Rex Ryan unloads on Cowboys ‘soft’ defense after loss vs Jaguars
By Jerry Trotta
The Dallas Cowboys were in complete control against the Jacksonville Jaguars on Sunday. Until they weren’t. When things go wrong for the 2022 Cowboys, they tend to spiral out of control (look no further than the overtime loss in Green Bay), and Week 15 was no different after they jumped out to a 17-point lead.
Say what you will about Dak Prescott’s turnovers — which are growing increasingly worrisome by the week — but scoring 34 points should be enough to win on the road. It’s never that simple, but the biggest story from the game was the continued struggles of Dan Quinn’s once-vaunted defense.
After offering little resistance against the lowly Texans in Week 14, the Cowboys coughed up 34 points in regulation to Trevor Lawrence and Zay Jones.
If you can think of one word to describe the defense’s performance, what would it be? Embarrassing? Lethargic? Both would suffice, but ESPN analyst Rex Ryan hit the nail on the head on “Get Up” Monday morning.
To say Rex laid into Dallas would be an understatement.
https://twitter.com/GetUpESPN/status/1604850795450716160
ESPN’s Rex Ryan destroyed Cowboys defense after lethargic performance vs Jaguars.
Ryan loves hearing himself talk, and he’s subject to the occasional scalding take across ESPN’s platforms every now and then, but is there a Cowboys fan who honestly disagrees with the former Jets head coach here?
Dallas’ pass rush was non-existent yet again on Sunday. Micah Parsons accounted for the only sack, and Lawrence was hit just four times. It’s not like they were tasked with beating the Eagles or Ravens offensive lines.
And every time somebody did get home, they couldn’t wrap up. How many times did Lawrence escape a surefire sack for a big completion or scramble that moved the chains or set up third down and manageable?
Coming into Sunday, the Jaguars ranked last in Pro Football Focus’ run-blocking grade. Despite that, Travis Etienne galloped for 103 yards on 5.4 yards per attempt. Even Jamal Agnew did damage on the ground, accounting for 52 yards on just three carries.
Do those numbers scream elite defense to you? We hate siding with Rex as much as the next Cowboys fan, but the league’s top defenses — San Francisco, New York (Jets), Baltimore, Denver, Philly, etc — don’t get punked like this.
The Cowboys defense has allowed 63 points in back to back weeks vs the Texans and the Jags.
— John Chapman (@JL_Chapman) December 18, 2022
The 49ers have allowed 63 points in their last 6 games combined!
Again, the Jaguars are an up-and-coming team, and the game is finally slowing down for Lawrence, but allowing the likes of Etienne, Zay Jones, Christian Kirk, Evan Engram and Marvin Jones to erupt for 500 yards (!) of offense and 34 points (four passing touchdowns by Lawrence) is an embarrassing look.
The Cowboys’ defense has built up a ton of equity this season, so we’re reluctant to hit them with the “overrated” label. But they’re definitely trending in that direction, and have the Eagles coming to town on Christmas Eve this week.
Perhaps the “overrated” tag will fit like a glove by the end of that one.
