ARLINGTON — The subtle and noticeable changes to the defense didn’t matter.
The Cowboys put forth an uneven defensive performance on Monday night in a 27-17 loss to the Arizona Cardinals at AT&T Stadium.
The offense wasn’t much better.
The crowd, which booed loudly several times, summed up the night for a defensive unit that isn’t improving.
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A few hours before this contest, Jerry Jones said the team made a trade for a defensive player, and it just needs to send the paperwork to the league office before finalizing it.
Jones also hinted that the team was working on two more deals. He walked back those comments after the loss.
It’s hard to see who the Cowboys could acquire that could help this group. Particularly the defense.
On the night, the Cardinals, playing with a backup quarterback (Jacoby Brissett), backup running backs (including TCU’s Emari Demercado), and in the midst of a five-game losing streak, scored on five of their first six possessions.
Coach Brian Schottenheimer had some praise for the defense, pointing out the five sacks and discussing how some of the changes worked. Schottenheimer also noted how the defense played well on first and second downs.
In reality, the five sacks, which helped put the offense in third-and-long situations, only to see the Cardinals go 7-for-13 on third downs, seemed empty.
“It’s the flow of the game,” Schottenheimer said. “Our job on defense is to stop them and to keep them from scoring. Our job on offense is to score.”
Among the notable changes to the defense was starting rookie Donovan Ezeiruaku and veteran Jadeveon Clowney on the edges. Each had a sack and a quarterback hit.
Further discussions with coaches and players before the next game on Nov. 17 after the bye week will reveal how some of the changes worked and if they’ll remain.
“That first half was just tough,” defensive tackle Kenny Clark said. “I feel like we played really good defense and just didn’t get them off the field on third down, whether it was a penalty, or whatever the case may be, we just didn’t get them off the field.”
After defensive tackle Osa Odighizuwa recorded a knockdown on the first play of the game, well, everything went downhill.
Receiver Marvin Harrison Jr. put on a show. On the same day his dad, Hall of Fame wide receiver Marvin Harrison Sr., said this Arizona offense is “very hard” to watch in an ESPN story, his son set a career high with seven catches. He also tied for the fourth-most receiving yards (96) in his young career.
The second-year player also put cornerback DaRon Bland to work.
Bland was playing off coverage against Harrison too much. So you just wonder if it’s the scheme or if it’s the player doing this.
“It’s a little different,” Bland said of playing more off coverage. “I’m doing it as much as I do now. It’s just little differences you have to work on.”
But he played off from Harrison on a third-and-8 that resulted in an 18-yard reception. The Cowboys also placed Trikweze Bridges on Harrison on a third-and-10 play.
How?
Why?
It was so unfair to the rookie, and Harrison made a 15-yard reception.
There was so much more. There was cornerback Kaiir Elam’s missed tackle on a six-yard run by Demercado.
Harrison caught a 20-yard pass in the middle of the zone coverage on a third and 14.
We also saw Bland slip as he tried to cover Harrison in a tight space, on first-and-goal from the four. Harrison got by Bland to catch a four-yard touchdown pass in the second quarter that pushed Arizona to a 10-0 lead.
Harrison wasn’t alone.
Tight end Elijah Higgins made a 16-yard reception on safety Markquese Bell by juking by him. Receiver Michael Wilson caught a 50-yard pass on Bland, thanks to play action. As Wilson got to the top of his route, there was a little stutter step that froze Bland, leading to the catch.
Asked about how surprised he was by the defensive struggles, Bland was direct.
“You can’t say surprise, we just have to play better,” Bland said. “Starting with me.”
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The Cowboys’ defense did make some fourth-quarter stops to give their offense a chance. Overall, after watching Arizona (which came in averaging 4.9 yards per play, tied for 29th worst in the NFL) average 5.2 in a strong performance, you kind of dismiss the last quarter a little bit.
“The NFL is a tough league,” Clowney said. “It’s not easy, you got to be prepared to play and show up. That’s the game.”
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