FRISCO, Texas – Oh, this Dallas Cowboys defense, the Jekyll and Hyde of the NFL. Enough to make you pull your hair out.
One week, after a slow start, the Cowboys on the road limit the Eagles to 21 points. Shut them down on four consecutive fourth-quarter possessions. Held the Eagles to 35 yards rushing in the second half.
Then six days later in the first half against the 2-5 Arizona Cardinals, losers of five of their last six games, the Cowboys held them to 136 first-half yards, just 42 of them rushing, and but 47 with 1:35 left in the third quarter. Just three points.
So if you add up those near five quarters of play, just three points and 82 yards rushing.
After that, oh my, it was as if an offensive tsunami struck on the field at AT&T, the Cardinals inexplicably scoring 27 points in a span of 16 minutes, 35 seconds to send this game into overtime. And then in extra time, even after the Cowboys stopped these pesky Cards on a first-possession three-and-out, took them just 4:09 on their second possession to reach the Cowboys' 24 for Chad Ryland's overtime-stopping, game-winning, 42-yard field goal.
Never seen anything like it.
Surely neither had Cowboys owner Jerry Jones.
But by Tuesday morning, when Jerry did his 105.3 The Fan radio segment, just when most figured he'd be spittin' fire and sending heads rolling, he was mighty pragmatic when analyzing the loss that dropped the Cowboys to 3-5 with now nine games to play. Especially over the team's defensive collapse, knowing he had seen some light at the end of this rebuilding tunnel.
"What you pay the price on, the experience has been is when you are improving, you can be inconsistent," Jerry said, mighty level-headed. "Now that's an overused word this week, but it is right in keeping with when you're trying to rebuild something."
Then to the surprise of most, Jerry put it this way: "It does not call for massive or not massive, it does not call for very succinct changes because I like the way we're trending."
Say what?
But for context, while considering points against the previous three games and nearly the entire third quarter against Arizona prior to the roof caving in, the Cowboys had given up 24 points, 23, 21 and three. This after being tagged for an average of 30 points in the first four games.
So "better?" he was questioned.
"I think it's better about what you saw Sunday in the first part of the game. I think it's as good as we've looked at any time in the last several years. But I also know it's looking that way with the future in mind that we can get better. We are getting better."
That's Jerry for you. When all looks the darkest, and most expecting frustrations to boil over, he turns on a spotlight to see more clearly.
And we'll see, come noon Sunday in Indianapolis when the Cowboys will restart their engines against the Colts.
- All About Execution: Well, returning to practice on Wednesday, the word of the day was "execution." That right there reminds me of the infamous John McKay quip when, as the head coach of the upstart Tampa Bay Buccaneers during the franchise's inaugural season when going 0-14, he was asked about his team's "execution," and right on cue he said, "I'm all for it." And on this day, my goodness, that's what head coach Brian Schottenheimer said during his midday press conference, blaming that fourth-quarter collapse on "execution." Well, defensive tackle Quinnen Williams took that to heart. Why, during his like 10-minute meet-the-press session, he must have used the word "execution" at least 20 times while trying to explain what was lacking in the fourth quarter, and what they need to improve upon defensively. "The biggest thing, we've got to execute," Q said from the start. And even at one point he doubled down with back-to-back "executes."
- Clark's Take: Now, 11th-year veteran defensive tackle Kenny Clark figures he's just about seen it all. Just not what took place in the fourth quarter of the loss to Arizona, when all began with that 63-yard touchdown run by Tyler Allgeier with 1:10 left in the third quarter after holding the Cards to just 47 yards rushing to that point. "We were improving, and that's why it sucks," said Clark when that run and Allgeier's next run of 52 yards came out of nowhere. "Hard to explain." No kidding, inexplicable.
- One Last "Execute": Even center Cooper Beebe got into the "executing" action when asked about the offensive line. Like how after the Cowboys rushed for 204 yards the previous game against the Eagles but then needing against the Cards 39 carries to rush for 93 yards, a mere 2.4 a carry. "Got to execute," he said. Of course he did.
- Cowboys Favors: No surprise, Allgeier was named the NFC Offensive Player of the Week for his 147-yard, two-touchdown performance in the Cards victory Sunday. Of those, 143 came in the second half as well as both touchdowns: the 63-yarder, of course, and then the 5-yard reception from backup quarterback Gardner Minshew, all totaling 191 scrimmage yards. And after Minshew's performance in relief of the benched Jacoby Brissett, leading the Cardinals to four touchdowns and that winning overtime field goal, the eighth-year veteran has been named the Cards' starting quarterback. And speaking of Brissett, demoted to third-team QB behind Minshew and rookie Carson Beck, there are sourced reports that the Cardinals are planning to trade Brissett to the QB-needy Ravens, knowing now Baltimore is starting Joe Fagnano Thursday night against Jacksonville in Spain since starter Lamar Jackson might have a season-ending thumb injury and backup Tyler Huntley has suffered a season-ending toe injury.
- Say It's So, Joe: Well, lookee here. When the Cowboys sent third quarterback Joe Milton to the practice squad, he certainly was surprised and not happy, but a few weeks later he was signed by the Eagles before the two teams met. And now he's been named Philadelphia's starting QB after the Eagles lost starter Jalen Hurts to the blood-clot issue and backup Tanner McKee underperformed in his three starts, all losses, producing just 45 points in those three games. This will be Milton's first NFL start and first start of any kind in a regular-season game since Nov. 25, 2023, while playing for the Tennessee Volunteers.
- Stray Pieces: Cowboys safeties Caleb Downs and P.J. Locke emerged from the Arizona game in concussion protocol, and while both did some resistance cord work and some individual work, they were put through some strenuous physical activity off to the side while not allowed to practice, the first requirement to clear protocol, with the second being to return the next day without any side effects ... The Cowboys did have seven players not practicing on Wednesday, although veteran rest for Von Miller and a personal issue with Broderick Jones … The good news, though, is that corner Joey Porter, who failed to finish the Arizona game with an ankle issue, did fully practice Wednesday … That at least gives the Cowboys the option of potentially replacing Downs in the slot on the nickel if he can't go with Cobie Durant and likely Alijah Clark at safety if both Downs and Locke don't emerge from concussion protocol … And for those wondering if any of the Cowboys' recent acquisitions have made an instant impact, well, let me introduce you to Quinnen Williams, having arrived last year at the trade deadline. So far in his first full season with the Cowboys, he leads the team with five sacks and 11 TFLs and is second with 26 QB pressures, three behind team leader Rashan Gary (29).
And since we began with Cowboys owner Jerry Jones, why not also give him this week's last word? He was asked in the aforementioned radio segment on Tuesday morning, "What do you say to the notion, the theory, the thought, that Jerry Jones is not going to pay the most top, top, top dollar for a coach, and that Jerry has to have a guy that's kind of his discovery so that Jerry Jones gets the credit?"
And the answer is with that needle sharpened:
"In the NFL, this is after years of looking at all the teams and all the coaches, there is no, there is zero correlation between how much you pay a coach or how many coaches you have as to winning. There is no correlation, and that's a random sample of years and all 32 teams involved. So put that in your hopper and smoke it.
"But the point is that you can be pretty creative in hiring your coaches. You can be creative sometimes when you don't even know you're hiring the coaches. And so, I've had some good experience hiring people who have never been in the NFL. I've had some experience hiring young coaches, older coaches. And of course, you constantly remind me, as you should, of what my record is, and I understand that, but I also know that the next time you throw the pick, if you were the old California gold miner, you may hit the Comstock Lode, and then, then it is Glory Hole."
Hey, just Google Comstock Lode.
