The Cowboys' 3-4 start has been fraught with injuries, mistakes and generally ugly football.
Dak Prescott has become a bit of a turnover machine, throwing eight interceptions in seven games after finishing with nine picks in all of 2023. Offensively, the Cowboys lack punch and consistency, and because their defense is so banged up, they've found themselves fighting uphill battles on a near-weekly basis.
Cowboys owner Jerry Jones is well aware of their current reality, describing the start as "a rougher go than I anticipated," , but remains optimistic as Dallas approaches the midway point of the season.
"It is rougher and I did not anticipate the challenges that we're having with this team," Jones said Friday, "but I am reminded of teams that I've seen that have had a lot of success and put themselves in position to take a shot and they were 3-4."
His team will encounter a quality litmus test this weekend against the 5-3 Falcons, a team that has challenged opposing defenses over the last month, averaging nearly 30 points per game in that stretch. At 3-4, it's also a key point in the season to start a turnaround.
"Hell, I mean to me every game is (a must-win), but obviously, I mean 3-4, as I've said, a lot of season left, but the first start to be able to say that confidently is getting back even, especially, right, having a couple of home ones after that," Prescott said, via ESPN.
The reasons for Dallas' issues aren't difficult to identify. Prescott is operating a severely unbalanced offense, which ranks last in rushing yards per game, third in passing and 22nd in scoring. He's been asked to carry the unit for much of 2024, explaining some of the giveaways for which he's been held responsible. He's also lacking weapons outside of CeeDee Lamb, with whom Prescott has struggled at times to get on the same page, and is playing behind an offensive line that is starting two rookies at center and left tackle and a third-year player at left guard.
"When I look at the whys that we're here, I really have a tough time getting past just sheer youth, sheer inexperience in the offensive line and I have a tough time getting past that turnover [ratio]," Jones said. "I'm telling you when you look at that and knowing what turnovers will do for you, we've had through seven games, we, the Cowboys, have turned the ball over 13 times. The entire year last year we didn't turn it over but 16 times. Thirteen times we turned it over. ... It's really a plus that we've won three games."
Jones is right. He also acknowledged Prescott is generally playing better than the eight interceptions suggest, which is why he thinks they could right the ship before long.
Such a shift toward the positive would require the Cowboys to find some life in the running game, where Rico Dowdle and Ezekiel Elliott have combined for just 395 yards and two touchdowns on 107 carries. They'd also benefit from the return of all-world defender Micah Parsons, who hasn't played since Week 4, and cornerback DaRon Bland, who hasn't played at all this season.
"First of all, I have seen the players that are out on the field do what I'm talking about doing that would address turnovers or do address having your communication in your offensive line, improving your running game, improving your protection," Jones said. "I have seen Dak make the kinds of plays that would cause us to have a different turnover ratio, for instance. So your question is right on, but I have seen these guys do it. I know that Mike McCarthy, I know the caliber of coach he is. He's one of the highest percentage winning/losing coaches that's been in the NFL. And he's won a Super Bowl.
"So when you've seen it done in football, then you know they can do it. Then that gives you reasons to say what I say and that is that we can get better."
Dallas could make a move before the trade deadline, which arrives Tuesday. They currently have $21 million in cap space available to take on a sizable contract, but still need to find a deal that will improve them in the short term.
As Jones said, they're open for business, but not just to create a line in the league's transactions log. If they're going to make a trade, it has to make sense.
Given their current state, they should definitely be working the phones.
"We're looking for meat on the bone that can improve our team," he said.
