Dallas lost 24 to 16 at home to a previously winless Tampa Bay on Thursday, allowing 241 rushing yards and extending a run of consecutive games conceding more than 20 points to twelve, which matches a franchise record.
How bad are the defensive numbers?
Comprehensively poor. Beyond the 241 rushing yards, Dallas gave up 165 yards before contact, the most by any team in a game this season, and conceded a 72 yard run on the second play of the third quarter. An undrafted rookie quarterback making his first start completed 19 of 25 passes for 189 yards and a touchdown.
What does yards before contact measure?
Where the failure is. It counts the distance a ball carrier travels before any defender touches him, which separates missed tackles from a defence not being in position at all. A league leading figure in that category means runners were reaching open space untouched, which is a structural problem rather than an effort one.
Is this new?
No, and that is the concern. Dallas allowed a franchise record 511 points last season and finished 30th in yards per game. It entered Thursday ranked 31st against the run and is on pace to concede 462 points this year, despite a change of scheme under a first time coordinator and personnel the team believed had improved the unit.
What did the owner say?
That he remains focused on the defence and that changes would be premature. Jerry Jones said he has confidence in the coordinator, described him as competent and as taking responsibility, and said what troubles him most is how opponents are running between the tackles given the strength the team has at interior defensive line.
Is that backing meaningful?
Partly. Public confidence in a coordinator five games into a season is the only available statement, and reading anything into it would be a mistake. The more telling detail is the owner identifying interior run defence specifically, since that is where the team invested and where it is failing.
How historic was the loss?
Rare. It was the sixth time in franchise history Dallas has lost to a team entering a game at 0 and 4 or worse, and only the second at home, the previous instance in 1975.
What else went wrong?
Both sides of the ball. The 16 points were a season low, Dak Prescott threw two interceptions on tipped passes and a kickoff return was fumbled. Dallas ran for 50 yards. A potential interception return for a touchdown was dropped, and a pass that went through a tight end’s hands was intercepted.
What was the hallway incident?
Minor and widely covered. A third party contractor shouted at Prescott as he left the field and then looked away. Prescott said people should feel free to speak their minds but should stand behind it rather than retreat, and that he disliked it becoming a talking point. The head coach described the criticism as motivating.
What now?
A ten day break before Green Bay on Oct. 18, with no home game until Nov. 1. Dallas is 2 and 3, and the last time the franchise made the playoffs from that position was 2018.
