What's plaguing the Cowboys? Ranking their 5 biggest issues through 3 games

When you have two embarrassing performances at home to begin the regular season, there’s plenty of blame to go around. The Dallas Cowboys got dominated for seven of their eight quarters this season at AT&T Stadium, courtesy of the New Orleans Saints and Baltimore Ravens, respectively. Their 16-game home winning streak in the regular season coming into 2024 has been replaced with a two-game skid.

Why?

Let’s examine and rank the five most concerning issues plaguing the Cowboys right now.

Before we dive in, we should preface by saying that the focus of these issues will be on what is already in the building. For those who believe that Jerry Jones and the front office are at the root of the problems, you aren’t alone. We addressed that last week. Now, let’s turn our attention to the coaches and players.

5. Beginning of games

Understandably, this is widely framed as a defensive issue. The defensive start to the Saints game was a masterpiece of ineptitude, as New Orleans scored six touchdowns on its first six drives. On Sunday, the Ravens scored on their first two offensive drives. Even more troubling than the final result of those drives was the process, because neither team seemed to break a sweat while running up the scoreboard.

Although the defense is down badly, the offense hasn’t held up its end of the deal.

According to TruMedia, the Cowboys are averaging 4.3 points in the first quarter this season. It’s middle of the pack in the NFL but nowhere near enough to pick up a faltering defense. Last year, the Cowboys ranked second in the NFL in first-quarter points with 6.4, trailing only the Detroit Lions (6.5). In the last two games — both home losses — the offense managed a single field goal in the opening quarter. Against the Ravens, it took a record-setting 65-yard kick from Brandon Aubrey to get any points on the board.

What speaks volumes to the frustration, for both sides of the ball, is that the Cowboys rank No. 6 in the league in first quarter time of possession at 10:31. The offense manages to move the ball (fourth in the league at 97.7 yards in the first quarter) but is unable to finish drives with points, let alone touchdowns. The defense has allowed touchdowns in diverse ways, from demoralizing runs to deep strikes in the passing game.

For a team that’s built with the deficiencies we’re about to cover below, playing from behind, to that extent, is a death sentence.

4. Depth in the passing game

Star wide receiver CeeDee Lamb has to be better than he’s been through three weeks, especially his lackluster game Sunday. He’s clearly rusty, both individually and in his chemistry with Dak Prescott. Still, he’s made some plays, like his long touchdown against the Saints. He’s still getting open, even though it isn’t apparent in the production because the ball doesn’t always come his way, for various reasons.

Lamb will continue to demand attention from defenses and will be tasked to beat double teams, but that attention should open up things for others in the passing game. Brandin Cooks, the team’s No. 2 receiver, had two catches for 19 yards against the Saints and followed it up with two catches for 16 yards against the Ravens. Cooks’ speed — which has been his trademark throughout his NFL career — has hardly been a threat. He hasn’t been able to get separation from defenders or take the top off the defense. Jalen Tolbert has flashed a few times but hasn’t consistently been a threat. Jalen Brooks’ most memorable play is slipping on a pass that was intercepted against the Saints. KaVontae Turpin showed a spark in the late comeback Sunday but had two catches for 4 yards against the Saints.

Getting Jake Ferguson back in the lineup was important, especially given his rapport with Prescott, but Ferguson, so far, has been more of a reliable safety blanket than a game-breaker. None of the tight ends behind Ferguson have done anything notable.

According to Next Gen Stats, 35.3 percent of Prescott’s throws against the Ravens were thrown into a tight window. It’s his highest percentage of such throws in a game since Week 4 of 2018, the year the Cowboys’ wide receivers were bad enough that the front office gave up a first-round pick in a midseason trade for Amari Cooper. Prescott hasn’t been perfect but he hasn’t received much help, either.

3. Running game

In recent years, there’s been a reduction in value of the running back position across the league. The Cowboys, who were on one end of the extreme six years ago when they handed Ezekiel Elliott a hefty contract, have shifted to the other end of the spectrum by neglecting the position altogether. They entered the season with a committee of Elliott, Deuce Vaughn and Rico Dowdle, with Dalvin Cook waiting in the wings on the practice squad.

Many stats can demonstrate the ineptitude of the running game but here are a few to display how ineffective it’s been, from a consistency standpoint as well as the potential for big plays:

• Courtesy of RJ Ochoa of Blogging the Boys, the Cowboys’ 221 rushing yards is the third-lowest total in the first three games of the season in franchise history. Only the 1989 and 1990 Cowboys finished with worse totals, and neither season ended with a winning record.

• The longest rush the Cowboys have this season is a 12-yard run by Lamb. Dowdle has one 10-yard run. Those are their only double-digit runs this season. They are the only NFL team that doesn’t have a quarterback or running back with a run over 10 yards.

• According to NFL Pro, the Cowboys’ rushing yards above expected against the Ravens on Sunday for each running back of the committee was negative six yards.

McCarthy has repeatedly emphasized that his biggest issue with the running game is that the Cowboys haven’t had enough attempts but the Cowboys haven’t shown that they can situationally move the ball effectively on the ground.

2. Pass defense

The defense’s issues are linked. While the run defense is the headlining sore spot, the pass defense has been leaky, too. The overall numbers through three weeks get rescued by their Week 1 performance against Deshaun Watson, who is quite literally playing like the worst quarterback in the league (aside from Bryce Young, Watson is last in the NFL in QBR, among other stats).

In the last two weeks, against Derek Carr and Lamar Jackson, the Cowboys have allowed an average opposing passer rating of 134.8. Neither quarterback had to throw the ball much, thanks to the Cowboys’ awful run defense. Carr completed 11-of-16 attempts and Jackson completed 12 of 15. Both quarterbacks had signature plays, with Carr completing a 70-yard touchdown early in the game and Jackson completing a game-sealing third-down pass for a first down. The Cowboys are giving up 7.8 yards per attempt, which is seventh-worst in the league.

1. Run defense

The run defense being the Cowboys’ biggest issue shouldn’t surprise anybody. This was an issue last season when they got gashed in Buffalo in December and at AT&T Stadium in January against the Green Bay Packers. They did not upgrade the defensive tackle position in the offseason, merely adding a couple of veterans late into training camp.

Still, the ineptitude has been jarring. According to TruMedia, the Cowboys rank last in the NFL in rushing yards allowed per game (185.7) and rushing yards allowed per attempt at 5.4. Their defensive total rush EPA is a whopping minus-17.31. The next worst team is the Los Angeles Rams at minus-6.74. They’ve allowed more rushing touchdowns (eight) than anybody in the league and opponents’ rush attempts result in a first down 35 percent of the time — also the worst in the league. To further the issue of penetration up front, opponents are averaging 2.27 yards per rush before contact.

The time for major changes passed months ago. Any significant upgrade in personnel is highly unlikely at this juncture. This group of players and coaches have to figure out how to be better, or else this could be a very long season.

(Top photo of Lamar Jackson and Trevon Diggs: Kevin Jairaj / Imagn Images)