Dak Prescott Admits Cowboys Got Outplayed on Both Sides in Loss to Cardinals

The Cowboys are 3-5-1 after losing to the Cardinals.

Dak Prescott Admits Cowboys Got Outplayed on Both Sides in Loss to Cardinals

Dak Prescott (Image via IMAGO)

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The defense has been the Dallas Cowboys’ Achilles heel from day one. They lingered in the lower echelons of nearly every metric in Mike McCarthy‘s penultimate season at Arlington; at the very least, Micah Parsons was still in the locker room until Jerry Jones sent him away to Green Bay.

Since then, both pass and run defense have plummeted to the very bottom of the pile. Even teams like the Carolina Panthers and Arizona Cardinals no longer fear going all-in against them.

Quarterback Dak Prescott has been the Cowboys’ saving grace on several occasions, dragging the team to three wins. It’s the defense that has let him down. In a desperate move, the veteran quarterback has given up six interceptions and committed a few turnovers.

According to senior Cowboys journalist Ed Werder, the Cowboys are allowing opponents to score on 49.5% of drives this season, which is tied with the Cincinnati Bengals as the worst defense in the NFL.

During the Monday night showdown in week 9, the Cowboys allowed the 21st-ranked Cardinals offense (FOX Sports) to score 27 points while they managed only 10 until the final moments of the game when Prescott hit WR Ryan Flournoy for a touchdown.

After the game, Prescott admitted that the Cowboys were outplayed by the Cardinals, who, despite the win, are at the bottom of the NFC West.

They kicked our a*** on both sides of the ball.

Dak Prescott said

Cowboys address defensive worries with big player trades

Moreover, the Cowboys’ defense under defensive coordinator Matt Eberflus has regressed compared to last year. They have averaged 2.2 sacks per game (20 total), which is 1.1 sacks fewer than in 2024, while average penalties per game have increased from 7.5 to 8.1 (third most).

Dak Prescott Admits Cowboys Got Outplayed on Both Sides in Loss to cardinals
Logan Wilson (Image via IMAGO)

To address the defensive deficiencies, Jerry Jones made two notable deadline day trades. The first move the Cowboys made was to trade LB Logan Wilson from the Bengals for a 2026 seventh-round pick. Right after Wilson, Jones sent a 2026 second-round pick, a 2027 first-round pick, and DT Mazi Smith to the New York Jets to acquire Quinnen Williams.

According to Werder, these trades should improve the worst defense in the Cowboys’ franchise history.

The Cowboys have allowed 30.8 PPG this season, their 3rd-highest mark through 9 games in franchise history after 1960 (33.1) and 2020 (32.2), per ESPN Research. They’ve also allowed opponents to convert on 53% of 3rd downs this season – the highest mark since the 1982 Chiefs. In addition, they’ve permitted 22 Pass TD, the 2nd most in the NFL after the Bengals (23). That’s also the most Pass TD the Cowboys have allowed in their first 9 games of a season in franchise history.

The bye week came at the correct time in Dallas. It will provide both Wilson and Williams time to learn Eberflus’ playbook. The following week, Brian Schottenheimer and his team travel to Vegas and face the Raiders in a must-win game for both teams.

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