The way the Dallas Cowboys go about handling business is broken.
It was a disaster in many ways for the Dallas Cowboys in Week 6. The Detroit Lions came into AT&T Stadium and absolutely annihilated the Cowboys 47-9, and it frankly wasn’t even that close. One thing was made clear in this game, and that’s that Dallas doesn’t belong in the conversation with the elite teams in the NFL at the moment. They are depleted with injuries, and that hurts, but even before that, the Cowboys weren’t performing at a high level with any kind of consistency. So it certainly puts into question where their season will go from here even when they get guys healthy.
The Cowboys are heading into their bye week, and there’s plenty figure out. However, once the dust settled from the beat down they got from the Lions, some disturbing things came from members of the Cowboys’ organization. Team owner Jerry Jones, who has never met a camera or microphone that he didn’t like, did his usual post-game media session. He was asked if the Cowboys as currently constructed have a roster to be one of the top teams in the league, and his answer was full of ignorance. Also, Stephen Jones gave a similar answer.
From Jerry Jones, the GM, after the game:
Q. Do you believe your roster has the talent to be one of those top teams as it’s assembled right now?
Jones: I do.
Q. Why?
Jones: I just do.
— Todd Archer (@toddarcher) October 14, 2024
Cowboys EVP Stephen Jones when asked on @1053thefan if he sees any significant coaching or personnel changes during the bye week: “No, I don’t.”
“We got the right kind of guys on the coaching staff. I think we have the right kind of players. Feel like we’ve got the right group…
— Jon Machota (@jonmachota) October 14, 2024
No, this is not a joke. They said this.
The Cowboys came into the offseason knowing that they had several holes to fill on their roster. Specifically, they needed to address the running back and defensive tackle positions. Dallas, for whatever reason, didn’t take a running back in the NFL draft. Instead, they brought back veteran Ezekiel Elliott during the offseason. Now, this isn’t a knock on Elliott because he can still serve a purpose, but bringing him back didn’t elevate the room significantly, and there were good backs there for the taking in the first three to four rounds. Looking at the 2024 season so far, the Cowboys are dead last in the NFL with a dismal 77.2 yards per game average. That’s simply unacceptable. The lack of talent in running back room is clear.
Dallas took defensive tackle Justin Rogers in the seventh round, but he was released, which was odd considering that the Cowboys try hard not to cut draft picks. So, what did Dallas do? They brought in veterans Linval Joseph and Jordan Phillips. The latter is currently on injured reverse with a wrist injury, although he denies anything is wrong. When he did play, he was good at all, and his effort was mediocre. Joseph is 36 and clearly past his prime, his ability to re-shape the Cowboys run defense is off the table.
Dallas could have aided in this process by simply paying quarterback Dak Prescott and wide receiver CeeDee Lamb once the offseason started. Instead, the Cowboys did what they always do, and that’s wait until the last minute to get contracts done, which forces them to pay top dollar. It also hinders pursuit of impactful free agents, but they would likely shop in the bargain-bin anyway.
Then you have the Jones family telling everybody that it’s all good. Well, it’s not. This roster had already lost big contributors like Dorance Armstrong, Dante Fowler, and Stephon Gilmore. In response, the Cowboys didn’t aggressively pursue options to fill these holes and others when they had all the resources to do so, instead using the salary cap as an excuse.
The Cowboys are master of doing the same thing over and over and expecting different results. Yes, they have drafted well, but that can’t be your only method of team building. It’s bad in Dallas, and it’s likely to get worse.