The Dallas Cowboys are 3-3 on the year after a 47-9 loss to the Detroit Lions in week 6 and they are in a very difficult situation. They were absolutely man handled in this game from start to finish as Detroit had nearly 500 yards of offense, while the Cowboys had the least amount of yards in a game they’ve had all season – and the least amount in a game since they lost to Buffalo in week 15 of 2023. They committed 5 turnovers offensively and quarterback Dak Prescott threw 2 interceptions while completing just 51% of his passes. You can say what you want about the Cowboys – whether they’re an okay team, or even a good team that had a bad day – or whatever the case may be – but the Lions game summarized why the Dallas Cowboys are in a bad situation. I know the Cowboys had several defensive starters out in this game – and that is definitely worth noting – but this game magnified the problems they have – and the problems will continue to have throughout the rest of the 2024 season – and what I would expect – well into the 2025 season too. And in today’s video we’re going to breakdown why the Dallas Cowboys are in a bad situation. And there is a lot to dive into in today’s video and without further ado – let’s begin
And we are starting today’s video by discussing what some of the biggest problems for the Cowboys are – and the first is the defense. There was a tweet from Todd Archer of ESPN that said the Cowboys have allowed 167 points in their last 4 home games including the regular season and playoffs which is the 3rd most ever over a 4 games span at home in NFL history. I know a lot of people like to point to Dak when the Cowboys lay an egg and point to his contract – especially now that he signed a 4 year $240 million dollar contract which put him at an average annual value of $60 million dollars per year. And there is naturally going to be criticism with that type of contract – and I get it – but Dak – a lot of the time isn’t the problem. He’s a part of it yes – but you can’t sit here and honestly blame Dak for a lot of these problems that he has no control over. This dates back to the Packers playoff game last year and even before that – there were signs that this team was starting to crack. The Packers playoff game was a nightmare as they were down 27-7 at half and within that first half – Dak threw not one, but two interceptions.
One of the interceptions was a pick 6, and the other gave Green Bay the ball in the red zone to start a drive. Dallas’s next game was against the Browns in week 1 of the following and they won by double digits. And at this point I wasn’t sold on the Cowboys being a great team by any means, but I thought they could win 10 or 11 games and maybe win a wild card round playoff game and go from there. But the New Orleans game in week 2 was an embarrassing loss as New Orleans went into Dallas and put up 35 points in the first half and eventually won 44-19. And since then – the Saints are 0-4 and have put up just 76 points in the ensuing 4 games. My problem with Dallas entering the 2024 season was that this team was going to have a high floor – but they weren’t going to be able to beat any premier teams when it mattered. And I released the Dallas Cowboys 2024 team preview with the title of “this is not the Dallas Cowboys year” because they are a very flawed football team.
But I underestimated how flawed they are. I knew the run game was always going to be a problem – and it has been through the first 6 weeks. They are dead last in rushing yards as a team and dead last in yards per carry. And whenever you have a flaw like this – that everyone knows about – and that everyone knew about entering the year – you better be good everywhere else. And they haven’t been. Not even close. Not only are they bad running the football offensively, but they are also pretty bad against the run defensively. They’re bottom 10 in rushing yards and rushing touchdowns allowed and this is a little skewed and I will acknowledge that because they allowed over 270 yards rushing against the Ravens back in week 3 – while only allowing 26 rushing yards to the Giants in week 4 – but the point is – good teams are going to be able to run the football against Dallas. Both Baltimore and Detroit showed that, and New Orleans did too back in week 2. And the reality for Baltimore and Detroit – is they’re bigger, faster, and stronger than Dallas on the offensive side of the ball and it shows. And a lot of NFL players are in in the league due to a combination of how they take care of themselves physically and nutritionally.
Now when you have the double whammy of good teams being able to run the football on you and not being able to stop it – while also not being able to run the ball to try and milk some of the clock and allow your defense to be able to rest a little bit – you are setting yourself up for failure. And simple as the concept of running the football and playing good defense is – it’s amazing how many teams do not prioritize this – with Dallas being one of them. We are 6 games into the season and their leading rushing is Rico Dowdle who is averaging 41 rushing yards per game. For whatever reason they chose to bring Ezekiel Elliott back at age 29 and in 6 games he has 115 rushing yards on 38 rushing attempts. Zeke is averaging just 3 yards per carry and out of those 38 carries – the longest run he’s had on the year is a measly 9 yards. And even within that – the longest run for the Cowboys in 2024 – is a 13 yard run by Rico Dowdle. The Cowboys also have problems along the offensive line and I don’t think it should be a surprise that they’ve struggled in the early parts of the season. Tyler Guyton was the 8th offensive tackle off the board in the first 29 picks and I think Guyton will be a fine player in the long run – but he’s struggled at times during his rookie season – which should have been expected.
Guyton did miss the Lions game in week 6 which forced Tyler Smith to play left tackle and have guard TJ Bass play left guard for the game – but even when Guyton has played in 2024 – he has shown flashes of both good and bad. And again – that should have been expected as a rookie tackle making the transition from right tackle to left tackle – and while also being the 8th tackle drafted in the 2024 draft class. I don’t think it should be a surprise Dallas is struggling as much as they are – and I know a lot of Cowboys fans are mentally checked out of this season because Jerry the General Manager has done a terrible job in terms of putting a competitive team on the field. Yes they have good players like Micah Parsons, CeeDee Lamb, and Dak – but those 3 players do not make an entire team. And we heard all offseason that the Cowboys were going to be all in this year and they didn’t do much in free agency aside from bring in linebacker Eric Kendricks, and of course – bringing back a dinosaur in 2024 in Ezekiel Elliott.
The Dallas Cowboys are in a bad situation and I break it down in a video here:
