It took two games for preseason trade to blow up in the Cowboys' face

Jerry Jones appeared on 105.3 The Fan in Dallas on Tuesday and revealed he didn't know that the rival Eagles lost on Monday night. The result means the Dallas Cowboys didn't lose any ground in the NFC East even though they were thrashed at home by the Saints.

It would appear that Jones is late to come around on a lot of things - most notably, the biggest warts on the Cowboys' roster.

Some major offseason mistakes were glaring in Sunday's loss, including not signing a starting-caliber running back. Having J.K. Dobbins would be pretty nice right about now! The Cowboys also regret trusting their young receivers instead of drafting, signing or trading for a dependable WR3.

Jones' biggest mistake, though, was waiting until August to address the interior defensive line. Though Mazi Smith is improved, Dallas lost starting NT Johnathan Hankins and didn't find his replacement until it acquired vet Jordan Phillips from the Giants. The team also signed 35-year-old Linval Joseph. Both players were a disaster against the Saints.

While Joseph's film was arguably worse than Phillips, the latter had a boneheaded sequence on the Saints' first drive out of halftime that was the nail in Dallas' coffin. Watch Phillips choose to turn around and attack New Orleans' right tackle instead of pursuing Derek Carr.

Cowboys' Jordan Phillips trade looks like a disaster after two games

It's up for debate if Phillips would have rattled Carr's cage. He had a lot of ground to make up for a 330-pound nose tackle. However, the fact he didn't even try to make a play and instead chose to tackle an already-grounded lineman is pathetic. It's not "tough." It's hilarious for all of the wrong reasons.

The Cowboys' defense fell for the play action (a theme from the game), so Carr had a clean pocket. Foster Moreau was also wide open downfield for an easy touchdown. But if Phillips didn't think twice about rushing Carr, he would have at least forced the QB to rush the throw. Maybe it doesn't make a difference. Maybe it does. That's not the point.

Luckily, the play was negated by an ineligible man downfield penalty, but the Saints regrouped and scored a TD seven plays later to extend their lead to 41-19 thanks to a Jourdan Lewis pass interference on 3rd-and-9 that set up 1st-and-goal.

Mike McCarthy said that he didn't think the problem on defense was effort. While Phillips knocked over the Saints' OT, it qualified as zero effort because he gave up on the play. It's made even worse being that Phillips got worked in the trenches all game and hung Dallas' linebackers out to try.

It's only two games, but the Phillips trade looks like a disaster. That's the consequence of waiting until August to address a huge need.

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