Maybe it happened when Minnesota Vikings quarterback J.J. McCarthy did the Griddy dance while walking into the end zone for an easy touchdown. Or maybe it happened when McCarthy fired his second touchdown pass of the day to Jalen Nailor early in the fourth quarter, all but ending the Cowboys’ playoff hopes. But at some point on Sunday night, Cowboys owner Jerry Jones had the realization that McCarthy — much-maligned during his first season as a starting quarterback — was playing well against Dallas. Really well.
Jones shared that realization Tuesday morning while speaking on 105.3 The Fan (KRLD-FM). He then, quickly, shared another realization.
“It seems like we’re always saying that about these quarterbacks,” Jones said. “Some of them that haven’t played as well, but when they play us, they play better. I think that’s telling.”
And it could be illuminating about one of the biggest storylines for the final three games of the season. For the first time, it feels like there’s pressure on Cowboys defensive coordinator Matt Eberflus to get the defense going, or potentially go home.
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Jerry and Stephen Jones have both mentioned multiple times this season the importance of continuity when it comes to their defense. They’ve had three defensive coordinators the last three seasons with three varying defensive schemes. Dan Quinn left to become the head coach of the Washington Commanders after the 2023 season. The Cowboys then turned to former NFL head coach Mike Zimmer to be the defensive play-caller, but he didn’t return after the Cowboys parted ways with former head coach Mike McCarthy.
Dallas then turned to Eberflus — a choice that came with optimism and, seemingly, a decently-sized leash. There was patience built in, considering the circumstances.
“We’ve had three different defensive coordinators in three years,” Cowboys owner Jerry Jones said on The Fan on Halloween. “And so while change creates a freshness, or new ideas, you also pay the price of giving up continuity.
“When you have a world like we have where we sign players for long-term agreements — long term being three, four, five years in a row — and you change the way they’re coached or the philosophy of how they go play a certain position, then you see what you get into.”
So far, even with that built-in patience in mind, the play of the Cowboys’ defense has surprised Jones. The Cowboys are 31st in the NFL in points per game allowed (30). Dallas is on pace to be the eighth team in NFL history to allow 500 points in a season, though three of those teams accomplished that lowly feat after the NFL expanded to a 17-game schedule in 2021.
All while the Cowboys have an offense that’s averaged 29.1 points per game, placing them fourth in the NFL.
“Bottom line, I’d say we’ve been pretty off-balance because of the way our defense has presented and the issues regarding our defense,” Jones said on Tuesday, “which I didn’t expect.”
The issues have been vast. Jones pointed to a “hodgepodge” of injuries on the defensive side that ultimately affected communication, which he deemed an essential part of Eberflus’ defense. He pointed to the play of the secondary and the linebacking group, which he called a struggle this year, to his surprise. Jones, when asked specifically, said that the players on the Cowboys’ defense do fit Eberflus’ scheme — and yet, the struggles have persisted.
One struggle that was evident in the last two games — two games in which the Cowboys allowed a combined 78 points — was Dallas’ willingness to blitz early but then abandon it. The Cowboys, for example, forced the game’s only turnover on Sunday on the opening drive when Donovan Wilson blitzed and tipped a McCarthy pass that landed in the arms of defensive tackle Quinnen Williams.
McCarthy has completed just more than 47% of his passes this season when under pressure, compared to 61.4% when he’s been kept clean, according to Pro Football Focus. The Cowboys had zero sacks on McCarthy and only had one quarterback hit.
“The biggest thing for us is we got to affect the quarterback,” Cowboys head coach Brian Schottenheimer said. “There’s different ways to do it. You guys have seen our ability to do it with our defensive line in four man rushes. We have the five man line. But at the end of the day, we just didn’t get home. Were there enough blitzes? Eh, maybe, maybe not. But certainly didn’t affect the guy.”
Multiple times during his twice weekly hit on The Fan , Jones acknowledged he’s been surprised by the play. It’s made the possibility of whether the Cowboys would face the cost of continuity, once again, in the service of finding a new defensive coordinator after this season.
Jones was asked if the next three games could determine whether Eberflus returns or not.
“I think that should be a big criteria because these three games … are important to us,” Jones said.
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