Cowboys Back to Square One
The one thing I love about covering the Dallas Cowboys is the over reaction to a win or a loss. But Sunday’s loss to the Jacksonville Jaguars showed a few things that are not an over reaction and should cause some concern for the teams and it’s fans. The Cowboys offense has shown it can put up points with anyone, that really has been the case for many years, the problem we all thought was long gone was on the defensive side of the ball and guess what, that is again the case.
This Cowboys defense was once the talk of the NFL, a pass rush like no other but things have changed very quickly on that side of the ball. A lot of that is due to injuries, the Cowboys have had key losses in the defensive secondary and to this point have not had anyone step up. Kelvin Joseph was supposed to be a stop gap, but big play after big play against him on Sunday, he was benched. The Cowboys held a 27-10 lead in the third quarter on Sunday and ended up losing the game in overtime, 40-34. I have seen plenty of blame go around on social media, most of it seems to be focused on Dak Prescott. Some of that is warranted, Dak is leading the NFL in interception rate, (interceptions per attempt). Dak supporters will point to his record since coming back from injury and will tell you some of those picks are not his fault, a true statement but right or wrong it goes on Dak’s report card. But overall the Cowboys offense has not been the issue, it’s the defense that should worry even the biggest Cowboys fan. Over the last two games the Cowboys have just one sack against two of the worst offensive lines in the game today.
The Cowboys now sit three games behind the Eagles in the NFC East meaning the chances of catching them iks all but out the window, even with the big showdown coming on Christmas Eve. So it appears, at least for now, the Cowboys will have to rely on their offense to outscore their opponents, something that has been a problem in the past. There are 3 games left in the regular season, time to perhaps fix what is broken. But with road games in the playoffs sure to come, the outlook for the Cowboys is bleak again, right back to where it all began.
