The McCarthy Chronicles: Same ragged song and dance for Cowboys after Saints loss
As Steven Tyler once so eloquently effect it, it’s the the same ragged myth, same ragged song and dance. That’s how it feels apt now for the Cowboys after getting completely embarrassed in their dwelling opener by the Saints, who came into the game as 6.5-point underdogs.
The Saints scored a touchdown on every single pressure during the important thing three quarters, and Mike Zimmer’s defense – which appeared downright dominant in Week 1 – didn’t pressure a punt till halfway during the fourth quarter. All in all, the Cowboys adopted up their blowout address the avenue with a blowout loss at dwelling to the tune of 44-19.
After the game, the feedback from coaches and players all fell along the the same line: this became a humbling abilities, this might perchance motivate us, we’ll enhance from this. If it sounded rehearsed, that’s because it became. The Cowboys maintain fashioned a addiction out of these games under Mike McCarthy: they obtain blown out by a team they must mute’ve beat, say all week about how it’ll motivate them to play even tougher next time, and then exit and rating a astronomical take the following week.
To be magnificent, the Cowboys assemble have a tendency to reply wisely following a loss. Since 2021, the Cowboys maintain lost consecutive games appropriate twice. In 2021, they adopted up a loss to the Chiefs in Arrowhead with an time beyond law loss to, coincidentally, Derek Carr and the Raiders in a game that noticed hundreds of penalties each and each ways. Last Three hundred and sixty five days, they went 0-2 on their December avenue day out to Buffalo and Miami sooner than ripping off two more wins to assemble out the season and take the NFC East.
When the Cowboys assemble take after a loss, they have a tendency to take astronomical too. In such games, they’ve outscored their opponent 423-193. Perchance that bodes wisely for the Cowboys’ matchup this upcoming week against the Ravens, who’re a gorgeous 0-2 on the Three hundred and sixty five days to this point.
That doesn’t make it any more straightforward to abdominal this loss, although, nor the fashion through which it came about. It had been talked about all week that the Saints tried to revamp their offense this offseason by plucking Klint Kubiak off the 49ers coaching tree, a tree which has many branches accountable of offenses at some point soon of the league this day. Most of these branches maintain enjoyed sizable success against the Cowboys defense.
This Three hundred and sixty five days felt diversified, although. Zimmer had a history of doing wisely against the Shanahan fashion offense. His unit had appeared invincible a week prior against a Browns team that employs the the same blueprint. And Zimmer became accustomed to Kubiak, who spent four seasons on Zimmer’s staff in Minnesota. On top of all that, the Cowboys had at final invested in some red meat within the trenches, along side veterans Jordan Phillips and Linval Joseph as wisely as to Mazi Smith bulking up all over again.
That didn’t make a lick of distinction. The Saints ran roughshod over the Dallas defense, and all these astronomical bodies on the line of defense purchased shoved round many cases. This became the important thing real take a look at of this contemporary-see defense and whether or no longer or no longer it is going to also pause the roughly offense the Cowboys will face in six weeks in San Francisco, something that is in actuality a prerequisite for making it to the Expansive Bowl as an NFC team.
The became a astronomical, beefy F.
The irony is that McCarthy’s offense in actuality conducted wisely against an elite Saints defense. They scored 16 parts within the important thing half, even handed one of eight groups to rating that many within the important thing half this week. The total diversified groups to assemble so had been main at halftime by an average differential of 13 parts.
Things fell aside for the offense within the 2d half, as McCarthy became compelled to turn out to be one-dimensional and Dak Prescott became compelled into gotta-maintain-it eventualities, which rarely ever flip out wisely for quarterbacks. It wasn’t a excellent day of offense, by any stretch, however McCarthy’s unit became no longer the explanation this game became lost.
That’s presumably the scariest share of it all. The smartly-liked day NFL is a quarterback-driven league, and on the total the team with the easier quarterback wins. Quite lots of the time, the Cowboys will maintain the easier quarterback, no matter what the speaking heads might perchance lead you to deem. Nevertheless even on a day when Prescott flirted with 300 yards against a defense that’s allowed 300+ yards appropriate twice within the final two seasons, the Cowboys had been unable to take and even maintain issues close.
The truth that it came against a Kyle Shanahan disciple – of which there are many at some point soon of the league – and that this blueprint became the defense’s undoing begs the inquire of of whether or no longer something has changed at inquisitive relating to the Cowboys. Extra importantly, will it ever change? If the Cowboys mute can’t pause this offense, they’ll for obvious lose in Week 8 this Three hundred and sixty five days when they face Shanahan himself, and they’ll for obvious lose within the playoffs when they speed up against Shanahan or Matt LaFleur and even Kubiak and the Saints.
That sobering actuality will be surroundings in for the Cowboys now. A soar-motivate take over the Ravens would in actuality feel nice, however it mute received’t resolution any questions about stopping this roughly offense. And till that inquire of will get answered, the ceiling for this Cowboys team remains low.
