says the cause of the fire is believed to be accidental.

Based on what wide receiver CeeDee Lamb is saying about the Dallas Cowboys’ defense during OTAs, it would appear the unit might be moving in the right direction.

Of course, all eyes will be on Dallas’ defense this season after the unit was one of the worst in the NFL in 2025 and prevented the Cowboys from making the postseason.

Since then, the Cowboys have a new defensive coordinator in Christian Parker and a bunch of new players on that side of the ball, which gives hope the unit can rebound and Dallas can get back to the playoffs.

When asked about the defense after OTAs practice on Thursday, Lamb called the Cowboys’ revamped unit “annoying” and “tricky.”

“It’s annoying. It’s been annoying to prepare against, but obviously just seeing it practice every day… it’s kind of unique, just seeing different guys communicate and being able to understand and take what they learn from the meeting room and being able to easily translate it on the field. It’s good to go against, it’s very tricky,” Lamb said, per DLLS Cowboys.

There’s a few positives to unpack from Lamb’s comment.

For starters, having stiffer competition from the defense in practice is going to help Dallas’ offense get even better.

To see that Lamb is even remotely bothered by the Cowboys’ unit and calls it “tricky” says a lot about the complexity of the defense and how difficult it will be for opposing offenses to figure it out.

Then, there’s the remark about the communication, which will be key for everyone getting on the same page and the defense moving as one, which is important with so many new pieces.

Now, does all of that mean we can lock the Cowboys’ defense in for an improved season? No, but it’s a positive sign that there is progress being made toward that goal.

Cowboys’ defense is key for 2026 season

Jerry Jones said it back in March and we couldn’t agree more: the Cowboys’ defense held the team back in 2025.

“I’ll tell you, when you have the challenges we had last year, there’s no place to go but up on the defensive side of the ball,” he said. “Had we played a lick of defense last year, we would’ve had ourselves, I think, a real playoff run.”

Looking ahead to 2026, if the Cowboys want to get back to the playoffs, things have got to get much better on that side of the ball.

With an offense that stands to be elite, the defense doesn’t have to totally match that level of performance. Instead, we believe the Cowboys can get back to the postseason simply by sporting an average defense.

And, if the Cowboys can improve to a top-10 unit, it’s not crazy to think Dallas can compete for more than just a playoff spot this coming season.

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With the first World Cup match in North Texas approaching, workers are busy concealing all AT&T logos at AT&T Stadium. Because AT&T is not an official FIFA sponsor, the venue must adopt a neutral name — “Dallas Stadium” — for the duration of the tournament. Crews continue making visible progress as the countdown to kickoff accelerates.