Dallas Cowboys safety Jayron Kearse shared his thoughts on the defense’s mindset for Monday’s game after a deflating loss in Week 5.
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Dallas Cowboys’ Defensive Downfall
Kearse says the defense is still great and knows who they are despite what happened on Sunday.Â
“We had a rough one. They had our number. They beat us bad, speaking on the defensive side. That’s all it was,” Kearse said.
“We weren’t crowned the best defense in the league after we [beat the New York Giants], and we aren’t going to be crowned the worst defense in the league after what went on Sunday. We’re just going to continue to work and continue to get better. We know who we are.”
During the 42-10 win, the Cowboys’ defense kept the team in the game throughout the first half, where the largest lead was only 14 points going into the second quarter. Had the offense effectively gone down the field and scored, the team could have come back from a three-score deficit.
MORE: Observations From Dallas’ Week 5 Loss
However, after the offense was unsuccessful in winning the time of possession battle and keeping the defense off the field, all momentum was lost, and self-inflicted wounds dug them into an even deeper hole.
The team had six penalties for 60 yards during the game, and four were on the defense.
Jayron Kearse’s Thoughts on George Kittle’s Shirt
San Francisco tight end George Kittle had a hat trick of touchdowns during the game, scoring three of the team’s four passing touchdowns.
During one of those touchdowns, Kittle showed off a shirt under his jersey that read. “F— Dallas,” adding salt to the Cowboys’ wound of losing.
NFL is considering fining 49ers’ TE George Kittle for the T-shirt he wore Sunday night vs. the Cowboys that contained a profane message about the Cowboys. Under the terms of the NFL’s fine schedule, personal messages carry a fine of $10,927. pic.twitter.com/xxdtEXG0cZ
— Adam Schefter (@AdamSchefter)
Kittle could potentially get a nearly $11,000 fine for the profanity violating the NFL‘s code of conduct for all players.
Kearse said he didn’t have a problem with the shirt and took accountability, saying, “We let him get into the end zone. He chose for that to be his celebration. The only way to stop that is to keep him out of the end zone. I don’t have a problem with nothing he did.”
Can the Cowboys’ Defense Bounce Back?
The Cowboys’ safety doesn’t plan on dwelling on the Week 5 matchup. In fact, Kearse doesn’t see the team as a whole allowing it to define them, unlike the Giants and Arizona Cardinals, who have struggled to win since playing the 49ers.
“That’s unfortunate for those teams that go out and lose the next week after a game against the Niners. That’s unfortunate for them. But we’re not those other teams,” said the veteran safety.
Dan Quinn agrees with Kearse and believes this defense can recover from the loss. Quinn says there are two choices after a loss: to pout about it or to get back up and take the challenge head-on to get better.
MORE: Mike McCarthy on the Hot Seat?
“There’s no finger-pointing with our group. In fact, you see the fingers pointing in the direction that we need to do [saying] ‘hey, let’s work this, let’s work that,’ and so I admire that about our group,” said Quinn.
The Cowboys will face the familiar Kellen Moore-run offense in Los Angeles on Monday night, putting their resilience to the test.
