All season long we have talked about how the Cowboys' defense is the strength of the team and that they are a championship-caliber defense. After losing 31-28 to the Green Bay Packers in overtime and getting gashed in the running game by Aaron Jones, Cowboys' SS Jayron Kearse is seemingly calling out the entire defense.
Speaking to the media on Wednesday, Jayron Kearse had this to say:
“You should be angry. You should be frustrated. If you're not, then I think we got the wrong guys on this defense if you're walking around like everything is fine, Kearse said.”
It's a fair assessment to call out this defense, which is severely lacking when it comes to stopping the run. The Cowboys' defense allowed the Packers to put up 203 rushing yards against them last Sunday and gave up 240 rushing yards to the Chicago Bears two weeks before that.
Kearse later continued, saying:
“We're 6-3, the sky is not falling, but if you don't have a sense of urgency moving forward with how last week went, the week before the bye week – then you need to gut-check yourself and look in the mirror.”
Kearse is right – the sky is NOT falling, but it could very quickly. The Cowboys will see star running backs Dalvin Cook and Saquon Barkley within four days of each other next week when the Cowboys play the Minnesota Vikings on Sunday and the New York Giants on Thanksgiving.
It will be no small task to attempt to contain Dalvin Cook or Saquon Barkley, but the Cowboys need answers on stopping the run before Sunday. Make no mistake about it, the Cowboys could find themselves in deep trouble for the playoff race if they struggle to stop opposing teams from running the ball consistently against them.
After having a ferocious defense through the first half of the season, the Cowboys have allowed 1,288 rushing yards, and opposing running backs are averaging 4.8 yards per carry. The Cowboys must right the ship on defense if they plan to make a deep playoff run.
Micah Parsons knows that the window could close early on the Cowboys' playoff hopes if they don't fix the defense. After Sunday's loss to the Packers, Parsons had this to say:
“Until we put out this fire, we're gonna keep seeing it. If people want to keep doing their own thing, we're gonna deal with this all year. We have to be accountable. We have to stay in our gaps, gotta stop the run. Until we do that, it's gonna be a long year, Parsons said.”
With leaders such as Micah Parsons and Jayron Kearse calling out their teammates – you know there is frustration brewing within the Cowboys locker room. Maybe this is what they need to get back on track. We will see come Sunday if the Cowboys have any answers for Dalvin Cook and the Minnesota Vikings.
If the Cowboys hope to save their season before it's too late, they will need to find a way to stop the run and secure a win this week.
