CHICAGO — Dallas Cowboys owner Jerry Jones said earlier this week that he’s open for business when it comes to potentially using future draft picks to acquire some defensive help before the deadline.
Being open doesn’t mean being urgent, however — no matter how necessary it seems externally after the team’s 31-14 loss to the Chicago Bears on Sunday.
“That implies that being urgent, I can create an opportunity to use them,” Jones said about potentially trading picks. “That usually doesn’t work that way at all.”
It’s only been three weeks, but there have been some concerning developments about the Cowboys’ defense so far. They had a successful start against the Eagles, but followed that up by allowing over 500 yards and 37 points to the New York Giants in Week 2. The Cowboys pledged that they would fix the miscommunication issues that plagued them against the Giants. While that didn’t seem to be a major issue on Sunday, the overall result wasn’t better. The Cowboys allowed all 31 points in just three quarters vs. the Bears.
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The Cowboys also struggled to get after quarterback Caleb Williams. Cowboys coach Brian Schottenheimer said on 105.3 The Fan (KRLD-FM) before the game that he thought there were some areas of the Bears’ protection they could exploit. Left tackle Braxton Jones looked like it could be one of those areas. He had allowed a pressure on just over 15% of every pass-blocking snap in the first two weeks, according to NextGenStats.
Against the Cowboys, Jones didn’t allow a single pressure, becoming only the fourth left tackle to accomplish that feat in a game this season.
Jerry Jones indicated that the lack of pass rush was more about the defense as a whole.
“I think it compromised us with our four-man front up there today, of course,” Jones said. “We want to try and get there in this defense with that four-man rush. We weren’t getting there. Plus, we weren’t covering, and that’s a bad combination. That’s what happened to us out there today.”
Jones was then asked if they needed to pressure more. He agreed, but also said, ‘We’ve got to get better. I’m confident we will.”
The overhanging storyline about the lack of pressure is, of course, the Micah Parsons trade before the season. Parsons had over 12 sacks in all four of his Pro Bowl seasons with the Cowboys. He has 1½ so far in three games with the Green Bay Packers.
The Cowboys acquired two first-round picks in the Parsons trade. Jones said they could use some of that capital, or some of their existing picks, to acquire other players. He’s open to it, just not urgently inclined based on the first three weeks of the season.
Paydirt: See photos from the Dallas Cowboys’ loss on the road against the Chicago Bears
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