The Cowboys defense appears to be out of sync after a huge home loss to Dallas on Sunday afternoon.
While the Cowboys can agree there is a problem or problems that need to be fixed — the New Orleans Saints won convincingly, 44-19 — defensive coordinator Mike Zimmer and star forward Micah Parsons have had conflicting explanations for what happened.
Parsons, who totaled three tackles in the loss, indicated on his podcast Monday that Dallas’ defense’s issues stem from a lack of effort.
“The effort was not there for all 11 [players] … At the end of the day, you have a standard of who you are during training camp and during this process of getting ready for the season,” Parsons said. “We didn’t hold that standard high.”
Micah Parsons on his @BleacherReport podcast about the Cowboys’ 44-19 loss to the Saints: “Not all 11 players played their best. … You have a standard… we didn’t live up to that standard. … I’m determined to do this right.” photo.twitter.com/auymquUq0K
— Jon Machota (@jonmachota) September 16, 2024
Zimmer dismissed the notion that the Cowboys underperformed on Sunday.
“I don’t really think it was an effort thing,” Zimmer said Monday, via Jon Machota of The Athletic. “That team beat us off the snap a couple times. … We didn’t get going fast enough. … I’ve just got to do a better job.”
While there is a clear rift between Parsons and Zimmer, Parsons admitted they “didn’t fly to the ball well enough” or “block well enough” against the Saints, who scored a touchdown on their first six drives of the game.
Parsons also defended Zimmer on social media after the loss. Zimmer, the former Minnesota Vikings head coach, is in his first season with the Cowboys this fall.
“For me it had nothing to do with the plan. I thought [Mike Zimmer] “I called it a pretty good game,” Parsons said after the game, via the Fort Worth Star-Telegram. “At the end of the day, I just believe we were outclassed. No matter who was on that court, everybody wasn’t playing at 100 percent. That’s just me being responsible and telling the truth. We’ve all got to play better.”
Parsons and the Cowboys will now turn their attention to the visiting Baltimore Ravens (0-2) for Week 3. In the meantime, addressing their defensive deficiencies — whether it’s effort-related or not — will certainly be at the forefront of Zimmer and Parsons’ minds in the coming days.
