Yesterday in Buffalo, we received a major reminder of this fundamental truth. The bills completely dominated the LOS on both sides of the ball, ran the ball 39 times with almost no problem and their defense dominated our OL all day. The bills played sound fundamental football and we did not. It is truly that simple.
We did not lose that game because of “bad play-calling” on offense or not making enough “adjustments“ on defense. We got physically dominated. And that is worse than losing because of just a few plays here and there. That game was over in the second quarter. No great QB or dominant defender could rescue a team from that.
So, IMO, the Cowboys have still not fixed the same flaw that has knocked them out of the playoffs too many times in the last decade: Not being able to counterpunch a physical bully. SF showed us that in our 3 straight losses to them since 2021. Until this team proves they are capable of being able to counterpunch a physical team, that problem will remain our achilles heel.
So Mike McCarthy’s biggest challenge moving forward is to find a way to get this team tougher physically and mentally. This is a still a good football team. But it needs to get tougher and smarter.
Hate to say it, but the Cowboys are soft until proven otherwise in the playoffs. They can still change that narrative in the playoffs but it won’t change until it actually happens.
