For as good as Week 1 was for the Dallas Cowboys, that’s just how bad things looked for them in Week 2 against the New Orleans Saints. The Cowboys were run out of their own building during their home opener and head into Week 3 with questions about their legitimacy at a deafening level.
With a lot to make of the poor performance, let’s take a deeper dive into the numbers that propelled the team to its first loss of the season.
Cowboys’ Loss Told by the Numbers
Defense Got Humiliated All Afternoon
Quite simply, there wasn’t a point during Sunday’s game when the Cowboys’ defense looked competent. They were outmatched from the very beginning and could not put up any type of fight all afternoon long.
The Saints scored 44 points on the day, 35 of them in five consecutive drives during the first half. They were not forced to punt until the midway point of the fourth quarter, and every star in New Orleans had a banner day.
Quarterback Derek Carr finished the day 11-for-16 for 243 passing yards and two touchdown passes, while Alvin Kamara tallied 180 total yards and four touchdowns. Add in the fact that star wide receiver Chris Olave finished with 81 receiving yards, and Rashid Shaheed added 96 himself … everyone was eating good against the Cowboys’ defense on Sunday.
Whether it was Micah Parsons being held without a sack and only three tackles, or the fact that the entire defensive line was getting manhandled off of the line, there wasn’t a single thing to feel good about for the unit in Week 2.
A gut check this early in the season feels overreactive, but with Lamar Jackson and the Baltimore Ravens coming to town this week, they may need to take a good hard look at themselves before they find themselves below .500 heading into Week 4.
The Offense Wasn’t Great, but They Never Had A Chance
In the NFL, especially when it comes to the Dallas Cowboys, all eyes turn to the quarterback. Whether good or bad, Dak Prescott’s box score will always be under the microscope.
Prescott wasn’t the problem on Sunday, but it wasn’t his best performance anyway. He finished with two interceptions, one of which came when Jalen Brooks slipped, setting up the ball and hitting Paulson Adebo square in the hands. It was the perfect example of “if anything can go wrong, it will go wrong” for Dallas on Sunday.
In addition to Prescott, the running game was unable to find any rhythm. Despite the unit scoring on four of its first five drives of the game, it still found itself in a 19-point hole in the first half that it was unable to climb out of.
In Week 1, the defense seemed to lift the rest of the team up, while in Week 2, it was clear they were holding them back. The offense was behind the 8-ball from the jump, and as a result, all they did was add to the ugly.
A Historically Bad Performance
It’s well known that the defense played horrendously on Sunday, but to put it in the proper context, you have to look at it from a historical vantage point. The ineptitude the defense displayed on Sunday was of historical proportion and is truly alarming for this 2024 Cowboys team.
New Orleans scored a touchdown on its first six consecutive drives and only punted once. Carr threw an insignificant interception that was followed by Prescott throwing his second of the day on the very next play.
The Cowboys allowed the Saints to reach 432 total yards while scoring 44 total points, holding the ball for over half of the game. It was only the ninth time in their over 60-year franchise history that they allowed such a feat.
Add in the fact that Dallas allowed 92 points in their last two home games — the most over a two-game span at home since 1960 — for being a team that appeared to be unbeatable at home for much of 2023, it has turned into a home disadvantage of sorts.