FRISCO, Texas — Thirteen times in a little more than three minutes, while discussing the state of the Dallas Cowboys‘ defense on Monday, cornerback Jourdan Lewis went back to a form of the same word: “detail.”
Or the lack of it by the Cowboys during their two-game losing streak.
“You gotta be detailed,” Lewis said. “We got to see how we can stop people. At the end of the day this s— is about us stopping people. That’s just what it is. We got to be credible, f—ing accountable every single play. And that’s 60 minutes of football. It don’t matter who we play. We got to go out there and be detailed in the play. It doesn’t matter who we play in this NFL. If we’re not doing that, s—, anybody can beat us.”
Less than 24 hours after the Cowboys lost 28-25 to the Baltimore Ravens and gave up 274 rushing yards — and a week after allowing 190 yards to the New Orleans Saints — the players were back to work, beginning their preparation for Thursday’s game against the New York Giants (8:15 p.m. ET, Prime Video).
Lewis was among a handful of players who spoke to the media Monday, and the theme of detail was mentioned by players on both sides of the ball.
“We’re not detailed in our work,” Lewis said. “You can take advantage of details because that’s how you win in this league. Everybody’s good in this league. It’s the details that make you different.”
In his postgame press conference Sunday, quarterback Dak Prescott mentioned professionalism in their preparation.
“It’s a job, and being prepared for every part of the job, however it may come,” Prescott said. “Time away from the building to being in the building. Just being a pro and understanding that you can get [only] so many practice reps. But you can watch the film, you can do all these other things that’ll help make up for it.
“We just have to be more focused. That’s what, to me, on offense where we haven’t been as focused as we should. Had a few mental errors that were crucial, I guess you could say, timing wise. To me, it just goes into being a professional and understanding what you have to do.”
With players talking about professionalism and the lack of details in preparation, coach Mike McCarthy put it more on the emotions right after a game than a sign of strife.
“Based off our work today, what needed to be said has been said and we’re onto the Giants,” McCarthy said.
What needed to be said?
“I’m not going to get into the specifics. This isn’t show and tell,” McCarthy said. “It’s about being accountable.”
The largest issue the Cowboys face is their run defense. It’s been so poor that opposing quarterbacks have attempted just 31 passes the past two weeks. After the game, edge rusher Micah Parsons said players are trying to be “Superman.” Defensive end DeMarcus Lawrence said the Cowboys are playing “little league” football.
On Monday, defensive tackle Linval Joseph said “everybody’s trying to play hero ball.”
Why?
“Just how it goes, you know. You’re losing. You want to be the guy that makes that big play,” Joseph said. “Then right now, that’s not the type of football we need. We need guys that’s going to do their 1/11th, do their job.”
While the Cowboys have a new defensive coordinator in Mike Zimmer, eight starters or key contributors on defense have been around for multiple years.
When asked if the lack of details is surprising because of the familiarity between personnel, Lewis said, “That’s always been a problem.”
The Giants enter with the 19th-ranked run offense through three games, but their leading rusher, Devin Singletary is averaging 4.7 yards per carry.
With Prescott as the starting quarterback, the Cowboys have won 12 straight against the Giants. His last losses came in 2016, when he was swept by the divisional rivals during his rookie season. During the 12-game winning streak, the Cowboys allowed a 100-yard rusher twice (Saquon Barkley 2018, 2019). In only one other game did they allow a running back to gain more than 60 yards.
Lewis takes no confidence from the win streak.
“It’s a new season. It’s a new football team,” Lewis said. “New things we got to get better at. Well, s—, same things we got to get better at. Be detailed.”
