Dallas probably needs some time to digest the fact that the NFL changes quickly. Only a couple of weeks ago, the Cowboys were riding high, feeling confident about their chances of winning the Super Bowl this 2024 season. But the recent blowout by the Saints has surely pinched them awake from their dreams.

Mike McCarthy’s team surrendered 19-44 in front of New Orleans on Sunday, September 15. However, the interesting part of this is that the Cowboys head coach has himself made a confusing statement, saying, “it was just that the Saints finished better than [Cowboys] did.” Is it so? Well, the team’s other important figure, Micah Parsons disagreed with McCarthy, as the Saints were indeed on fire!

New Orleans were playing the game like Canadian Football?

In a recent episode of the DraftKings on September 16, hosts Michael Lombardi and Grace Remington recap the Cowboys vs Saints’ Sunday matchup. Talking about the same, Lombardi highlighted, “What’s maddening about the game yesterday is, the Saints played the perfect game in my mind as they played Canadian football, and what I mean by that is they got first downs and two downs” in just two plays. According to the former football player, earlier during the Packers’ playoff game, head coach Mike McCarthy “saw the Packers converting first downs and two downs when he saw them playing Canadian football.”

He continued, “Then he sees the Saints playing Canadian football and they score in the first six drives. He starts to panic and he starts to get away from what he wants to do and look, I thought the Cowboys were trending in the backward direction.” In addition to that, Lombardi also pointed out that Dallas is vulnerable when they can’t pressure the quarterback. And this is also hinted at by Micah Parsons on his BleacherReport podcast, where he clearly stated, “The effort was not there by all 11. … You have a standard … we didn’t uphold that standard. … I’m determined to get this thing right.”

Well, Jerry Jones wanted all in for his team ahead of this season, and now it seems despite all in, the Cowboys are not able to implement the full strength in the games. And if this continues to happen, Mike McCarthy’s team might have to face some other blowouts from good or even arguably average teams. Hence, Dallas needs to find an answer soon. And it seems they have started with their first step!

Are the Dallas Cowboys behaving immaturely?

After a dominant win against the Browns, the Dallas Cowboys were stuck in a blowout by the Saints, losing 44-19. In the game, Derek Carr (who threw the ball 16 times and got 11 completions for 243) and the Saints ran over the Cowboys’ defense, scoring touchdowns on their first six drives. But by that time, it was not like the Cowboys couldn’t have overcome the drawbacks.

Although the Cowboys’ offense had chances to respond, penalties and missed opportunities held them back. So, it would be safe to say that the only consistent performer reportedly was kicker Brandon Aubrey, who made all four of his kicks. In addition to that, Micah Parsons too played fine by making “three tackles and zero sacks in 44 defensive snaps.”

However, his and Aubrey’s individual performances were not enough to save the team from drowning. And head coach Mike McCarthy knows this very well, as he later admitted the team needed better preparation, saying, “We weren’t quick to the first punch….We need to learn from it.”

Indeed, this game was a harsh reminder of the Cowboys’ playoff loss to the Packers last season. While McCarthy acknowledged the team’s inconsistency, he stressed that there’s still time to fix things. He noted, “We have a lot of work to do. We looked like a young, inexperienced football team at times, and that was my first impression when I finished watching all three phases last night. So then after going through all the eval with everybody, we need to be better.”

Therefore, McCarthy knows they need to bounce back quickly to avoid a two-game losing streak at home. As he admitted, “We did not improve from Week 1 to Week 2,” the coach is clearly frustrated with the last game. Now, with a 1-1 record, the Cowboys face a tough challenge next week against the Ravens, led by Lamar Jackson and Derrick Henry. Nevertheless, Mike McCarthy is determined to see better results in the upcoming game.