Picture this: eight seconds left in the first half on Sunday, and Cowboys corner Cobie Durant is face-down, defenseless in his own end zone. Suddenly, a cleat lands right on his butt, courtesy of teammate Markquese Bell, who then stumbles to the ground himself. That moment? It’s practically the perfect symbol for Dallas’ ‘hapless D’ right now, even if the opposing offense didn’t score on the play.
Prescott’s Record-Breaking Day Can’t Mask the Ugly Truth
Dallas did beat their rival Washington 37-20 on Sunday afternoon. You’d think a 17-point margin of victory would feel comfortable, right? Nope. Dak Prescott had to be absolutely heroic to get them there, and he’s now 14-2 against Washington in his career. He finished a ridiculous 26-of-31 passing for 279 yards and four touchdowns, carving his name into Cowboys history by zooming past Tony Romo for most passing touchdowns in franchise history with 249. Head Coach Brian Schottenheimer praised it, saying, “Really great to see Dak break the record at home to CeeDee. I just thought the passing game was hitting on all cylinders today.” CeeDee Lamb is already putting up elite numbers, snagging 8 receptions on 9 targets for 153 yards and 2 touchdowns, including 89 yards in the first quarter alone. Tight end Jake Ferguson also grabbed two scores. This offense is straight-up cinematic and productive. But it feels like their entire defensive strategy is just “It’s cool, Dak’s gonna save us.”
Washington QBs Made Dallas’ Defense Look Like a High School JV Squad
Jaxson Dart diced up the Dallas secondary last week, and Washington’s quarterbacks, Jayden Daniels in the first half and Marcus Mariota in the second, took their turn at the table. This defense is just a mess. They committed boneheaded penalties that wiped out sacks or kept drives alive, allowed rushers to grind out extra yardage and receivers to get loose, looking completely overwhelmed and overmatched. Fate cut them a break when Daniels dislocated his left elbow on the final play of the first half, forcing him out of the game. Yet, Dallas still let Mariota, yes, *that* Marcus Mariota, craft two second-half scoring drives and almost tie a game the Cowboys supposedly controlled. Washington had chances, too. They missed wide-open receivers in the end zone twice, and a third-quarter should-have-been-a-TD was called incomplete, leading to a field goal instead of a potential 17-17 tie. Prescott was even on the sideline by the end of the first half, whirling a towel trying to rally his defense, but it didn’t work. They kept struggling on crucial third-and-longs.
This team was a trendy preseason Super Bowl pick, but without Prescott and Lamb playing out of their minds, they would be 0-2 already. The defense is an early season problem that’s getting harder to ignore. If they don’t fix these fundamental issues, those offensive heroics won’t be enough to carry them when it really counts.
This article was created with AI assistance and published under Seattle On Tap’s editorial standards. See our Editorial Policy.
Originally reported by Yahoo Sports.
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