CHICAGO – Sunday afternoon was a disappointing one for the Cowboys, as they dropped to 1-2 on the season in a 31-14 loss on the road to the Chicago Bears.
Owner and general manager Jerry Jones thought that his team came out of the gates well, but big plays from Chicago's offense ultimately made a bigger difference.
"I really thought we came out and were ready to play," Jones said. "I thought we had had a lot, and they were able to take several plays and just keep hitting us right on the nose with them. And that ended up being a big difference in the game."
It was a similar case to their 40-37 win in Week 2 over the New York Giants, who connected on seven explosive offensive plays that ultimately weren't enough to get them a victory at AT&T Stadium. The Bears had similar offensive success, and this time came out on the winning end.
"[The Bears] were able to really effectively make big plays against our defense," Jones said. "Had good, really it was two turnovers, all of that. I thought we'd come back out the second half and I thought we'd run the ball on 'em, instead they did a good job of making that 19 play [drive] and just after having the big play first half, came back out and just ground it out for a touchdown, It's just disheartening."
To put the defensive struggles into perspective, second-year quarterback Caleb Williams finished 7/13 on throws over 10 air yards for 186 yards and all four of his passing touchdowns.
One of the reasons why Williams was able to have so much success is because he had an average of 3.2 seconds to throw the ball, as the Cowboys pass rush struggled to get in the backfield. Dallas registered just seven QB pressures and did not sack Williams, who threw for 298 yards.
Jones said that he thought the pass rush was "compromised" by the four-man front that Matt Eberflus regularly deploys in his defensive scheme. In the future, Jones wants to see more players get after the quarterback if Dallas continues to struggle in the secondary, and he's confident they can improve in those areas.
"Well of course if we can't cover them, there's not but one thing to do and that's to try to rush them up," Jones said. "But we've got to get better… I'm confident we will… This is inordinate to have that many big plays."
With back-to-back weeks of noticeable defensive struggles, Jones was asked about the thought of maybe using the some of the draft capital from the Micah Parsons trade, two future first round picks, to improve the team now.
"To use that capital you've got to have the opportunity to use it and frankly, no matter what I had seen in these first three ball games, if I had the opportunity to really do some good with those picks, I would do it," Jones said, "And we've got 'em, and that's one of the advantages for if you will, making the trade."
So, that means it's at the very least on the table. Does the last two weeks make him feel any sense of urgency to explore the possibility of a trade involving those picks soon?
"Not necessarily," Jones said. "That implies that being more urgent, I can create an opportunity to use them. That usually doesn't work that way at all. You've got to have something that comes your way really special."
Jones has long said that the second you pick up the phone for a trade negotiation, you're already at a disadvantage. It appears that they'll be patient and particular in how and if they decide to move around that draft capital.
That all brings in the question of win now, or win later. As it stands right now even after a 1-2 start, Jones still believes that the Cowboys have a playoff caliber team.
What makes him think that?
"It's because you saw number 4 out there today and you saw what we're capable of doing in the run game…" Jones said. "As we evolve toward the playoffs, we have to get better defensively. Certainly."
Before they get too far ahead of themselves, a very big test comes next Sunday night with the 2-1 Green Bay Packers coming to town.
Following them in is a familiar face in former Cowboy Micah Parsons, who makes his return to AT&T Stadium for the first time on the visitor's sideline.
Jones is no stranger to the threat that Parsons presents, and knows that Dallas will be looking to find an answer for him.
"I have all the respect in the world for [Parsons], and we know him well, so you can bet that we'll be preparing for what he brings to the table and we'll be trying to come up with some anecdotes for it too." Jones said.
