Cowboys continue fall in power rankings as brutal truth is revealed

Adam Schultz

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Cowboys continue fall in power rankings as brutal truth is revealed image

© Ron Chenoy

The Dallas Cowboys' inconsistent season continued against the Denver Broncos in a 44-24 loss that might have been Brian Schottenheimer's team's worst performance of the season.

Yes, that is saying something, given what we've already seen this year, but this time, it was both sides of the ball that failed, not just one. 

We have talked about Dak Prescott and the offense needing to be perfect for the team to stay in games. That thought was only reinforced on Sunday as Dallas' offense stuttered and its defense crumbled en route to another big loss.

For NFL.com's Eric Edholm, Dallas continues its slide in his latest power rankings, down to No. 22, while he revealed a truth most of us already knew.

"Dallas could have won back-to-back games but left looking like a team that can’t count on its offense bailing out the defense on a weekly basis," Edholm wrote.

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Cowboys' offense can't continue to bail out defense

Unfortunately, given the state of Dallas' defense, that is exactly what the offense will have to do.

You could make the case that had the defense just been "average," the Cowboys would have beaten the Philadelphia Eagles, the Green Bay Packers and the Carolina Panthers, and who knows what the season outlook would look like.

But here we are.

With the defense giving up 31.3 points per game (ranks 31st), 146 rushing yards per game (ranks 29th) and 258.3 passing yards per game (ranks 31st), it is tough sledding with Dak and Co. Needing to be perfect to stay in touch with the opposition.

What is needed is clear: the defense needs to improve to be "just" average. Who knows what things could look like, but is that realistic for this version of Eberflus' defense? 

Right now, you'd have to say no.

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Contributing Writer