For a second straight season, the Dallas Cowboys are being held back by their defensive struggles. Despite putting up the fifth-most points and most total yards in the NFL through four weeks, the Cowboys are only 1-2-1 on the season. The main reason for that has been defensive coordinator Matt Eberflus's unit's inability to slow teams down.
Much to the frustration of Cowboys fans, however, Eberflus's seat doesn't seem to be as hot as they hope. Cowboys head coach Brian Schottenheimer told reporters on Monday that the defense's failures haven't been solely on Eberflus and that the players on the field need to step up for Dallas to improve.
"There's a way to stop having those conversations, and that's playing better," Schottenheimer said via Cowboys team reporter Tommy Yarrish. "We're capable of playing better. We need to play better." This suggests that Schotty is taking the blame from the coaching staff and placing it on the players on the field.
By emphasizing the need to play better, Schottenheimer suggests that he sees the problem as an effort and execution issue rather than anything to do with the defensive scheme.
Cowboys Are Making a Mistake by Not Putting Most of the Blame on Matt Eberflus
In the first-time head coach's defense, the question was specifically about the secondary, and there are plenty of members of the Cowboys' backfield who need to play better. DaRon Bland has been dealing with an injury to begin the season, and he has been very underwhelming so far. Donovan Wilson is looking like a shell of himself, Kaiir Elam has delivered inconsistent performances through four weeks, and Trevon Diggs finally got benched in Week 4.
Yet, putting the blame solely on the players is too simple an explanation. If there are multiple previously starter-caliber (All-Pro caliber in Brand's and Diggs' cases) underperformers on the same end of the field, it may be a good idea to look inward. There is likely something about the scheme that is making these players look worse than they individually are. Whether it is playing more man instead of zone coverage, or simply playing Juanyeh Thomas more, something has to change.
For a change to occur, however, there needs to be an acknowledgement of the problem first. Schottenheimer and Eberflus are not doing that. As a result, the Cowboys rank in the bottom three in the NFL in points, total yards, passing yards, and passing TDs allowed. The defense consistently puts Dak Prescott and the offense in a position to play from behind, and that is not a sustainable formula.
The Cowboys are likely banking on the return of several key contributors like DeMarvion Overshown, Caelen Carson, Shavon Revel Jr, and Josh Butler, while hoping that Bland plays himself into shape. While more depth and quality will certainly help, it will not make up for Matt Eberflus' flaws.