ARLINGTON — Thousands of Cowboys fans already had exited AT&T Stadium by the time Arizona Cardinals running back Kenyan Drake took a handoff late in the fourth quarter. He cut inside and gashed up the middle untouched for a 69-yard touchdown.
Don’t give Drake too much credit.
It’s easy to run down the heart of a defense when, right now, there is none.
The latest embarrassment from the Cowboys occurred Monday evening for prime-time viewing. Turnovers put the defense in sudden-change situations, forcing the unit to respond and make a stop. In all-too-familiar fashion, Dallas withered instead of rising to the occasion, allowing 24 points off four turnovers in a 38-10 loss.
The Cowboys have a minus-12 turnover margin. That is worst in the NFL.
They’ve allowed 84 points off turnovers. That is worst in the NFL.
Their record fell to 2-4. That is best in the NFL’s worst division, but when the problems are this flagrant, NFC East standings don’t matter. This team may have the time to correct its issues, but the need to address them is no less pressing.
How the Cowboys rolled over on Drake’s long touchdown hardly inspires confidence the defense possesses the DNA to develop into anything other than a liability.
“It’s [expletive]. It’s [expletive],” linebacker Jaylon Smith said of the touchdown, which came on third-and-4 with less than two minutes remaining.
“It shouldn’t happen. Excuse my language — I’m sorry. Just a little furious right now. But this is what we’re going to do: We’re going to evaluate the film. We’re going to correct it, and we’re going to move with a sense of urgency. That’s what we must do in the situation that we’re in right now, losing four games.”
Dallas has a number of problems at the moment.
Take your pick.
An offensive line already missing its top left tackle, center and right tackle lost six-time Pro Bowl right guard Zack Martin on Monday to a first-quarter concussion. That’s the unit that backup quarterback Andy Dalton is standing behind in place of Dak Prescott.
The star running back, Ezekiel Elliott, has committed five fumbles in a five-game span. All occurred in the first half. The first one was recovered. The other four were lost and led to touchdowns.
There are other problems, but let’s stay on that one.
Above all, turnovers have been a two-fold killer.
The first is that they’re happening at a ridiculous rate. Fifteen turnovers in six games is devastating. Second, the only thing more staggering about these turnovers is how poorly the Cowboy have responded to them.
As a collective unit, the defense has developed a glass jaw.
Dallas forced punts on its opening three defensive series, including two three-and-outs. But preceding the fourth series, it absorbed a first punch to the chin when Elliott fumbled at the Cardinals' 46-yard line. Arizona quarterback Kyler Murray built an 11-play drive, capped by a shovel pass to wide receiver Christian Kirk for a 6-yard touchdown.
Knockdown.
Elliott promptly lost a fumble on his very next touch on the second play of the next series. The defense returned to the field, this time backed up at its own 27-yard line. Drake scored a 1-yard touchdown run five plays later.
Knockdown.
The Cowboys further unraveled from there.
Their next defensive play was a quick-strike, 80-yard touchdown. To begin the second half, Dallas received possession. A game official botched a blatant illegal contact penalty in the Cardinals' secondary. Wide receiver CeeDee Lamb was essentially tackled when running a route, forcing Dalton to be intercepted.
How did the defense respond?
Drake rumbled to a 20-yard gain on first down, the start to a 79-yard touchdown drive. Arizona took a 28-3 lead.
Knockout.
“We’ve got to take pride as a defense about going out there and having the offense’s backs, regardless of what the situation is,” linebacker Leighton Vander Esch said.
“We have to take pride in that as a defense that we’re going to stop them, no matter what. …Everybody’s got to have that pride, that sense of urgency, that conviction that no matter where the ball is on the field, we’re going to get the job done.”
All sorts of defensive issues are plaguing the Cowboys at the moment.
To understand those problems, the team can start with the Cardinals' final play from scrimmage and work back from there.
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