Following its Week 6 loss to the Carolina Panthers, it is clearly evident what the Dallas Cowboys are as a football team. The defense is a complete atrocity, and Jerry Jones bears most of the blame.
After the Micah Parsons trade, many anticipated the Cowboys would regress from what was already a lackluster defense. Six weeks into the season, Dallas has been unable to do anything right on that side of the ball consistently. The run defense Jones promised would significantly improve has looked the same, if not worse. The pass defense has made every opposing quarterback look elite with a secondary that looks lost and no reliable pass rushers.
The Cowboys currently rank last in passing and total yards allowed per game, 28th in rushing yards allowed per game and second to last in points per game allowed.
The Cowboys were hoping that Matt Eberflus would make a difference as the team's third offensive coordinator in the past three seasons. But the biggest issue of all is the constant whiffs that Jones has made on the defensive side of the ball.
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Dallas has been very hit or miss, particularly through the draft in recent years, but the misses are far more glaring. For example, Mazi Smith, first round pick in 2023, was brought to Dallas in hopes of beefing up the interior of the defensive line. However, it seems the Cowboys are veering away from Smith as he has failed to show any signs of improvement.
Jones’ lack of defensive acquisitions in free agency or via trade have also been a problem for the Cowboys throughout the years. Jones often makes moves for players past their primes or players who weren’t able to figure it out on their previous teams with Kaiir Elam being an example. The Buffalo Bills’ first round pick in 2022 saw his way off the field in Buffalo, and was brought in this offseason in hopes for a revival. However, Elam has seemingly played himself into a backup role with an already struggling Cowboys secondary.
As for the Parsons trade that Cowboys fans might not want to be reminded of, it’ll be a couple years until the ramifications of the trade will be assessed. But for now, Dallas has missed Parsons’ ability to rush the passer. The “by committee” approach the Cowboys defensive front have trotted out is simply not worrying opposing quarterbacks and coordinators. Kenny Clark has been solid so far this season, but is coming off a dud against Rico Dowdle and the Carolina Panthers.
Through the recent years, fans have questioned Jones’ willingness to do whatever it takes to build a title contending roster. With how his offense has looked so far, the trade deadline is his opportunity to make a few splash moves on the defensive end. The NFC East is certainly there for the taking, but it may not matter if Jones can't bring in the right players to help his struggling defense.