ARLINGTON, Texas — A week ago, it was the Dallas Cowboys and their defense that held their own against a very talented Cleveland Browns offense that had plenty of firepower at the skill positions. But that was then, and now is today; and the “now” means that the Dallas defense was crushed by Derek Carr and the New Orleans Saints in the home opener at AT&T Stadium.
While they are two completely different games and seasons, one can’t ignore the parallels between what happened on Sept. 15 and what happened on that field in January. Carr teamed up with Alvin Kamara and Co. to score touchdowns on the game’s first six possessions.
You heard right: six.
“Humiliating,” said former first-team All-Pro linebacker Eric Kendricks. “(We) can’t allow big plays and start the game like that — it throws us off. We’ve got to get out quicker. Obviously we’ve got to stop the run later in the game, but I think we all did our part on defense, so that’s definitely a good bit of humbling.”
At one point, the Saints offense was perfect at 5 for 5 on third downs, and in the end, Kamara manhandled the Cowboys defense for four touchdowns – three on the ground and one in the air for 57 yards – with wide receiver Raheed Shaheed completing the feat with a 70-yard touchdown.
The defense allowed the Saints to march up and down the field, totaling 432 yards of offense and 44 points, just four points less than the Packers scored in January.
“Yeah, if that’s the case, we’re going to have to feel it for the next 24 hours for sure,” Kendricks said. “I think you can feel it when you look around the locker room. Everyone is obviously disappointed. We didn’t want that, especially in our first home game. But the NFL humiliates you like that.”
“And this isn’t the first time I’ve been involved in this, but we have to fight back. We have to go back to work tomorrow. It’s got to hurt a little bit. I think that’s a good thing. And then we put it behind us and work towards the next thing.”
Micah Parsons also spoke from the locker room on Sunday following the defense’s disappointing performance and expressed a similar view on how things unfolded, making it clear that he doesn’t believe it was a problem with game strategy that cost them the game, but rather a lack of execution on the field.
“For me, it had nothing to do with the scheme,” the three-time first-team All-Pro said. “I thought Zim called a pretty good game. … At the end of the day, I think we just got outplayed. I don’t think anybody on the field played — not everyone played 100 percent. I just take responsibility and tell the truth, and everybody, we all need to play better.”
But what exactly did Parsons think went wrong in real time?
“Just focus on the keys, man,” he explained. “We’ve got guys. Just focus on the little things. And the little things are important in games like this because everybody tries to make something every now and then, and at the end of the day, we have to use our hands and feet.”
“We don’t tackle well. We tackle with our arms. We try to pull down. We have to be aggressive.”
As mentioned, Kamara mangled defenses, and it wasn’t always an abstract play that resulted in a home run or a big gain for the Saints. Sometimes it was as simple as a handoff to the left or right side, and he also managed one when he ran into the left guard in the end zone, causing him to shrink and disappear between the trees before reappearing with nothing but green grass and the end zone in front of him.
It seemed as if the Cowboys were out of control from the moment the ball was kicked off in the first quarter and never regained their composure afterward.
“We’ve got to penetrate and tackle a lot better,” Parsons said. “So I’m trying to ride the guys and calm everyone down. Let’s focus, we’re here. This is a tough situation. We’ve got to score the ball. We’ve got to get better. Let’s not be afraid of it.”
“…There are a lot of things that I think need to be fixed.”
It starts with every player on defense looking in the mirror and then preparing to face reigning NFL MVP Lamar Jackson, who happens to be in desperation mode after an 0-2 start this season.
The defense passed the test against Watson with flying colors, but botched the one against Carr.
There is another exam next weekend.
