Cowboys Point/Counterpoint: Cowboys mental fortitude may doom them

If you were to describe the 2024 Dallas Cowboys with a Taylor Swift song, there’s little question right now that the pick would be “Down Bad.” It’s a tough time for the fan base right now, as the team got embarrassed at home for the third time this year and have to sulk with all that negative energy for an extra week with the bye.

It’s even harder to look forward to the next game out of the bye, since that involves a road trip to the west coast to face a 49ers team that’s had their number lately. All indications point to the Cowboys dropping to 3-4 in a week’s time. Meanwhile, the Eagles face the Giants this week and are likely to improve to 4-2 and the Commanders seem likely to get to an NFC East best 5-2 after facing the dreadful Panthers this week.

The race for the division is tough enough, let alone positioning oneself to contend in the postseason against the best of the NFC. The Cowboys are quickly falling behind in both competitions, and their schedule isn’t getting any easier. Can they figure things out during this bye week, or are they doomed for another reset after the year? Our own Tom Ryle and David Howman discuss.

Tom: Just looking at them, there seems to be something really missing in the team. They staged a furious comeback against the Ravens after falling behind by 22, but when they fell short, it seemed to really hurt them. They barely beat a couple of pretty bad teams in the Giants and Steelers, then the Lions just took them to the woodshed.

For years, there have been questions about just how soft the franchise really is. It looks like the answer is somewhere between marshmallow and fog. I’ve long suspected the culture of The Star is not good, with a lack of accountability. That comes from the owner being the main architect of the roster, and Jerry Jones seems hesitant to admit he made a mistake. This year, I think it was badly compounded by some clear signs Mike McCarthy was being set up to fail. It is hard to argue Jerry is not already thinking about who he wants to hire. (I shudder at the prospect that he is already planning on Bill Belichick.) I think this has permeated the team and undermined McCarthy. With the current injury issues and the dismal state of the offensive line and running game, I don’t see how they can turn it around.

It really shouldn’t be a surprise to anyone.

David: I don’t disagree in the slightest about McCarthy being set up to fail. Several people in league circles have commented about how Jerry Jones prefers to let his coaches’ contracts expire rather than fire them, because of the savings to be had, and that is the only logical explanation for him keeping McCarthy around this year but not giving him an extension.

I also believe McCarthy believes in himself and still expects a good year. That would explain why he hired Don Yee as his agent in the offseason, likely looking to capitalize on another strong season and make Jerry’s wallet hurt. But perhaps McCarthy underestimated the level to which the owner can impact – positively or negatively – the morale of this team.

Last year’s team entered the bye week on a similar down note, though things are definitely feeling worse this year than they were last year. Still, McCarthy has already shown an ability to turn things around coming out of the bye: last year, they won six of their first seven after the bye week and won the division. And the Cowboys have historically been better after the bye anyway with McCarthy; they’re 18-12 before the bye and 25-13 after the bye, a noticeable improvement.

If the players in this building still have any shred of respect for their head coach, they’ll come out of this week of rest and play hard for him. If they don’t, well, then that’s a problem unto itself.

Tom: Yes, it is, but there may be more important ones, namely the way injuries have ravaged the defense, the dysfunction of the offensive line, the lack of an effective running game or run defense, and what certainly looks like a breakdown in chemistry between Dak Prescott and CeeDee Lamb. Even if the team does put its best effort on the field, it may simply not be enough against the better teams remaining on the schedule.

To make matters worse, there is a legit argument to be made that both the Eagles and the Commanders are now better teams than the Cowboys. For years they have feasted on weak competition within the division. That cupboard looks bare.

I’ll also throw out that the rest of the coaching staff is not exactly excelling, and I’m looking directly at Mike Zimmer when I say that. The defense is barely slowing the opponents down. I know losing Micah Parsons, DeMarcus Lawrence, and DaRon Bland has a very negative effect, but it is the DC’s job to figure out a way to not just fall apart due to injuries. That is not happening.

I always had an uneasy feeling that eight wins might be the ceiling for the team, and now I’m not sure how close they can get to that. And I have no idea how they can make it better before the housecleaning starts in January.

David: I don’t really have any shade to throw Zimmer’s way, mostly because of the aforementioned injuries – which, by the way, those three should be returning very soon – but also because he has a very long track record of being the exact opposite of soft.

As far as the talent goes, I think the Cowboys have more than enough to win the division and even compete for a chance to lose to the Chiefs in the Super Bowl. We saw last year how great this offense can be when Dak and CeeDee are in rhythm, and I would argue this year’s version of Jalen Tolbert is better than Brandin Cooks was last year.

If the two stars of this offense can get things clicking again, I think it opens up so much more for this offense and this team. Only five teams are scoring fewer touchdowns per drive than the Cowboys right now (two of them, the Browns and Giants, make up a majority of Dallas’ wins), which has had its own impact on the defense even when they’ve been healthy. Start scoring touchdowns again and I think everything else will fall into place.

That’s easier said than done, but they have a whole week to get it straightened out. Last year’s offense was third in touchdowns per drive, and the key players are all still here. If they can turn the clock back to last year’s post-bye team, the Cowboys can once again go on a run and save their season. At least, until the playoffs begin, that is.