Is Cowboys’ defense a point of concern? Here’s what struggles vs. Dolphins proved
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MIAMI GARDENS, Fla. — At the start of the season, the Cowboys’ defense was considered the strength of this team.
As we enter the late stages of the year, the defense is a major question.
The Cowboys’ defense needed to make a stop against the Dolphins late Sunday afternoon at Hard Rock Stadium and failed.
It was the offense that came through for the Cowboys with a late fourth-quarter touchdown.
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But the Dolphins drove the length of the field and could have scored a touchdown if needed, but settled for a game-winning, 29-yard field goal as time expired in a 22-20 victory.
The last scoring drive came down to a penalty on linebacker Damone Clark and the defense’s inability to halt the Dolphins on several third-down plays.
“It’s super tough,” linebacker Micah Parsons said. “I just feel like we’re good enough to get a stop. It’s tough.”
After the Cowboys took a brief lead on a Brandin Cooks touchdown reception, the Dolphins got the ball with 3:25 left. On the first play, running back De’Von Achane gained 6 yards but Clark was penalized for a face mask. The 15-yard penalty moved the Dolphins from the 31 to their own 46. Not even a minute into the final drive and the Dolphins were at midfield.
It was a devastating penalty for the Cowboys, and Clark wore it on his face after the game. He sat at his locker with red eyes as he stared ahead before taking a shower.
“I’m passionate about football, man anytime you lose,” Clark said. “A costly mistake that I made. It’s a hard pill to swallow. We definitely fought. It was a tough pill to swallow. It’s tough, bro, that’s why obviously that’s the part that made me emotional. I know all the work that I put in going into these games and that costly penalty, a flash, one second and that happened. As I say, it’s a game of inches.”
The penalty pushed the Dolphins into terrific field position, and the drive extended on some key third-down plays. Miami had a third-and-3 when quarterback Tua Tagovailoa completed a 10-yard pass to Tyreek Hill. Faced with another third-down play, this one needing just 2 yards, Jeff Wilson Jr. gained 6 yards with about 1:42 left.
That run allowed kicker Jason Sanders to convert his fifth field goal of the game to win it.
“It was very tough,” defensive end DeMarcus Lawrence said. “I feel like my brothers definitely believed we were going to get the stop. We didn’t.”
The Cowboys’ rushing defense, after allowing 266 yards in a loss at the Bills last week, gave up just 91 on Sunday. But the 375 total offensive yards, with the Dolphins averaging 5.9 yards per play, is concerning heading into the final two games of the season.
The pressure the Cowboys got on Tagovailoa, though they sacked him just once, is something to build on. Parsons was penalized for a hit on Tagovailoa — a call with which Parsons disagreed.
Hill, the dynamic receiver, had nine catches for 99 yards, and while he didn’t have any of those explosive plays everyone was worried about, he was more than effective. Receiver Jaylen Waddle, coming off a season-best 142 receiving yard game last week against the Jets, had one catch for 50 yards and left the game after getting poked in the eye by Lawrence. That’s one way to stop this explosive Dolphins offense that was second in the league at 6.6 yards per play coming into the game.
When it counted, the Cowboys’ defense didn’t create the turnovers they’re known for. They led the league in that department the last two seasons, but with the game on the line, they couldn’t get a stop.
“I don’t think we gave up anything big,” Parsons said. “They scored one time, a lot of field goals [and] coming into the game everybody knows they were going to get some big plays and opportunities with the weapons they had. But I thought we did a great job of containing them.”
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