Are the Dallas Cowboys frauds?
That's the question circling Texas following the Cowboys'Â 34-24 home loss to the Green Bay Packers. After pummeling bad teams the first three weeks, Jerry Jones' squad has crashed back down to earth, losing its past two games.
The teams the Cowboys walloped to open the season -- New York Giants, Washington Redskins, Miami Dolphins -- are a combined 2-12. The teams Dallas lost to -- New Orleans Saints, Packers -- are 8-2.
"I think it tells you right where you are," Jones said after Sunday's home loss. "You do well against teams that are getting it together and we've played two that have it together better and are 4-1 teams. But the point is that what you see is what you get here. We've got some work to do to get where we want to go this year. The good thing about this thing is: There are 16 games right now. There's 16 games and we're just through a little over a quarter of them and we can get it together and get better. We're going to have to get better to get a chance to be where we'd dream to be, and I think expect to be. I think we've got a team that can get better and that's the key, but this is certainly not good enough, last weekend or this weekend."
It's likely the Cowboys are somewhere in the middle between the dominant team we saw early in the season and the one that struggled to move the ball for six quarters before waking up in the second half Sunday.
Sunday's big deficit wiped out the Cowboys' run-first plan. It was the first time Dallas was held scoreless in the first half this season, and the fifth time in the Dak Prescott era.
The positive for Dallas is that it moved the ball well throughout the game, with Amari Cooper whooping up on anyone lined across from him. Dallas put up 563 total yards of offense, most in a loss in team history, including 441 passing from Prescott.
Turnovers, mishaps and unforced errors doomed the Cowboys on Sunday. In the first half, Dallas ventured into Green Bay territory on four of its six possessions, but scored zero points -- two INTs and one missed field goal. On the day, Dallas threw three interceptions, missed two field goals and had 11 penalties for 124 yards. The defense also got run over by Packers RB Aaron Jones, who scored four TDs.
"I think that (our biggest concern) probably our inability to protect the ball," Jones said. "You cannot win if you are one of these teams that for whatever reason turn that ball over. We have a quarterback that is renowned for his ability to protect the ball, so that ongoing concern is not a challenge that I'm worried about. We'll be able to protect the ball, I feel confident of that. It was also a little surprising to not be able to stop the run better than we did tonight. But let's also give our concern for how we were trying to defend (Aaron) Rodgers, that helped them getting that running game going. He's a tough guy to compete against out here on defense."
Mondays are ripe for overreaction. NFL teams constantly evolve over the course of a season -- at least the good ones. The Cowboys' season isn't a dumpster fire just because they got beat by two good teams. It's how Jones' team responds to those losses in the coming weeks that will ultimately define its 2019 season.
