Sunday was about as ugly as you could imagine for the Dallas Cowboys. The game started with Javonte Williams fumbling on a big run things just went from bad to worse. Dallas did have the game tied at 14-14 in the second quarter, but both the offense and the defense were awful in the second half.
The Cowboys now sit at 1-2 on the season and a matchup with the Green Bay Packers and Micah Parsons looms in Week 4. It’s been a rough start to the year and this game certainly won’t east anyone’s concerns. But without further ado, here are the biggest winners and losers from Week 3 of the NFL season for the Cowboys:
Winner: Run Game
There wasn’t a lot that went right for the Cowboys in Week 3, but they did run the ball well (when they didn’t fumble). Dallas averaged 6.1 yards per carry on the ground, and Javonte Williams averaged 7.6 yards per rush on the ground. They were moving the Bears off the ball and the entire team had success whenever they ran it.
With CeeDee Lamb likely out multiple weeks with an ankle injury, Dallas will have to lean on the ground game even more. Luckily, that has been arguably the strength of their team through the first three weeks.
Loser: Matt Eberflus
There is a lack of talent on defense, and that won’t be solved this year. But the defensive coordinator for the Cowboys isn’t giving them any chance or advantage right now. Eberflus has had no answer for scheming up pressure, and the number of players running wide open through their defense is mind-numbing.
It’s probably too early to consider moving on from Eberflus, but nothing that we’ve seen from the first three games suggests that he is the right man for the job. This is about as ugly as we’ve ever seen from a defensive coordinator and with several elite offenses still on the schedule, this might get worse before it gets better.
Loser: Tyler Guyton, LT
It was easy to excuse the first two games for Guyton as he was working back from a knee injury. But now, the injury isn’t an excuse. Guyton was easily their worst offensive lineman on Sunday. He was beaten clean off the line of scrimmage multiple times and gave up an easy sack in the second half. There was also a false start in the red zone that moved the offense back. He also had another penalty late in the fourth quarter that took away a big play from Brevyn Spann-Ford.
The Cowboys need Guyton to improve and through three games, that improvement hasn’t happened. He still has a few awful reps each game that result in sacks and if the improvement doesn’t start soon, the Cowboys might consider benching him in favor of Nathan Thomas. Yes, it’s been that bad to start the year.
Loser: Trevon Diggs, CB
Credit needs to be given to Diggs for playing on Sunday after suffering some sort of knee injury during the week. Diggs was downgraded on Saturday to questionable and probably shouldn’t have suited up in Week 3. But he did and his performance was one to forget.
Diggs tried to jam Rome Odunze on the second drive of the game and missed, which led to an easy touchdown. And because Diggs is clearly favoring his knee, his makeup speed isn’t there, which means he allows more cushion pre-snap. And that leads to a lot of underneath targets and easy completions.
Diggs also injured his shoulder on a tackle late and did not return to the game. Unfortunately, the injuries are starting to really pile up for him and he no longer looks like the All-Pro player we saw in 2021. At this point, it would be a shock if Diggs were on the roster in 2026.
Loser: The Pass Rush
It wasn’t a shock to see the Cowboys struggle to get to Caleb Williams. But they recorded just one quarterback hit in the game, and Williams had all day to throw. We knew that the pass rush would struggle without Parsons, but now it’s crystal clear how much the rest of the defensive linemen on the team needed him. Nobody can win consistently, and the lack of juice on the edge is very noticeable.