As we saw in the Dallas Cowboys‘ Week 2 win at home over the Commanders on Sunday, the team has one of the most potent offenses in the NFL, led by quarterback Dak Prescott, who now has 454 yards passing and six touchdowns in two games. As long as the Cowboys’ passing game continues to produce big games, Dallas will have a chance to win week to week. But in truth, that’s not much different than last season, when the Cowboys could score with anyone but fielded a shoddy defense that gave up the most points in the league, at 511.
The focus of this offseason was to fix the defense, to get it up to somewhere in the range of league average. Through two games, it is hard to see that the Cowboys have done that, despite swapping out six starters and hiring new coordinator Christian Parker.
Cowboys Getting Pushed Around in Run Game
On Monday, former NFL quarterback and ESPN analyst Alex Smith appeared on the “Get Up” morning program and delivered a sobering take on the state of the Cowboys defense. Yes, Dallas only allowed 20 points, but that was against a team that lost star quarterback Jayden Daniels to an elbow injury at the end of the first half.
And the Cowboys, whose reconfiguring of the D was meant to be a run deterrent, were shredded on the ground for the second straight week, giving up 182 yards and an average of 5.7 yards per carry.
Said Smith: “There is nothing in these two weeks that gives me any kind of confidence that this defense has improved in any significant way. They gave up 200 yards rushing yesterday, at home. To the point, if they can just be a little disruptive, if they can be OK situationally, combined with this offense, this team in this division has a real chance, I think. TBD on the defense.”
Defense Not ‘A Finished Product’
After the game on Sunday, the always ebullient Cowboys coach Brian Schottenheimer did betray some concerns about whether the defense is making enough progress fast enough under Parker. The Commanders converted sight of 14 third downs on Sunday.
Said Schottenheimer: “We don’t feel like we have a finished product. I think there’s a lot of things to clean up. Like I said, the third down, we got to get people off the field on third down, but the red zone was an improvement. We won the turnover margin, which is good. That gives you a chance to win.
“But like I said, the one thing I’ll say about the defense and CP this week was, they were like this, man. They didn’t blink. I’ve been in a tough situation like that before as a young coordinator and not sure and you’re taking a lot of bullets. He didn’t blink and that’s a sign of a competitor that has a very, very bright future.”
Cowboys Unit Still Under Fire Despite Week 2 Win