3 major takeaways from Cowboys’ loss include yet another QB having a field day – Mike Crum, The Cowboys Wire
The Cowboys defense having recent success in the past against the Panthers makes Matt Eberflus’ defense look even worse from Sunday.
Dallas couldn’t stop former teammate Rico Dowdle
Rico Dowdle told reporters that the Dallas defense needed to buckle up, but he ran over their car on his way to over 200 yards from scrimmage.
On his 30 runs, the Cowboys’ 2024 leading rusher ran half of them for at least seven yards. He was handed the ball 30 times for 183 yards for 6.1 yards per attempt. He also led the team with four catches for 56 yards. On 38 rush attempts, Dallas only had two run stops all game.
Dallas allowed another QB to outperform his past
Bryce Young had his highest yards per pass, completion percentage, and quarterback rating of the season and his most yards and touchdown passes since Week 1 when he threw the ball 55 times.
On the year, Young had only completed three passes over 20 yards on 12 attempts, but against Dallas, Young was perfect on all three of those throws. The Panthers leaned on the run, but when Young needed to make a play, he did so all game. He was a perfect 10 out of 10 for 125 yards and three touchdowns with a perfect passer rating when trailing against the Cowboys.
Losing 2 key matchups cost the Cowboys the game in Carolina – Mario Herrera Jr., Inside The Star
The Cowboys should have a play-caller advantage in most matchups, but anyone calling plays against the Dallas defense is having a good time right now.
Canales Outsmarts Eberflus
While McMillan’s heroics hurt, the real dagger came from Panthers HC and play caller, Dave Canales, who completely outcoached Matt Eberflus for four quarters.
Carolina’s offensive game plan was simple but devastatingly effective: attack the edges, use motion to confuse the linebackers, and mix in well-timed play-action passes to keep the Cowboys guessing.
The result? Running back Rico Dowdle torched Dallas for over 200 scrimmage yards and a touchdown, gashing the defense with both power runs and short receptions out of the backfield.
The Cowboys’ defensive front looked slow to react, and their tackling was sloppy.
Time and again, Canales dialed up the perfect play to counter Eberflus’ calls, whether it was a screen pass against a blitz or a delayed draw against light fronts.
This wasn’t just a bad day at the office. It was a schematic beatdown.
Eberflus’ inability to adjust to what Canales was doing put the Cowboys in a hole they couldn’t climb out of.
Even Pickens’ monster performance wasn’t enough to overcome a defense that looked confused and reactive all game long.
In a league defined by parity, talent alone doesn’t win on Sundays. Matchups do.
Dallas won one, Pickens vs. Horn, and lost the other two decisively.
McMillan’s timely touchdowns and Canales’ masterful game plan exposed the Cowboys’ weaknesses in both coverage and coaching.
Until Dallas learns to consistently win these critical one-on-one and strategic battles, games like this will continue to slip away.
Michael Irvin knows a thing or two about playing in a bigtime offense, but the Cowboys defense is so bad it hasn’t let the offense win games.
Michael Irvin is sick to his stomach watching the 2025 Cowboys defense
“I have never seen an NFL defense with so many people running WIDE OPEN!!!!,” Irvin posted on X.
You are not alone, Irvin. We are six weeks into the Matt Eberflus experiment, and players are still having communication breakdowns all over the place.
Donovan Wilson was responsible for both of Tetairoa McMillan’s touchdowns. While Eberflus obviously can’t go out there and play defense, he is asking to get burned by continuing to play Wilson, a deeply flawed player in coverage, as a deep-lying safety.
It’s one thing for the players to fail to execute his scheme, but Eberflus is failing to fix the things that are under his control, like personnel decisions. Continuing to play Sam Williams 30 snaps a game while James Houston barely sniffs 15 snaps is a prime example.
Don’t get it twisted: there is plenty wrong with Eberflus’ scheme.
That DaRon Bland was playing 10 yards off the line of scrimmage on 4th-and-3 with just over two minutes left in regulation makes absolutely no sense. The Panthers converted a quick slant and went on to milk the rest of the clock and kick the game-winning field goal as time expired.
Stephen Jones on Cowboys’ defensive struggles: ‘It’s a work in progress’ – Tommy Yarrish, DallasCowboys.com
The Cowboys front office thinking the defensive problems are more personnel than scheme right now could be the worst news of the season, to date.
“Yes I do,” Jones said when asked on 105.3 the Fan if Dallas had the pieces they need defensively. “This just comes down to execution. We’ve got to continue to be more consistent, and we can certainly do it. I think this is a work in progress, obviously we’ve got a lot of work to do on the defensive side of the ball.”
Going to work and chopping wood were two points that Jones repeatedly mentioned when discussing how the Cowboys need to go about fixing their defense, which ranks last in the NFL for yards allowed per game with 411.7, the only team in the league allowing north of 400 yards per game.
Even though a lot of the same struggles that have plagued them through the first five games arose in Week 6, Jones feels that this is all a process that can be worked out.
“I think it’s a work in progress. There’s no question. Matt Eberflus has been a very successful defensive coordinator in this league…” Jones said.
“It’s a matter of our guys executing the defense, probably going to be some give and take in there. Us doing more and more of what our guys may do better in terms of how it works with what he’s doing. It’s just one of those things where we just have to continue to go to work every week and get better.”
When asked how much of a step back the Cowboys defense could take if they were to make a change at defensive coordinator at this point in the season, Jones reiterated that the team is focused on themselves at the moment and is confident in their future outlook.
“Guys, we’re worried about getting to work, going to work this week and getting better each week so we can be more consistent and execute,” Jones said.
The Cowboys have had a big need for a coverage safety for years on end, but is it really their biggest need on defense right now?
BIGGEST NEED: Safety
The pass rush has at least been more sprightly the last couple weeks, but the secondary has been eaten up against both the run and the pass. In Week 6’s loss to Carolina, the run D was a big culprit, but the safety crew remained wanting. Juanyeh Thomas, who was forced into action after Malik Hooker landed on IR with a toe injury, struggled filling in on the run when the front got blown off the ball. Donovan Wilson, meanwhile, was credited with allowing two touchdowns through the air. In reality, there is no part of this defense that doesn’t need help if the Cowboys are going to turn things around.
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