EAST RUTHERFORD, N.J. — The debut of the new-look defense didn't go as planned for the Dallas Cowboys. In the team's 28-20 loss to the New York Giants on Sunday Night Football, the unit struggled to get anything going in their favor on a consistent basis and, because of that, Jaxson Dart and the rushing attack led by Cam Skattebo effectively dictated the terms throughout.
But for all of the things that went wrong in allowing 28 points at MetLife Stadium, one thing jumped right out and bit the Cowboys, again and again and again, and it's something All-Pro defensive tackle Quinnen Williams was not shy about calling out after the game.
"It was definitely third down," said one of the Cowboys four team captains. "I think we had a lot of third downs today and we didn't get off the field — a bunch of them. I think we definitely gotta be critical [of ourselves] in our approach, when we get to [preparing for Week 2].
"And it's a great week to learn, and to get things better."
Before it was all said-and-done, the Cowboys' defense allowed nine out of 11 conversions on third down, missed seven tackles (per NextGen Stats), allowed Dart to complete 23 of 29 passes with three touchdowns and a combined 165 rushing yards (54 rushing yards by Dart).
That is not the standard Christian Parker has preached throughout the offseason, and not the standard Williams is willing to accept from a personnel group he feels is better than the product they put on the field in Week 1.
"The guys we got in our locker room, especially on defense, are unbelievable when it comes down to taking constructive criticism and accountability, first of all, and let's move," he said. "We had a lot of mental errors, a lot of busts today, and just really need to be critical with that going into this week; and focus on getting better.
"We've already said it to each other, and we hold each other accountable to get better."
That sentiment is echoed by Caleb Downs, the rookie 11th-overall pick seeing his NFL debut marred by a poor collective showing on defense, and the loss that came attached to it.
Downs isn't accustomed to losing, but he also knows hanging his head won't work toward solving any problems that cropped up in New York when the Washington Commanders walk into AT&T Stadium for the home opener in seven days.
"I mean, at the end of the day, in football, it always just comes down to who does their job better," said Downs. "We've got to do our jobs better — as a defense and as a team. We get that fixed, and we'll be good. It's always frustrating as a defense when you don't get off the field.
"That's part of the job, and we didn't do it at a high level today. … We need to see what we did wrong, execute what we need to fix, and then go do it better next week."
