FRISCO, Texas — It was all good just a week ago. The Dallas Cowboys were flying high after throttling the Philadelphia Eagles on the road, and the defense brought that same energy home to AT&T Stadium against the Arizona Cardinals, for all of two and two-third quarters.
They played with their hair on fire, far and away the most physical, locked in and well-executed outing by the unit this year and, suddenly, it wasn't anymore. Once the Cardinals made the change at quarterback to Gardner Minshew, the Cowboys unwavering pressure left the building, as did their stout run defense, and the rest is history.
And it was the wrong side of history, to be exact, the team's collapse (offense included) leading to another unfathomable defeat at home, and lots of questions that need answering.
"I believe it was the same game plan [for Minshew as it was] starting off for [Jacoby Brissett], but after they got those two big runs, you can just feel the momentum switch at that point," said starting middle linebacker Shemar James. " And, at that point, the playbook is kind of open, then. They started taking more shots down the field, guys started catching balls more, and they started executing.
"And when they started executing, we didn't."
So the million dollar question becomes a lingering one for the 3-5 Cowboys: what's the fix?
"I would say just to prep throughout the week," said James. "Just pushing ourselves past the limits, and being consistent and executing all four quarters; and five quarters, if need be. … Yeah, it's always a bad taste for [a loss] right after the game, and the day after the game.
"But, at the end of the day, it's the National Football League. We've got 17 guaranteed games that we have to play. We can't just hang our heads and think about one game the whole week and let that affect the next game, and the next and the next. Everybody in this building is [on to] the next game, and our next game is Indianapolis Colts."
Despite the continued disappointment, as odd as it may sound, the Cowboys are far from being mathematically eliminated from playoff contention, thanks in large part to a struggling NFC East as a whole.
The Eagles just dropped their sixth straight game, this time to the one-win Washington Commanders, leaving the New York Giants as the lone team above .500 in the division, but their 4-2-1 mark isn't exactly running away from the pack.
That could change though, and especially if the Cowboys don't right the ship against the hapless Colts — though it's also about keeping the ship righted, seeing as Dallas hasn't won two games in a row since November 2025.
"I feel there's a sense of urgency every week, whether we win or lose, because every week is a dogfight," James added. "I mean, we're in a National Football League, so there's not going to be a week that we have circled like, 'Oh, we're going to beat these guys.'
"You can't take [a game] off. Every week, we have a sense of urgency to go out there and execute, and it just didn't get done this weekend. And that's why we have another week to go out there and prove to people that we're the defense that we know we can be."
