3 Cowboys on Thin Ice After Humiliating Loss to Cardinals

The first two weeks of the NFL season were a piece of cake for the Cowboys, who obliterated the New York Giants and Jets by a combined score of 70-10.

Dallas came crashing back to earth in Week 3, however, suffering a humiliating 28-16 road loss to the Arizona Cardinals.

It was a rough performance all around for the offense, defense and coaching staff. It also exposed some flaws on the roster that may not have been apparent during Weeks 1 and 2.

With Cowboys fans still reeling from Sunday's brutal loss, here are three members of the team that are now on thin ice.

3 Cowboys on Thin Ice After Week 3

3. Brandin Cooks

There was a lot of hype around Cooks coming into the season as Dak Prescott's shiny new weapon, especially after the passing attack sagged last year without Amari Cooper. The veteran wideout seemed like a good addition to the offense who would provide a much-needed boost based on his impressive resume.

Well, Cooks has been a massive disappointment. His debut wasn't anything to write home about, as he caught 2 of 4 targets for 22 yards. After missing Week 2 with an injury, he stayed quiet in his return to the lineup in Week 3, grabbing just 2 catches for 17 yards.

So through three weeks, Cooks has given us just 4 catches for 39 yards and no touchdowns -- hardly the production we were looking for.

Cooks is 30 now and his numbers have been declining for several seasons, so perhaps expecting a rebound was unrealistic. Still, he needs to do a better job getting open and building chemistry with Prescott if he wants to be a key part of this offense.

Cowboys fans are already getting tired of waiting for Cooks to show up, so he better bring it in a revenge game against one of his old teams (the New England Patriots) next week.

2. Mike McCarthy

There have been doubts about McCarthy's coaching abilities for a while now. His Green Bay Packers teams frequently fell short in the playoffs despite having Aaron Rodgers under center, and he hasn't been able to get his talented Cowboys teams over the hump either.

And frankly, it's games like Sunday's that prove why. Dallas looked completely unprepared and unmotivated for this game, coming out flat on both offense and defense. The defense was particularly bad, surrendering over 200 yards on the ground and letting Josh Dobbs get whatever he wanted through the air.

Even when the Cowboys fell behind early, there was still hope that they would turn things around and make a comeback in the second half. McCarthy's adjustments didn't work, however, as the offense managed just 6 points after halftime and never got back in the game.

It's hard to feel great about McCarthy as a head coach even during good times, and Sunday's game was a brutal reminder why he's not considered one of the best coaches in the NFL. He was completely outcoached by rookie HC Jonathan Gannon, who had never won a game as a head coach before.

After that performance, McCarthy needs to step it up if he wants to keep up with Bill Belichick next weekend.

1. Dak Prescott

Prescott played fine over the first two weeks of the season, but he wasn't the reason we were dominating. He appeared to be playing more conservatively, settling for shorter, more accurate passes while avoiding big risks.

That game manager version of Prescott was nowhere to be found on Sunday, however, as he reverted into the shaky QB who led the NFL in interceptions last year. He couldn't make big throws when he needed to, causing multiple drives to stall out. He also threw a brutal pick in the red zone in the fourth quarter, putting the game on ice for Arizona.

Prescott's turnover issues were a major problem last year, so it was concerning to see them rear their ugly head during his biggest throw of the season so far.

With 16 interceptions in his last 15 regular-season games, Prescott needs to stop making these costly mistakes. It's getting increasingly hard to trust him in big moments, especially when he can't even come through against the Cardinals.

New England has a much tougher defense than Arizona, so Prescott can't afford to make those types of bad decisions next week. If he does, the Patriots will surely make him pay.

Think the Cowboys can figure things out next week? You'll get a $350 bonus from DraftKings either way, as long as you bet $5 after signing up through the exclusive Sport DFW link below. Any $5 bet on the game unlocks a guaranteed $200 bonus (which pays out whether you win or lose) plus up to $150 in no-sweat bets. Unlock your offer now to claim that $350 before it expires!