Cowboys' defense needs to find a happy medium after wildly different showings in the first 2 weeks

Published Sep. 16, 2024 1:36 p.m. ET

share

facebookxredditlink

FRISCO, Texas (AP) — The Dallas defense was as bad in a Week 2 blowout loss at home to New Orleans as it was good in a season-opening victory at Cleveland.

Micah Parsons and the Cowboys probably need to find a happy medium in the celebrated return of defensive coordinator Mike Zimmer.

“Everyone didn't play to 100%,” the star pass rusher said after the Saints scored touchdowns on their first six possessions in a 44-19 victory Sunday. “That's just me being accountable and just saying the truth. We all got to play better.”

The Cowboys gave up touchdown passes of 70 and 57 yards. Derek Carr averaged 22 yards per completion, and the Saints had 190 yards rushing with a 4.9-yard average per carry.

Quite the contrast to the opener, when the Browns had just 54 yards and one first down before halftime and averaged just 3.3 yards per play for the game. The Saints were gaining more than 10 yards every snap past halftime before finishing at 7.7.

The Cowboys couldn't stop the run and couldn't get to Carr. They had one QB hit a week after getting 17 while sacking Deshaun Watson six times.

“I'm trying to right the guys, get everyone to calm down,” Parsons said. “This is adversity. Don't shy from it. I'm happy that I get to see tomorrow because I believe there's a lot of things that need to be fixed.”

Zimmer is back with the Cowboys after a couple of years out of football following eight seasons as coach in Minnesota. He was on the Dallas staff for 13 seasons starting in 1994.

One of Zimmer's linebackers with the Vikings, Eric Kendricks, had two sacks and an interception in his Dallas debut against the Browns. He and Parsons — and just about everybody else — were shut out on sacks and QB hits against the Saints.

“It's a good piece of humble pie for sure,” Kendricks said.

What's working

K Brandon Aubrey is 8 for 8 with three field goals of at least 50 yards after setting an NFL record by making his first 35 attempts as a rookie last season. He has four field goals in each of the first two games.

What needs help

Home-field advantage is suddenly a problem for Dallas. The Cowboys technically still had a 16-game home winning streak in the regular season before the loss to the Saints. But realistically, it ended with the shocking 48-32 wild-card playoff loss to Green Bay in January.

The Cowboys gave up 62 points combined in the first halves of those games, falling behind 27-0 against Green Bay and 35-13 against New Orleans.

Dallas was down 48-16 against the Packers before two meaningless late touchdowns and 2-point conversions, and now the club has posted the second-worst loss in a home opener since owner Jerry Jones bought the team in 1989.

Stock up

WR Jalen Tolbert had the best catch of the day for Dallas, a contested, leaping grab for 39 yards when the Cowboys were trying to trim a 35-16 deficit on the opening drive of the second half. It was another drive that stalled on quarterback Dak Prescott, who had two interceptions, and ended in a field goal while the Saints kept getting in the end zone. Tolbert had career highs in catches (six) and yards (82).

Stock down

The running game probably deserves a break considering the Cowboys were playing from behind all the way against the Saints. By late in the second quarter, passing was going to be the only way to recover. Still, the numbers aren't pretty through two weeks at a position that figured to be an issue.

The Cowboys are averaging just 3.7 yards per carry as a team, and the longest run is a 12-yarder by All-Pro receiver CeeDee Lamb.

Injuries

Six-time All-Pro right guard Zack Martin was evaluated for a knee injury against the Saints but returned. ... TE Jake Ferguson figures to have a good chance to play after missing a game coming off a knee injury sustained in the opener. He was listed as doubtful for the New Orleans game.

Key number

92 — Points allowed by the Cowboys in consecutive games at AT&T Stadium. That's just a point shy of the franchise worst from the winless expansion season of 1960. Dallas went 0-6 in the Cotton Bowl in that 0-11-1 season, with back-to-back losses of 48-7 to Cleveland and 45-7 to Baltimore.

Next steps

Lamar Jackson and the Baltimore Ravens visit Sunday, and the question is which team will be angrier. The Cowboys were embarrassed by the Saints, and the Ravens are 0-2 for the first time since 2015.

___

AP NFL: https://apnews.com/hub/nfl

share

in this topic

Eric Kendricks

Deshaun Watson

Derek Carr

Micah Parsons

Baltimore Ravens

Dallas Cowboys