Brian Schottenheimer made it known as he sat down for his weekly Monday news conference that he was a little under the weather. The Dallas Cowboys head coach needed a few throat lozenges to help his raspy voice during a question-and-answer session that lasted 23 minutes.
There was a lot to be answered and not much of it was good news. The Cowboys learned Monday that they will be without star wide receiver CeeDee Lamb and starting right guard Tyler Booker for several weeks as both suffered high ankle sprains in Sunday’s ugly 31-14 loss to the Chicago Bears. Cowboys owner Jerry Jones didn’t rule out the possibility of both going on injured reserve, which would force them to miss the next four weeks.
“That’s a setback for us,” Jones said Monday.
Not having those two is concerning, but their injuries still take a backseat to how poorly Dallas played Sunday against a below average Bears team. The most alarming part was the carryover of big plays surrendered in the passing game from last week’s overtime win over a New York Giants team that could again be one of the NFL’s worst.
Giants quarterback Russell Wilson threw for 168 yards and no touchdowns in Week 1. He threw for 160 yards and no touchdowns on Sunday. Last week against the Cowboys: 450 yards and three touchdowns.
Bears quarterback Caleb Williams had similar production Sunday, throwing for 298 yards and four touchdowns after averaging 208 yards and 1.5 touchdowns in his first two games this season. He also was not sacked Sunday for the first time in his 20 career games.
And that’s why Dallas’ defensive issues aren’t as simple as one player or even one area on the roster. The defensive line isn’t getting much pressure and the Cowboys aren’t blitzing. On the back end, there have been continued communication issues and overall poor execution, leading to receivers often being far too open for the NFL level.
Changes are needed and they have to happen quickly.
New defensive coordinator Matt Eberflus’ zone-heavy scheme has not seemed to fit the current roster. Schottenheimer said Monday that he believes the players have bought into the changes under the former Bears head coach.
“I don’t have any reason why not,” he said. “I think when you’re not playing well, there’s gonna always be doubts. … Confidence in this league is interesting because it comes and goes fast when you’re playing in such a competitive league. I don’t think it will take long for us to get the confidence back, but I would understand why guys might be like, ‘Oh, what about this? What about that?’ But I have complete trust in what we’re doing from a scheme standpoint. We’ll look at maybe making some changes. We will make some changes. In terms of the players, I think they’ve bought into what we’re trying to do as a football team. We’ve just got to execute better.”
One of the changes Schottenheimer mentioned is simplifying things they’re asking the defensive players to do.
“I do think as a coach, you look for solutions,” he said. “And if we’re not doing certain things well then by simply deleting some things that makes you simplify. It doesn’t mean that we’re going to go with one front, with one coverage. We’re not going to do that. We’re still going to be multiple. But absolutely, we’d be crazy if we didn’t look to simplify and focus on execution.
“Execution is what wins in this league. There’s times where we’ve executed very well on defense, just like the two overtime drives against the Giants. You forget seven, eight days ago they stepped up and made those plays. How do we know (the Bears) wouldn’t have made (mistakes) if we could’ve tightened the game a little bit on offense by scoring a touchdown? But, yeah, everything is on the table.”
The run defense, which had been a team weakness for several seasons, has looked improved. Dallas is allowing 110 rushing yards per game through three games after allowing 137 on average last year.
“I understand why teams don’t want to run the ball against us,” Schottenheimer said. “I wouldn’t run the ball against our defense. We’re playing the run really well. I would just sling it all over the place. That’s unfortunately what we’re allowing to happen. And until we do something about it, that’s what we’re going to see for the next couple of weeks.”
Another major weakness has been the turnover ratio. There was a time not long ago when the Cowboys were among the league’s best in this area. Dallas led the NFL in takeaways in 2021 and 2022. The Cowboys’ plus-14 turnover margin led the league in 2021. They were second at plus-10 in 2022 and sixth at plus-10 in 2023. Through three games they have only one takeaway and are tied for a league-worst at minus-5 in turnover margin.
“That sucks,” Schottenheimer said. “But they come in bunches. I believe that. We got guys punching at the ball. What helps with that is when you do disrupt or affect the passer, errant throws happen. That’s what I’m saying, it all ties together. … To be minus-5, I promise you this, we will not end the season like that.”
There’s no question that the offense is going to suffer without Lamb and Booker, especially with center Cooper Beebe out with his own ankle/foot injury. But there’s at least a path with Dak Prescott, George Pickens and a better-than-expected run game for the offense to be decent. The last two games make it difficult to believe the same can be said about the defense.
(Top photo: Michael Reaves / Getty Images)
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