In a devastating 28-16 loss to the Arizona Cardinals in Week 3, the Dallas Cowboys saw less of the complementary football they had seen in the first two weeks of action.
Cowboys Defense Struggles After Loss of Trevon Diggs
After an emotional week in which star cornerback Trevon Diggs was ruled out for the season with an ACL tear, the defense was tested and had trouble adjusting. The lack of productivity on the defensive end prevented the offense from getting into a rhythm, putting the game out of reach for the Cowboys.
The Cowboys struggled to slow down the Cardinals run game, an issue that was not prominent in their first two matchups.
Missed tackles and an inside zone run from the Cardinals for an easy touchdown sum up the Cowboys’ defense in today’s game. In the wake of losing Diggs, major improvements will need to be made going into Week 4.
“A lot went wrong, and it was just bad football,” Jayron Kearse said postgame. “They ran a lot of pull schemes, got downhill … We weren’t good enough. Myself included.”
RONDALE MOORE 50 YARDS
Will the #Cardinals hold this lead?
pic.twitter.com/PoMubHdaB5— JPAFootball (@jasrifootball) September 24, 2023
In Week 2, the team played complementary, with two receiving touchdowns, two interceptions, three sacks, and five field goals. Week 3 was a different story, as the Cowboys forced no turnovers and had only one player find the end zone.
Additionally, penalties plagued the team and cost them 107 total yards. Red zone offense also continues to be an issue for the team as they failed to find the end zone on four of their five trips within the 20.
“We knew what type of game it was going to be,” Kearse said. “I guess their will was just stronger than ours, and it showed throughout the game. I don’t have many words. It was just bad. We didn’t help our offense enough.”
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Defensive tackle Osa Odighizuwa said the team will move forward from the mistakes and continue to do what they know they are capable of.
“We got to play better ball, it’s that simple,” Odighizuwa said. “We have to get back to our standards and do what we know we can do and being the team we know we can be.”