Winners and Losers: Cowboys blown out again, Trevon Diggs plays bullfighter

There were a handful of times the camera caught Cowboys cornerback Trevon Diggs making business decisions in the run game. Detroit is a very physical team and the only way to combat their penchant for hitting is to hit back.

Diggs did his best bullfighter impersonation and dodged contact as if he were the player on offense. In his defense, Diggs is coming off a season-ending knee injury that limited him to three games last season.

Still, it was the 37-yard TD catch he allowed to begin the second half to Lions wideout Jameson Wiliams that cemented him on this list. Diggs was rewarded handsomely with a large contract to be the cornerback Dallas could rely on to shut the opposing team’s top receiver down.

Diggs and the Cowboys secondary allowed 308 passing yards to Detroit and allowed Lions quarterback Jared Goff to finish his day with a perfect 153.8 passer rating.

Cowboys kicker Brandon “Butter” Aubrey has been phenomenal this season and seems the only one playing up to a standard set in 2023.

Aubrey went 3-for-3, including a 50-yard field goal, en route to scoring all of Dallas’ points against the Lions. For the season, Aubrey has gone 17-of-19 including a career-long 65-yard field goal this season.

Dallas has scored 126 points this season. 60 of those have come from the right leg of Aubrey which equates to 47.6% of all the Dallas scoring so far. Last year, the Cowboys put up 506 total points with 157 coming from their All-Pro Kicker coming out to roughly 31% of the team’s total points.

Dallas is leaning on Aubrey heavily and Butter has not disappointed.

Cowboys owner Jerry Jones can boast all he wants about ticket sales but until Cowboys games stop becoming popular destinations for opposing teams to watch their favorite teams beat up on the Cowboys, the struggles at home will continue.

Dallas has trailed by at least 15 points at halftime in all three home contests this season. New Orleans led 35-16 in the Cowboys home opener before defeating Dallas 44-19. Baltimore led 21-6 at the half and hung on for a 28-25 victory. The Lions were up 27-6 at the break ultimately winning 47-9.

If you add last year’s home wildcard loss to the Packers, that marks four straight times the Cowboys have been absolutely assaulted in their own house. Green Bay led 27-7 at halftime before eliminating Dallas 48-32 last season.

Attending games in Dallas has become hazardous. The Cowboys have not won a game at AT&T Stadium since defeating the Lions in Week 17 in the 2023 season which came on December 30, 77 days shy from a full calendar year.

Cowboys returner KaVonte Turpin remains one of the most dangerous return men in the NFL. The man can accelerate and get to his top speed so fast it puts a strain on coverage units.

Turpin was able to get Dallas in prime scoring position just before the half with a 79-yard return with just under a minute till halftime. The Dallas offense was only able to generate one yard on the drive and ended with a 47-yard field goal from kicker Brandon Aubrey.

After being neutralized the first few games, Cowboys special teams coach John Fassel made the necessary adjustments to ensure Turpin is the player returning the majority of the kicks. Turpin ended the game returning four kicks for 194 yards averaging 48.5 yards a return.

Despite being built in 2009, AT&T Stadium remains an architectural marvel that still attracts the masses and generates incredible revenue. Building it East to West so that the sun hits directly onto the field during day games remains the largest flaw about an otherwise impressive structure.

Cowboys owner Jerry Jones has addressed the window issue before yet dismissed the concern almost entirely and presented it as more of a nuisance than a problem.

“I wish to hell all I had to worry about was a ball hitting the screen or a little sun getting in there,” Jones said in a 2022 interview with 105.3 “The Fan”. “Conditions and elements have been a part of football since it was spelled the first time. No. That’s about 10,000 on my list of things to worry about. And, no, we’re not going to do anything with it.”

Ignoring the fact that the sun is an issue for the players and opting to not cover the windows is as stubborn as not participating in free agency or utilizing updated salary cap maneuvers to your advantage. The topic itself has become such a distraction and has become bigger than the irresponsible architects who designed the building causing the sun issue in the first place.

Heading into the bye-week after having a 40-burger dropped on head should bring questions about making changes. Whether the team needs to alter its approach, philosophies, or coaches, conversations have to happen to get the Cowboys competitive before the 2024 season is lost.

While Mike McCarthy is an obvious candidate to be fired, allowing him to make the necessary changes should be afforded to a man fighting for his job. If McCarthy is on the hot seat, then his defensive coordinator, Mike Zimmer, is sitting on a chair engulfed in flames.

Offensive line coach Mike Solari, who coached with legendary Cowboys coach Tom Landry, could also be considered. The inability to run the football has been an issue for far too long and the offensive line has too much ability for the team to be as bad as they are on the ground. Detroit held Dallas to 53 total rushing yards and sacked quarterback Dak Prescott four times.

The lack of creativity from either side of the ball hasn’t inspired much hope from a couple of retread coaches struggling to stay relevant in a game bypassing the old guard. Regardless, Dallas can either make the necessary changes during their bye week or continue as usual all while expecting the results to differ.