The post-mortem is still going on for the Dallas Cowboys after the 30-27 loss, and for most, they know exactly where to put the share of the blame for what transpired at Bank of America Stadium.
Of course, both sides of the ball played a role in the loss, the defense more so, but the offense did go three-and-out with a couple of screen passes in the fourth quarter, which was the last time the unit would touch the ball with 6:07 left in the game.
Defensively, Matt Eberflus' unit was torched, both on the ground by Rico Dowdle (183 yards) and through the air as the Panthers devastatingly curb-stomped Dallas.
And for CBS Sports' John Breech, he's oddly given the Cowboys a "B-" grade for the loss to Carolina, which I think is mainly down to the offensive performance.
"The Cowboys had a chance to make a statement in this game, but instead they got steamrolled by Rico Dowdle,” Breech wrote. “The Cowboys went into Week 6 with the NFL's worst defense and if you watched this game, you saw why that is. The Cowboys can't trust their defense and they can't trust their rushing attack and when you can't trust those two things, it's hard to win the NFL.”
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Given the state of the defense and the fact that the unit struggles to stop anyone, Dak Prescott and Co. know they have to score points on every drive and likely touchdowns.
In the fourth quarter, the defense gave up two drives of 14 and 19 plays, which took a combined 11:25 minutes off the clock as the offense, for once, stalled late, and that was the game.
The feeling midway through the third quarter was that the Cowboys, if in a manageable distance, would need to go for it on fourth down because if the offense punted, Carolina was likely to score.
That isn't a great spot to be in, and this week at The Star, a lot of soul-searching has to be done on the defensive side, because right now, things are bleak with no signs of this getting turned around.
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