For the Dallas Cowboys, the first six games of the season have been like six years. They saw their Super Bowl dreams take flight. They saw all their old problems resurface. In fact, they lost all three of their home games. Do we need a bye week after last Sunday’s 47-9 loss to the Detroit Lions? They were beaten, bruised and their pride bruised. This is a great time to relax. But now that they’re on break, there’s no getting away from how bad the start of the season has been at times. Even their 3-0 road start has been offset by back-to-back games against the Browns (1-5) and Giants (2-4). It’s not all bad. They are a .500 team and just one game back in the NFC East race.
It wasn’t the start to the Championship they had hoped for this season, with the club’s boss promising they “had it all”.So while the Cowboys take stock, FOX Sports NFL writers David Helman and Ralph Vacchiano also did their midseason report for this week’s Cowboys Corner. Here are the numbers for key individuals and the team as a whole
Head coach Mike Mc Carthy
Helman: I’ve been a longtime McCarthy supporter. That’s because he brought a level of stability to Dallas that the organization hadn’t seen in decades. You can mock their playoff failures all you want, but the 2021-2023 season marks the Cowboys’ third straight playoff appearance since their first championship in the 1990s.
What I mean is, I don’t know what I’ll be protecting for the next six weeks of 2024. This team looks terrible on both sides of the ball, and a lot of that is at McCarthy’s feet. Considering he’s only a second-year player, his shaky offensive performance is definitely something to criticize. Things are looking tough for this setting. The Cowboys can’t run the ball, their receivers can’t create separation and they can’t convert in the red zone. There is no “easy” button for this attack. Some of that may be because the front office hasn’t updated its personnel, but good players can negate some of that. McCarthy didn’t. McCarthy may not be coaching Dallas’ defense every day, but as the head coach he still has responsibility for that side of the ball. That’s it. shit
Overall, I accept that McCarthy has a team that is 3-3 and that the Cowboys have been able to beat a more dominant team on their schedule. However, that is not the expectation or standard for Dallas.
Quarterback Dak Prescott
Vacchiano: Expectations are high for the Cowboys because they have MVP talent. But he’s following a truly dangerous path this season. Because he knows he has to have a team for every situation and he doesn’t have many weapons. As a result, he tends to force his throws at times, which is a big reason why he has more than six hits so far. To be fair, he should be forced to make some throws. He has to do this because no one else is going to get hurt. And the defense is waiting for him because they have no respect for Dallas’ running game.
Unfortunately for Prescott, however, he will need to regain his MVP form for the Cowboys to do well. That means he’ll have to do better than the eight pitches he’s thrown in six starts and cut down on his interceptions as he heads for a ridiculous (and career-high) 17. The most important thing is to stop trading no matter what.
Owner/GM Jerry Jones
Vacchiano: Played in every possible competition before midseason and received an F (including Derrick Henry, who received a $9 million guarantee from Baltimore). He now has wide receivers Davante Adams (traded to the Jets) and old friend Amari Cooper (traded to the Bills) available to him. Plus they keep making ridiculous excuses for not having the salary to add outside help.
He was joined by Prescott and wide receiver C.D. He was credited with extending Lamb to a long-term contract and planned to sign Micah Parsons in the offseason. Great for the future, but now? Maybe he’ll wake up before the trade deadline. But for now, one good thing Jones has done to help the team is not to panic. They could fire McCarthy for being so reactionary. But at least he’s smart enough to recognize that they’re only one game behind in the NFC East and that the division and conference are up for grabs. He has to do something to help them accept it.
Offense
Vacchiano: The Cowboys are the 14th ranked offense in the NFL, which is bigger because of Prescott and Lamb. They have nothing else. They might be the most one-dimensional team in the NFL. This will be a big problem for them in the future. Of course, Prescott and Lamb can carry this offense far. Especially if they are good. But cracks are starting to appear on the offensive line, which doesn’t help a rushing attack that allows just 77.2 yards per game, which ranks last in the NFL. This is unfortunate, but not surprising. That’s because the Cowboys decided it was a good idea to pair Rico Dowdle with what’s left of Ezekiel Elliott. If they don’t develop (or find) a running game or at least a second option in the passing game, they will have an average offense all year.
Defense
Helman: I’d like to give Mike Zimmer some credit for factors outside of his control. Injuries are a real problem for beginners. Zimmer still doesn’t have two cornerbacks in Trevon Diggs and DaRon Blaine to play with. This is important for the type of defense he likes to play. Micah Parsons and DeMarcus Lawrence were also out for two weeks with concussions. Eric Kendricks also lost to Detroit. This is important. But that’s not a good enough excuse without considering the level of incompetence we’ve seen so far. The Cowboys were generally healthy in Week 2 as the Saints rushed for 190 yards. Since then things have gotten really bad.
Consider this interesting statistic. In the three losses, opponents had a total of 31 possessions. They scored on 20 of their 31 possessions. That means the Cowboys have scored on 65 percent of their opponents’ possessions. The Saints and Lions each scored a goal in the first half! Even though Dallas had a good offense, these types of games were almost impossible to win. They have the worst defense in the league and their passive defense doesn’t do much to compensate. It’s a cruel combination. Only 5 times a year. Between the injuries and the lack of personnel, I don’t know if it’s Zimmer’s fault, but he got what he signed for when he agreed to join a no-expenditure front office as a head coach in free agency. In the last year of the contract. Despite all the variables, that run level isn’t good enough for an NFL defense.
Special teams
Helman: Finally, encouraging words. It may not matter in every other way, but Brandon Aubrey can officially claim the title of best football player. The man has been an absolute kicker this year, making a league-leading 17 field goals and allowing just two. Almost half of those attempts were over 50 yards and 65 were successful. Aubrey’s consistent punts outside the 35-yard line are a testament to the incompetence of the Cowboys offense, but at least he justified this decision. Aubrey’s ability to stay out of the logo means Bryan Anger doesn’t have to work as hard. The Cowboys have made just 17 attempts this year, one of the fewest in the league. Add in the fact that KaVontae Turpin is one of the most dangerous players in the league in the kicking and blocking game, and that’s the only aspect of this Cowboys team you can feel good about.
In general
Bacchiano: A 3-3 record is good. A game behind the division leader is a good thing. Especially with 11 games left. In fact, the Cowboys have had a good start to the season overall. The problem is that they set the bar higher than OK. They left free agency after a year convinced they were good enough to make it to the Super Bowl. I don’t think it’s fair that after three consecutive 12-win seasons, we go 9-2 again. And it’s incorrect to say they’re 0-3 at home and their two losses are by a combined score of 91-28. In fact, all three would have lost had they not engaged in a wild and pointless rally against the Ravens.
Of course, if they’re a new team or a losing team like the Jets, they might pop the champagne and get an average rating. But the standards I’m talking about are the standards. And now we don’t.
Helman: The data says they’re average, but they’re one of the top three or three worst teams that I can remember. Here’s an interesting statistic that illustrates my point: There are currently four different 3-3 teams in the NFL. The point differences between these four teams are 32, 16, 0, -4. The Cowboys point differential is -42. They ran away with wins by an average of 8 points and were kicked out of the building with losses by an average of 22 points. So in Ralph’s opinion, they have no hope of making or making the playoffs. But other than that, they don’t look like a high-quality football team at the moment. Even their victory is nothing to gloat about.
The only good thing is that they tried quite hard to engage in conversation. They are .500 and have a 1-0 record in their division, which is not a bad mark. But it takes a little jolting to get the ship back on course. This week’s break includes back-to-back trips to San Francisco and Atlanta, followed by home games against Houston and Philadelphia. Then another trip to greet the next commander. Their next five opponents currently have a combined record of 19-10, and the Cowboys will be lucky to have a favorable record in any of those games. The season isn’t over yet, but we’ve entered the danger zone.
