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An agitated Mike McCarthy stood before the Dallas Cowboys media to atone for a “very disappointing home loss” to the Cleveland Browns on Sunday.
“Turnovers got us on offense again. I’m disappointed,” the Cowboys head coach said after the 49-38 defeat at AT&T Stadium, via The Athletic. “We need to start games better. We need to do a better job of bringing our preparation (to the game). That starts with me.”
It’s true to a degree that Dallas’ offense, which has committed six giveaways over the last two games, is complicit in the team being one miracle onside kick away from an 0-4 start. To a degree. Quarterback Dak Prescott threw an interception and fumbled on a strip-sack, but he also surpassed 500 air yards and accounted for four touchdowns.
He isn’t the biggest culprit or even a culprit.
The Achilles heel is laughably bad defense. Cleveland piled up 508 total yards (including a whopping 307 yards on the ground), 33 first downs, and held the ball for 33:27. The Cowboys, despite benching starting safety Darian Thompson, allowed a trick-play passing touchdown, a trick-play rushing touchdown, and something named D’Ernest Johnson to average 7.3 yards per carry on 13 totes.
“That’s just poor run defense. There’s no way around it,” McCarthy said.
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Historic Futility
Through four weeks, Mike Nolan’s unit is on pace to surrender 584 points in 2020, shattering the current franchise record of 436. The Cowboys are the first NFL team to cede 38-plus-points and fail to intercept a pass across three consecutive games.
Injuries aside, the defense is simply incapable of getting off the field, and other than linebacker Aldon Smith and rookie cornerback Trevon Diggs, no player has provided hope of a turnaround. Lack of edge containment, poor tackling, and blown coverages are all earmarks of shoddy coaching — earmarks that were supposed to have departed with Rod Marinelli.
But rather than castigate his successor, McCarthy accepted responsibility for the club’s many flaws that, yet again, are destroying the Cowboys’ championship aspirations.
“It ultimately falls at my feet…What I don’t like is the pattern of the 4 games. The points are outrageous, time of possession is totally lopsided and we’re minus-7 in the turnover ratio,” he said, via the Athletic. “Not a winning formula.”
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Lawrence Chews Out Defense as ‘Soft’
Cowboys pass-rusher DeMarcus Lawrence didn’t set the football world alight with his Week 4 performance: three solo tackles and a tackle-for-loss. But the $105 million man felt entitled to label the defense in a most unflattering way.
“Soft. We have to hold ourselves to a higher standard. I call the sh*t soft, and we have to get better from it,” Lawrence said in his post-game remarks, via The Athletic.
It might be time for Jerry and Stephen Jones to swallow their pride and open their collective pocketbook. It might be time to bring in safety Earl Thomas or seek outside help via trade. Because the status quo — which Lawrence made clear is above his pay grade — ain’t cutting it.
“It’s not my job to worry about the scheme or worrying about what the next man is doing,” he said, via The Athletic. “I already have a hard enough job myself. It’s all about attacking and I don’t feel like we’re doing that at all as a unit.”
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Follow Zack Kelberman on Twitter: @KelbermanNFL
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