Last Sunday, the Cowboys had one of their best defensive performances of the year against the Bengals.
Dallas held Cincinnati to only seven points, forced three turnovers, and allowed an average of 3.4 yards per rush attempt.
Considering what fans have seen this season from the defense, this was definitely a huge improvement, but does it matter now?
For weeks, the Cowboys defense has continued to be abysmal. They have allowed teams to rush for a total of 2115 yards and score a historic amount of points against them. Fans and analysts have called out the players for looking effortless on the field. The coaches continued to blame the problem on scheme, preparation, and other issues.
Photo: —The week before the Bengals game, coach Mike McCarthy held a meeting with the team to discuss the players’ effort over the last few weeks. It seemed to have help considering the following performance, but it has to be asked should the coaching staff have waited so long to address this issue.
Linebacker Jaylon Smith made a statement on the meeting saying that it ridiculous they even had the conversation.
“We can all give more effort. And that goes for all the players, including myself, and the same for coaches. It’s a big reason we are where we are.”
This is a nice sentiment from a lack of effort, but it does not really matter at this point.
The Cowboys will be eliminated from playoff contention this weekend unless they win, and Washington loses. And even then, Dallas must win out the rest of their schedule, and Washington must lose out.
Despite their best showing of “effort,” the Cowboys have given away this season, and barring a miracle, they will not be attending the playoffs.
Hopefully, they use the next off-season to look at themselves in the mirror and work out these problems.
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