Another week, and another poor defensive performance by the Dallas Cowboys costs them a victory.
Fresh off a horrendous beatdown at the hands of the New Orleans Saints, the Cowboys looked to get back on track against an 0-2 Baltimore Ravens team. However, much like the week before, the Cowboys’ defense came up short in many ways, setting the stage for a 28-25 loss that dropped them to 1-2 on the season.
There was very little good and a whole lot of bad, and with a quick turnaround and a road matchup against the New York Giants on Thursday Night Football, they don’t have much time to dwell on it.
Here are some overreactions to the Week 3 loss at the hands of the Ravens.
Another Week of Not Being Able To Beat the ‘Front-Runner’ Charges
Get out in front of the Cowboys and prosper. The almost-foolproof plan strikes again.
Despite Dak Prescott and Co. putting forward a valiant effort in the fourth quarter to string together three consecutive scoring drives and make it close, ultimately, it wasn’t enough to undo the wrong from the first 3.5 quarters.
A team that is generally viewed as one of the more talented in the NFL cannot seem to figure out how to overcome adversity when it strikes, and Sunday was another reminder of that.
Even when the offense was able to mount a comeback, the defense needed one stop and simply could not come through in the biggest moment of the game. Instead, Lamar Jackson proceeded to hit wide receiver Zay Flowers on an out-breaking route to move the chains, followed by a keeper to get the game-sealing first down a few plays later.
Regardless of Talent, This Cowboys Defense Is Officially Broken
Over the last two games, the Cowboys’ defense has seen the Saints score touchdowns on their first six drives and the Ravens do the same in their first pair of Week 3 possessions. Slow starts for the Cowboys’ defense have delighted their opponents and stopped Dallas from having any real chance to win games over the last two weeks.
For a group that includes Micah Parsons, Trevon Diggs, and DeMarcus Lawrence, to name a few, it sure looks like a group that is lost and can’t find its way right now.
ANOTHER @KingHenry_2 TOUCHDOWN!!!!
Tune in on FOX!!! pic.twitter.com/owL6wS9bg9
— Baltimore Ravens (@Ravens) September 22, 2024
Growing pains were to be expected with Mike Zimmer as the new defensive coordinator, but right now, this group looks to be downright inept at stopping offenses and has derailed everything for Dallas early in the season.
Maybe Dallas Isn’t a Fraud; The Cowboys May Just Be Bad
What if, and this may be controversial–Dallas just isn’t all that good? We hear about the talent the Cowboys have, but what about the talent they don’t?
With much of the burden put on the backs of a few select stars, it still doesn’t change the fact that the Cowboys have little to no investment in their running game, sub-standard options at defensive tackle, and came into the season already acknowledging they needed youth and inexperience to step up in a big way.
Dallas will always be presented in a nice, pretty bow by Mr. Jones and the national media, but what if, for real this time, they aren’t as advertised? It’s a question that’s worth asking, and although it may be hard for Cowboys fans to swallow, what they have seen on the field over the last two weeks has been abysmal.
Jerry Jones’ Refusal To Add Outside Help Is Their Demise
It’s tough to be a Cowboys fan and look over at your biggest division rival up in Philadelphia and see their free-agent pieces like Saquon Barkley flourishing. It hurts even more when you realize that Jones and Co. don’t see the value and are unwilling to try and do the same.
While you can concede that not every free agent is the right signing, the Cowboys are outright unwilling to participate during the impactful times of the talent acquisition process.
That fact handcuffs them to have to nail the draft and re-sign their homegrown talent to be competitive. However, in the same breath, they will tell fans that they cannot sign outside free agents because they have to save money to sign the players they developed and drafted.
It’s a vicious cycle that they sell to the fanbase. Meanwhile, teams around them react and reload as they look to go all in every year. It’s tough to say the Cowboys are doing the same.
Even If They Win on Thursday, No One Is Buying the Hype
It would be classic Cowboys to go out on Thursday night, on the road, and demolish the New York Giants in front of a national crowd.
It’s tough to predict they’re capable of doing that right now based on the things we have seen from them over the last couple of weeks. Yet if they in fact do that, some will be back on the hype train once again.
Not so fast, though; don’t punch that ticket just yet. A franchise that has gone 36-15 over the last three seasons does not, and should not get, brownie points for beating up cellar dwellers.
If Dallas does win big on Thursday, it should not sway you one way or another about this team.
The following week will be a matchup against the currently undefeated Pittsburgh Steelers, on the road. If they win that one convincingly, then yes, Cowboys fans should feel good about it. But again, right now, who has the faith that they are capable of doing such a thing?