By Jamal Baker
NDG Contributing Writer
The Dallas Cowboys suffered an embarrassing 31-14 loss to the Chicago Bears on Sunday at Soldier Field.
In what initially appeared to be a game the Cowboys were going to perform to their highest standard, things quickly spiraled. The Cowboys defense opened the game with a stop, but running back Javonte Williams fumbled on a 26-yard run on the ensuing drive causing the early momentum to swing back in favor of Chicago.
All-Pro wide receiver CeeDee Lamb went down with an ankle injury in the first quarter after he lined up as a running back and took a handoff that resulted in him having to miss the remainder of the game.
Lamb is now expected to miss “some time” according to head coach Brian Shottenheimer.
“CeeDee is a guy that heals quickly, and he’ll do everything in his power to get back but it does look like he’ll miss a little bit of time.” Schottenheimer said.
Lamb’s absence left a major void in a Dallas offense that struggled to put together scoring drives without the threat of their number one receiver.
“We were biting ourselves [in the foot],” quarterback Dak Prescott said. “We’re kicking ourselves, and that’s the reason that we’re not converting to touchdowns and it’s the reason that we’re not getting first downs. It’s gotta start there. Everybody’s gotta look in the mirror and say, ‘How can I be better?’”
With Lamb, Cooper Beebe, and Tyler Booker all expected to miss time, the Cowboys will desperately need guys to step up on the offensive side of the ball as they will be without three starters for at least the next couple of weeks.
Another unit that can be better is the Dallas defense—which had an absolutely atrocious day. Unlike the offense, defensive coordinator Matt Eberflus’ group is coming off back-to-back weeks of subpar play.
Eberflus’ zone-heavy scheme has simply not worked, and Dallas has not been able to generate consistent pressure on the quarterback.
“The play on the front didn’t match what we were doing in the back,” Cowboys owner/GM Jerry Jones said on 105.3 the Fan. “A zone defense is a safe defense, it should allow, when played right, shorter gains but not big plays. If you do a zone defense and you limit your rush by number then that’s the perfect storm against you. You got to be able to stop explosive plays. When you don’t have it, you have to make adjustments.”
To the Cowboys’ credit, after years and years of struggling to stop the run, they have improved significantly in that aspect but rank last in passing yards allowed.
Is help on the way?
Dallas hopes newly signed defensive end Jadeveon Clowney will provide a much-needed spark on defense and there is a “good possibility starting cornerback Daron Bland will return to the lineup Sunday against the Green Bay Packers.
“Yes, we fully expect him to be able to come in and help,” said executive vice president and director of player personnel Stephen Jones to 105.3 The Fan. “We’re gonna look at this film very closely and seeing exactly where our shortfalls are and seeing where we can do some things differently to have success. I certainly believe we have the coaching staff and the players to play good defense.”
With Micah Parsons and the Packers coming to town Sunday night, the Cowboys better figure things out quickly or they could be in store for another drubbing.
