How did the Cowboys get so bad?

ARLINGTON – Quarterback Hendon Hooker and a host of other Detroit Lions second-stringers were so close to history Sunday afternoon. Just one more touchdown and the visitors would have secured the most lopsided victory in the 65-year history of the Dallas Cowboys, erasing the 1985 Super Bowl Bears and a rather infamous 44-0 loss at Texas Stadium from the local record book.

Instead… just another Sunday at AT&T Stadium where away teams have won four straight games (dating back to Green Bay's 48-32 playoff loss) by punishing the Cowboys' defense early and often and watching Dak Prescott and the Dallas offense buckled under pressure. This time it was Lions 47, Cowboys 9 – not entirely different from Saints 44, Cowboys 19, but much more decisive and sustained than Baltimore's 28-25 win here three weeks ago.

Remember, the Cowboys and Lions met here in Week 17, when both were in the playoffs and trying to prove who had the upper hand, while Dallas was able to pull out a 20-19 victory. Even if it was indeed the Lions who won two playoff games while Dallas withered, how do we go from that last meeting in December to the Cowboys' 38-point loss and Prescott's exit after his second interception, giving the Lions theirs fifth game made possible? A touchdown at the start of the fourth quarter?

The Cowboys are missing numerous leaders on defense, including ends Micah Parsons and DeMarcus Lawrence and linebacker Erik Kendricks. Trouble was to be expected. So how do you explain head coach Mike McCarthy saying the plan was to stop the Detroit running attack with the front seven?

We've seen the Cowboys master defense against good teams (even at full strength) this year, and it's an ugly sight. In fact, David Montgomery and Jahmyr Gibbs took it easy against Dallas with 24 carries for 143 yards (6.0 average) and two Montgomery touchdowns, while the Cowboys resorted to their normal no-show in a running game and Rico Dowdle and Zeke Elliott had 13 Runs scored for 42 yards (3.2 average).

McCarthy, as always, talked about the one-sidedness of the first half that took Dallas out of the running game, and I realize that the coach needs to say things like that instead of making honest statements like, “That's the crap Jerry did there.” “has” us this year.”

The Cowboys are a one-trick pony on offense, and everyone knows the trick. While Jerry Jones belatedly followed up, giving Prescott and CeeDee Lamb the first $94 million annual combination in league history, they endured another day of separation on Sunday. On 14 targets, Lamb caught seven balls for 89 yards. Last December against Detroit, he had 13 catches for 227 yards, a career-best performance in both categories.

Prescott said a little communication during the bye week could fix that. He said the team will meet on Monday, correct the mistakes from that game and move on to the bye week and preparations for a trip to (gulp) San Francisco.

How exactly does a team correct a 47-9 embarrassment in one afternoon while watching tape? Jared Goff wasn't really at his best on Sunday, passing for 315 yards and three touchdowns on 25 pass attempts. Dak never managed to pad his numbers in garbage time, finishing the game on the bench after going 17-for-33 for 178 yards with two interceptions and zero touchdowns.

Remember, the Lions are indeed a good football team (and will remain so even after the crushing loss of pass rusher Aiden Hutchinson), but they don't have a good secondary. Seattle's Geno Smith threw for 395 yards in the Lions' last game and Matthew Stafford threw for 317 yards earlier this season. Taking Sunday's sacks into account, the Cowboys had 37 passing plays with Dak in the game, yielding 152 yards (4.1 per game) and two turnovers.

This is an extremely poor production, and after Dak and CeeDee have just joined Jerry's bench, it creates an unattractive picture. America's Team is a team of entitlement and personal brands and podcasts, and the fact that McCarthy can't keep it from falling apart since he and the coaches are all on one-year contracts isn't exactly a surprise. But the magnitude of those losses convinces us that the Cowboys' narrow wins in New York and Pittsburgh did little more than improve the team's record.

“They’re further ahead than us right now,” McCarthy said of a team that just won by 38 points. “We’re 3-3.”

The idea that you are what your record says you are only holds true once a full season is in the books. Yes, the Cowboys still have plenty of options in 2024. Right now, the opportunities to rewrite the uglier part of their record book are far more important than the opportunities to repeat as NFC East champs.

And six weeks seems like an awfully long time when you're still hearing that Dak and CeeDee don't see eye to eye but are working to get there.

X: @TimCowlishaw

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