The Dallas Cowboys’ defense is bad. Maybe not to the point where Jerry Jones is saying publicly that he should have ponied up the money for Rex Ryan’s services. But you know it’s bad when the defensive struggles remain the story even after wins.
The combination of Daniel Jones and Malik Nabers often had the New York Giants’ offense in Cowboys territory Thursday night. Jones’s improvements and the rise of Nabers should have been the real story for this NFC East clash, but Brian Daboll didn’t get his signature victory because his team couldn’t produce touchdowns. Fortunately for Dallas, the combination of Dak Prescott and CeeDee Lamb was better, leading the Cowboys to a 20–15 victory.
The Cowboys (2–2) are back to .500, but after the first quarter of the season, it’s apparent this team won’t get far unless the defense makes drastic improvements. To make matters worse, Micah Parsons was carted off the field with less than four minutes left in regulation. As for another reason why the Cowboys are a team in crisis: Prescott and Lamb desperately need more help on the offensive side. The Cowboys should know by now that Ezekiel Elliott won’t be delivering vintage performances any time soon. Maybe there’s something there with fullback Hunter Luepke—that should tell you how desperate this team is for offensive help.
Jones is getting his money’s worth with his two star players Prescott and Lamb after paying them a combined $376 million with the new deals they signed before the start of the season. But having Lamb take needless hits in the backfield Thursday night because the running game was in need of a spark probably isn’t a wise way to utilize the wide receiver making $34 million per year. Lamb finished with seven catches for 98 yards and one touchdown, and had three carries for eight yards. Prescott went 22-of-27 for 221 yards, two touchdowns and no interceptions. The Cowboys had 80 total rushing yards, a slight improvement from the 51 yards vs. the Baltimore Ravens and 68 yards vs. the New Orleans Saints during the two-game losing streak.
Looming commitments from Lamb and Prescott could be why Jones was feeling himself when he dropped a few F-bombs during an interview with DLLS last month. Jones said no one else can do a better job than him as general manager of the Cowboys. But Jones neglected the running back position throughout the offseason when Saquon Barkley, Josh Jacobs and Derrick Henry were free agents. And it’s been years since the Cowboys had a quality run defense. But, again, Jones probably isn’t dreaming about what could have been had the Cowboys hired Ryan over Mike Zimmer as defensive coordinator—at least not yet. Jones went 29-of-40 for 281 yards and one interception, and Nabers recorded 12 receptions for 115 yards.
The Cowboys’ defense improved against the run Thursday night, but had a few lapses on key plays that involved running back Devin Singletary, who broke a few tackles on a fourth-and-1 play that eventually led to a field goal for the Giants in the second quarter. New York gained at least 50 yards on each of its first four drives of the game, all ending with field goals. Better teams probably would have ended those drives with touchdowns, which was the case when the Cowboys fell to the Saints and Ravens earlier this season. The Giants recorded 26 rushing yards vs. the Cowboys.
But Jones had no problem connecting with Nabers and Wan’Dale Robinson (11 catches, 71 yards) to rack up yards against Dallas. This might make Cowboys fans feel better: Jones has played well in three consecutive games, quickly recovering from an ugly Week 1 performance against the Minnesota Vikings’ defense that’s smothering opposing quarterbacks with Brian Flores calling plays. But Derek Carr and Lamar Jackson also lit up Zimmer’s defense, making the dominant Week 1 victory against the Cleveland Browns a distant memory.
Dallas finished a couple of drives with touchdowns to build a 14–9 halftime lead, but it wasn’t because of the running game. The Cowboys entered the locker room with 185 passing yards compared to 29 rushing yards. Lamb was the leading rusher at that point, with one carry for 10 yards. Elliott and Rico Dowdle combined for five carries and 13 yards in the first half.
The running game is broken, but at least the Cowboys still have scoring triplets, with Prescott, Lamb … and kicker Brandon Aubrey, who drilled another 60-yard field goal Thursday night. But having that weapon isn’t always going to bail out the Cowboys when drives stall due to a lack of a running game. Aubrey missed his first career field-goal attempt of 50-plus yards in the final minute, giving the Giants one more opportunity to steal the game.
The Cowboys held on, but now they face the Pittsburgh Steelers, Detroit Lions, San Francisco 49ers and Atlanta Falcons in. Those teams might not settle for field goals in the coming weeks.
This article was originally published on www.si.com as Cowboys’ Win Over Giants Doesn’t Paper Over Defensive Frailties.