The Dallas Cowboys' defense has been so bad this season that it's hard to handpick the worst performance of the year. However, Sunday's loss to the Minnesota Vikings deserves to take the cake after Matt Eberflus' unit allowed J.J. McCarthy to throw the ball all over Jerry World.
As such, Cowboys fans and the local media have seen enough of Eberflus as the team's defensive coordinator. While Eberflus is safe until at least the end of the season, his popularity among Jerry Jones and Stephen Jones has completely eroded.
Not even Jerry Jones, who has supported Eberflus at every turn, can bring himself to defend the performances. Appearing on 105.3 The Fan on Tuesday, Jones sent his most telling message yet about where he stands on Eberflus (h/t to Jon Machota of The Athletic).
"We let their quarterback have a big day on us," Jones said. "That wasn’t the plan. We could have used more pressure, without question, at different times. The result was that we let (J.J. McCarthy) make some pretty significant plays out there, plus, he played pretty well. It seems like we’re always saying that about these (opposing) quarterbacks. Some of them hadn’t played as well, but when they play us, they play better. I think that’s telling, too.”
It sounds like Cowboys' Jerry Jones is ready to move on from Matt Eberflus
Jones didn't mention Eberflus by name, but he didn't have to. That is as close as you can get to publicly eviscerating a coach without actually saying their name. Allowing 34 points to the Vikings and McCarthy was Jones' breaking point. How could it not be?
McCarthy accounted for three touchdowns and tallied career-highs in passing yards and yards per attempt. Worst of all is that he "Griddied" into the end zone on his rushing touchdown. Allowing the NFL's worst quarterback to showboat on you in a standalone game is beyond embarrassing. Cowboys fans know that Jones doesn't handle being humiliated on a national stage well.
McCarthy had some wonky throws -- because that's who he is -- but it didn't matter because receivers were running wide open all over the place. The Cowboys only allowed 2.8 yards per carry on the ground, and yet Vikings pass-catchers averaged 16.7 yards per reception.
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Jones pays attention to what fans and the media are talking about. He's well aware that several average-to-below-average quarterbacks have had their best game of the season against the Cowboys.
Russell Wilson, Bo Nix, Bryce Young, Jacoby Brissett, and Caleb Williams — not exactly a murderers’ row of QBs — all diced up Dallas without much resistance. Now McCarthy, who ranked 36th among qualified quarterbacks in EPA per play before Sunday night, belongs on that list, too.
Jones implied after the loss that the final three games would determine Eberflus' future. That may have been a case of Jones' saving face in the name of not causing a firestorm. He's rarely as critical of his team as he was to 105.3 The Fan on Tuesday.
Eberflus might just be a dead man walking.