Week two went about as any seasoned Cowboys fan would expect. Rather than playing a competitive game against a good Saints team, Dallas showed up flat, just like in last years playoffs against Green Bay. This is my biggest gripe with Mike McCarthy’s teams—they lay an egg 3-4 times a season. Last year, it was the Niners, Bills, and Packers. This year, it came early against the Saints. Will we see another repeat performance when they face a player they’ve historically struggled to contain (Lamar Jackson)?
The most frustrating part is that it’s a team issue. I see a lot of commentary saying, “Well, Dak can’t stop the other team from scoring 35 points by halftime.” True, but Dak also needs to do better than putting up just 19 points—or only 16 by halftime. Settling for field goals is not a winning formula. We saw this last year when the offense started slow, then tried to catch up later in the game. Let’s be honest, the problem is as much on the offense as it is the defense. The naive Cowboys fans who have drank the Jerry Jones Kool-Aid will say “you’re not a true Cowboys fan”, but has this team shown anything in the past 20 years to say otherwise? At some point, what all the Cowboys hater say are true. They’re going to choke when it matters and I think that stems from the team just accepting it as inevitable.
My biggest complaint with paying Dak $60 million isn’t that he didn’t deserve it—that’s just how the market works. It’s that, with that price tag, you can’t surround him with the necessary weapons. The hard truth about Dak that many refuse to acknowledge is that he’s only as good as the pieces around him. He’s not the quarterback who will elevate a team to the next level on his own. Case in point: zero conference final appearances. Also, throughout Dak’s career he’s had at minimum two future hall of famers on the o-line in Zack Martin and Tyron Smith. Now it’s down to just Zack Martin, so it’s not going to get any easier.
I read an article recently that said the Cowboys lack “skilled” players beyond CeeDee Lamb. It’s true, but that’s due to poor drafting and overestimating Dak’s capabilities. I remember watching Romo deal with bad teams on both offense and defense, yet they still remained competitive. He made Miles Austin a legitmate #1, TO saying “that’s my quarterback” in tears, and the best years of Dez Bryant’s career. Dak was never able to get on the same page with Dez before his body failed him. The one year Romo had a stud in DeMarco Murray, they boasted one of the best offenses in the league and set records. When you waste a first-round pick on a defensive tackle (more on that later) and draft a blocking tight end in the second, this is what happens.
I wasn’t thrilled with Dallas drafting Guyton in the first round when Xavier Worthy (now a Chief) was still on the board this year (2024), but it was necessary after letting Tyron Smith walk, which was a terrible decision. At $60 million per year, Dak better deliver, or Cowboys fans will be looking at another four years of the same mediocrity.
Dallas had the chance to sign Saquon Barkley, who probably won’t play a full 17 games but is explosive when he’s on the field. Instead, they re-signed Zeke. While I love what Zeke did for Dallas, we all know he’s now a limited back and past his prime—only useful for short-yardage and goal-line situations. Beyond that, are we supposed to believe Rico Dowdle is a top back in the league? Even selling Tony Pollard as a feature back was a stretch a year ago. I’m not saying we need the next Emmitt Smith, but without a run game, Dallas isn’t going far. We’ve seen what happens when Dak has to throw 40+ times, and aside from last year’s game against Seattle, the results are never good.
Now, onto the defense. It’s the same story, year after year: when teams commit to the run, Dallas just can’t stop them. Wasn’t the whole point of drafting a run-stuffing nose tackle to address this? But, just like in games against Buffalo and Green Bay, nobody wanted to take on the running backs or pulling linemen. Games like these make me question if Micah Parsons will ever reach that next level. You don’t see guys like Myles Garrett, T.J. Watt, or Nick Bosa being completely taken out of games. Brady said on the telecast the best place for Micah is on the sidelines, and if I were him, I’d take that personally. You just don’t see the nasty side show up with Micah. Maybe it’s because I grew up watching the Ray Lewis, Brian Urlacher, Patrick Willis, Navorro Bowman, James Harrison and Luke Kuechly wreck games but I feel like Micah should still have that type of impacts in game when he’s being run at or opposite field.
Do I think they’ll improve as the season progresses? Sure, but these games will continue to pop up. The worst part was how predictable the Saints’ running plays were by the end, and yet Dallas couldn’t stop them. A wide run left, wide run right, and then a bootleg when Dallas overcommitted—it was that simple. Averaging 4.9 yards per carry, why would the Saints change anything?
Eric Kendricks did what he could, and I’m still glad Dallas signed him this offseason. But seriously, where were the linebackers Dallas had been hyping? I don’t understand this philosophy that devalues linebackers and safeties while investing heavily in cornerbacks and edge rushers—when teams can just run up the middle and avoid those positions altogether. DeMarcus Lawrence also disappeared, which is unusual, considering he’s one of the best run-stopping defensive ends in the league. I understand it’s now a throwing league but the old football adage of everything starts with the run still holds true because it sets up everything else from play-action to screen plays. It’s like a pitcher who only throws a fastball at +100 mph is good, but add in a change-up or slider and he becomes a beast even if he only throws it one or two times.
With Mike McCarthy in the hot seat, Dallas needs to evaluate which players on defense are worth keeping around for the future. I’ll say it now, just as I said it on draft day: Mazi Smith and Luke Schoonmaker were mistakes. I don’t know why Dallas keeps going back to the Michigan defensive line well (maybe they’re still trying to prove that Taco Charlton was the right pick over T.J. Watt) when it hasn’t panned out. Their best success, Micah Parsons, wasn’t even their first choice (they wanted Patrick Surtain or Joe Horn). Aside from that, DeMarcus Lawrence and Randy Gregory were second-round picks and performed in their time with the team. GG to Randy Gregory as it looks like his career is over after being a no-show for Tampa Bay.
In my opinion, Dallas is overthinking their draft picks and making things worse. The season just started, but I’m already counting down the days until McCarthy gets fired. A Super Bowl run would be great, but this game shows why I’m not optimistic. Of course, they could go on an 8-0 run, and everything will seem perfect—until they crash in the playoffs. Life as a Cowboys fan!
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