The Dallas Cowboys’ much-hyped new defense? It got absolutely torched in Week 1, falling 28-20 to the Giants and posting the worst defensive success rate of any team that played Sunday at a dismal 39.7%. Think about that for a second. The worst team last year was at 50.1%. That’s a huge drop, and it shows just how far this unit has to go.
Christian Parker’s ‘Improved’ Unit Was a Disaster
Dallas went all in this offseason, bringing in new defensive coordinator Christian Parker. They drafted first-round defenders Caleb Downs and Malachi Lawrence, plus added veterans like Jalen Thompson, Cobie Durant, Dee Winters, and Rashan Gary. Even gave Quinnen Williams an extension. The word was this defense would be “much-improved.” Nope. Not yet, anyway. Giants quarterback Jaxson Dart had a field day, going 23 for 29 for 230 yards, three touchdowns, and zero interceptions. He only got sacked twice, losing a combined 1 yard. Receiver Isaiah Likely snagged six passes for 78 yards and two scores, and Malik Nabers, in his first game in almost a year, pulled in six catches for 69 yards. It’s not just the yardage either; the Cowboys ranked 21st in pressure rate despite blitzing at the NFL’s seventh-highest rate. And the Giants converted nine of their eleven third downs. That’s their best rate in a game since 1978! Cowboys coach Brian Schottenheimer didn’t mince words, saying, “I thought overall we were really, as a football team, we were pretty poor.” He added, “They were the more physical team tonight. That’s certainly not our standard.”
Paper Cuts and Ball Control Killed Them
It wasn’t all bad, weirdly enough. The Cowboys actually didn’t allow a single play of 25+ yards, a huge improvement from last year when they gave up an NFL-high 54. But instead of bleeding out from big gashes, this defense died a slow death by a thousand paper cuts. Dallas gave up 29 plays of between 5 and 15 yards. Only the Saints and Rams allowed more in Week 1! These were easy, easy gains. You want a damning sequence? The Giants’ 13-play, 65-yard touchdown drive late in the game finished with three Devin Singletary dump-offs in four plays. Those are supposed to be “give-up” plays! Schottenheimer hit it right on the head, “Situationally, they were outstanding. They did a really good job of keeping the ball away from us in the second half. I think they had the ball for 36 minutes and 40 seconds.” When the opponent has the ball for over 36 minutes in half of football, you are doing something terribly wrong.
“This is a humbling business,” Schottenheimer said. “We got humbled tonight.” He’s not wrong. For Parker and this “new look” defense, Week 1 was a rude awakening. The work to fix this is just getting started, and those numbers are screaming that a lot needs to change, fast.
This article was created with AI assistance and published under Seattle On Tap’s editorial standards. See our Editorial Policy.
Originally reported by CBS Sports.
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