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Dallas Cowboys defensive coordinator Christian Parker, center, is seen on the sidelines in the first half of an NFL football game against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers at AT&T Stadium, Thursday, Oct. 8, 2026, in Arlington.<\/p>\n
Chitose Suzuki\/The Dallas Morning News<\/p>\n
FRISCO \u2013 The Cowboys defense is back to square one.\u00a0<\/p>\n
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The man who signs the checks, Jerry Jones, said it after his team\u2019s 24-16 loss to Tampa Bay<\/a> late Thursday night.<\/p>\n Jones reiterated his comments Friday morning during a radio interview on 105.3 The Fan.<\/p>\n Article continues below this ad<\/p>\n “Surprising isn’t even a big enough word,\u201d the team owner told\u00a0KRLD-FM. \u201cIt’s mind boggling looking at the stats of our last five games.\u201d<\/p>\n The coach, Brian\u00a0Schottenheimer,\u00a0respectfully disagreed with the idea that defense is back to square one. Injuries are part of the problem with the Cowboys<\/a>\u2019 defense, but after five games, this team has made little gains over last year.<\/p>\n After five games, the Cowboys have given up 27.2 points per game. That\u2019s three fewer points than last year over the same time span. When it comes to total yards, the defense has allowed 1,977 yards, just 83 fewer yards than last season.\u00a0<\/p>\n In the first five weeks, the Cowboys defense allowed nearly 500 more passing yards than last year\u2019s group.<\/p>\n Article continues below this ad<\/p>\n On the season, the Cowboys front has allowed teams to gain 842 rushing yards. That\u2019s last in the NFL.\u00a0<\/p>\n The next closet team is the Carolina Panthers, and they\u2019ve given up 261 fewer rushing yards. By the way, the Panthers are off this week, so the Cowboys’ defense can maintain the “worst run defense in the league” title for another few weeks.<\/p>\n And speaking of that run defense, Jones invested draft capital and a contract extension for a little over $100 million for defensive tackle\u00a0Quinnen Williams<\/a>. Jones also approved trading an elite pass rusher Micah Parsons for Kenny Clark.<\/p>\n He\u2019s getting next to nothing out of them, especially on Thursday night.<\/p>\n \u201cThe thing that probably bothers me the most [Thursday night] is how they ran between the tackles,\u201d Jones said after the game about the Buccaneers\u2019 241 rushing yards. \u201cSo [they\u2019re] able to have that running game in there with them where we have a lot of strength and so that\u2019s something that we\u2019ve got to really look at and will.\u201d<\/p>\n Article continues below this ad<\/p>\n The Cowboys stressed the pass rush would improve this season with the maturity of second-year player Donovan\u00a0Ezeiruaku, trading for Rashan Gary, spending a first-round pick on Malachi Lawrence and signing Von Miller<\/a>. It hasn\u2019t.<\/p>\n On Thursday night, the Cowboys had just one quarterback hit on\u00a0undrafted free agent rookie quarterback Jalon Daniels.<\/p>\n He looked poised and confident against the Cowboys’ defense<\/a>.\u00a0<\/p>\n Lawrence had the one quarterback hit, on a sack. It was the first of his career.<\/p>\n Miller, who said he could roll out of bed and get eight sacks, has none through five weeks.\u00a0<\/p>\n Article continues below this ad<\/p>\n He played 10 snaps Thursday night.<\/p>\n Schottenheimer said Miller didn’t play much because he’s more of a situational player.\u00a0<\/p>\n But with a defense struggling, you need the aging veteran to start turning back the clock, if he can.<\/p>\n If not, then maybe James Houston, who had 5 \u00bd sacks last season, should become active on\u00a0gamedays.\u00a0<\/p>\n The linebackers are up and down, starting with rookie Jaishawn Barham as the middle linebacker. Whenever DeMarvion Overshown returns from his hamstring injury, moving him to weakside might help.<\/p>\n Article continues below this ad<\/p>\n The secondary is a mess.\u00a0<\/p>\n Cornerback DaRon Bland <\/a>dropped an interception for a potential pick-six against Tampa Bay that would have given his team a chance to tie the score late in the fourth quarter. Bland also gave up a long pass completion as he fell on a double move.\u00a0<\/p>\n Joey Porter\u00a0Jr.<\/a> was supposed to start at the other corner spot Thursday night but an illness sent him home<\/a>. Ineffective play was left with Porter gone.<\/p>\n You have questions about why safety Caleb Downs is playing so far away from the line of scrimmage. He\u2019s playing deep safety, but you wonder if he\u2019s better suited to play near the line of scrimmage to help the run defense and maybe, hey, blitz.<\/p>\n Article continues below this ad<\/p>\n Downs, the first-round pick, recorded his first sack of his career when blitzing. \u00a0<\/p>\n The scheme doesn\u2019t make sense. The coaching doesn\u2019t make sense. The playing doesn\u2019t make sense.<\/p>\n It\u2019s all a disaster five weeks into the season. Things were supposed to get better. and instead it\u2019s spinning out of control.<\/p>\n