ARLINGTON – Thousands of Cowboys fans had already left AT&T by the time Arizona Cardinals running back Kenyan Drake took over at the end of the fourth quarter He cut to the ‘inside and notched the middle intact for a 69-yard touchdown
It is easy to descend into the heart of a defense when, at the moment, there is none
The Cowboys’ latest embarrassment happened Monday night for a prime-time listening The rotations put the defense in situations of sudden change, forcing the unit to react and stop All too familiarly, Dallas withered rather than live up to it, allowing 24 points on four turnovers in a 38-10 loss
Their record fell to 2-4 This is the best in the worst division in the NFL, but when the issues are this glaring, the NFC East standings don’t matter This team may have the time to correct its problems, but the need to resolve them is no less pressing
The way the Cowboys rolled over Drake’s long touchdown hardly inspires confidence that the defense has the DNA to become anything but a passive
« It’s [curse] It’s [curse], » said linebacker Jaylon Smith of the touchdown, which was third and fourth with less than two minutes to go « This shouldn’t happen Excuse my tongue – I’m sorry Just a little pissed off now But that’s what we’re going to do: we’re going to rate the movie We’re going to fix it and we’re going to act with a sense of urgency This is what we need to do in the situation we find ourselves in right now, losing four games «
With an offensive line already missing its top left tackle, center and right tackle lost Pro Bowl right guard Zack Martin six times on Monday following a concussion in the first quarter This is the unit behind which quarterback Andy Dalton stands in place of Dak Prescott
Star running back Ezekiel Elliott made five fumbles in five games Everything happened in the first half The first was recovered The other four were lost and resulted in touchdowns
The first is that they happen at a ridiculous rate Fifteen turnovers in six games are devastating Second, the only most astonishing thing about these turnovers is how badly the Cowboys reacted
Dallas forced punters in his first three defensive sets, including two-three-and-under But before the fourth set, he absorbed a first punch to the chin when Elliott fumbled over the 46-yard line Cardinals Arizona quarterback Kyler Murray built an 11-game practice, capped by a shovel pass to wide receiver Christian Kirk for a 6-yard touchdown
Elliott quickly lost a fumble on his next contact on the second play of the next series The defense returned to the field, this time leaning on his own 27-yard line Drake scored a five-yard touchdown games later
Their next defensive play was a quick 80-yard touchdown To start the second period, Dallas received possession A game official botched a flagrant illegal contact penalty in the Cardinals secondary wide receiver CeeDee Lamb was essentially attacked while running a run, forcing Dalton to to be intercepted
Drake scolded for a 20-yard gain on the first down, the start of a 79-yard touchdown
“We have to be proud as a defenseman to go out there and have the back of the attack no matter what the situation is,” said linebacker Leighton Vander Esch “We have to be proud of that as a defense we’re going to stop them, no matter what… Everyone has to have that pride, that sense of urgency, that belief that no matter where the ball is on the pitch, we’re going to get the job done «
To understand these issues, the team can start with the Cardinals’ end game from the scrum and come back from there
Michael Gehlken Michael Gehlken joined the Cowboys beat for the Dallas Morning News in August 2019 This marks his 11th season covering the NFL, having previously reported on the San Diego Chargers and Oakland Raiders
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World News – United States – Cowboys at the top of the NFC East doesn’t matter when their problems are so glaring
