GREEN BAY, Wisc. — It wasn't predictable that the Dallas Cowboys' offense would be struggling to the magnitude that it is, or that the defense would be the one carrying the hope of a potential win from quarter to quarter and, now, from game to game; but that's exactly where the team is at the moment.
The defense is not perfect, and there is still plenty to repair — such as third down conversion percentage being unrealistically high — but it's also true that, over the last three games, they've put the team in position for the Cowboys' offense to finish the job, but they've done so just once (in Houston against the Texans).
Dee Winters' interception that was overturned as a pick-six is one example of this, the Cowboys offense then throwing one of their own on the next drive, but cornerback DaRon Bland understands the bigger picture: control what you can control, and the defense isn't without blame for the 2-4 record.
"We just gotta execute," he said. "We're still allowing long drives out there. We've gotta get [off the field] on third down, man. It's just execution. They were one of the worst [in the league] on third down, and they improved their percentage of conversion percentage tonight.
"We're just kind of beating ourselves a little bit on the third down. But, yeah, it really just comes down to execution."
To his point, the Packers converted six of their first six third-down attempts and went 11-for-18 overall, punishing the Cowboys for actually being good on first and second down to force them into third-and-long time and again.
"Yeah, it's about playing all four downs," Bland explained. "That's our kind of our biggest thing right now. We're doing good on first, and second, so we just got to get off on third down. It's correctable, and it's our fundamentals. That's what we've got to get back to: owning our fundamentals, and then just doing, doing our 1/11.
"That's what we all talked about — just having that 1/11 and having that connection on the field."
It's a sentiment echoed throughout the defensive locker room, noted by rookie pass rusher Malachi Lawrence, whose first career NFL start was marred by the loss.
"A loss is always tough, Lawrence added. "But you have to flush it. You can't just dwell on a loss, because then you won't gain anything from it. We can watch the film after this, and then leave it in the past, because we've got another week ahead of us.
"We can't dwell on it."
The NFC East is a barren wasteland at the moment, and that's the silver lining to a confusing and gut-wrenching 2-4 start to the season by the Cowboys, but they'll take on the Philadelphia Eagles next, on Monday Night Football.
The offense is promising to find their answers, and the defense has some of their own to search for — though they've at least taken some steps forward.
But, more, always more and, on third down, less, always less.
