The Dallas Cowboys biggest opponent right now is themselves

The Dallas Cowboys came out of the gates slow again, losing to the Packers. They fought back, but couldn’t beat their biggest opponent … themselves.

The Dallas Cowboys came out sluggish for the fifth consecutive week and as I predicted in the past, it has come back to bite them. Finding themselves down 17-0 at the half, and 31-3 at one point, the hole was too deep to climb out of versus a very good Green Bay Packers team last Sunday.

First of all, a lot went bad against the Packers. Where was the run defense? The Cowboys have (at least I would like to think) one of the best front sevens in football. Against running back Aaron Jones and company, they were one of the worst.

The former UTEP running back had a record-setting day, totaling 107 rushing yards and a whopping four touchdowns against the Cowboys’ defense. This marks the first time in team history that they have given up four rushing touchdowns in a game to a single player.

Jones also added seven catches for 75 yards. Re-watching the game, I noticed that Jones caught only one ball that was significantly past the line of scrimmage.  That shows how bad the Cowboys linebackers played.

Leighton Vander Esch played his worst game in his short career, and it was bad. The second-year linebacker was whiffing on almost every tackle resulting in big plays for the Packers’ offense. The Wolf Hunter turned into the prey this past Sunday as Aaron Jones was making him look like former Cowboys linebacker Bobby Carpenter.

On the offensive side of the ball, Dallas needs to stop shooting themselves in the foot. Countless big plays were wiped off the board due to penalties, and the turnovers are holding this team hostage. I believe the play of the game was the Amari Cooper drop resulting in an interception by cornerback Jaire Alexander. If the Cowboys star receiver holds onto the ball, that is a touchdown and an early 7-0 lead for the good guys.

Instead, it is a killer turnover that results in seven points for Green Bay. Green Bay ended up turning all three interceptions into 17 points.

Another thing, kicker Brett Maher needs to figure it out … fast. Maher’s two missed field goals did not lose the game for the Cowboys, but it changed the dynamic of the contest. If his struggles continue, a new kicker will be kicking in Dallas.

This team’s biggest opponent right now is themselves. Each of their two losses has been due to self-inflicted wounds by the offense and the defense.

Yes, the New Orleans Saints and the Packers are both playoff-caliber teams. But if you think the Cowboys are simply being outplayed for 60 minutes, you are wrong.

This past Sunday was the first time in NFL history that the losing team had over 550 yards on offense (Cowboys-563) and the winning team had less than 350 total yards (Packers-335). Let that sink in…

All in all, it was a team loss. The Cowboys did not come to play until it was time to defend their pride. It was flat out embarrassing against a Packers’ team they could possibly see again in the postseason.

This Sunday is a get right game for the Dallas Cowboys. They’ll face a winless New York Jets before a huge matchup against the Philadelphia Eagles that could determine who will be atop of the NFC East at the halfway point of the season.