IRVING, Texas — The moment was there Monday night for the Dallas Cowboys’ defense to take over the game.
Rarely had Cowboys Stadium been louder than after Dez Bryant’s 93-yard punt return for a touchdown that gave the Cowboys a 20-7 lead in the second quarter against the New York Giants. But the defense cracked.
Between Bryant’s punt return for a touchdown and the rookie wide receiver’s 15-yard touchdown catch with 3:17 left in the game, the defense allowed 307 yards on 34 plays and 31 consecutive points.
Today’s game against Jacksonville offers a chance for redemption to a defense that was ranked No. 4 in the NFL before the loss to the Giants and is now tied for 10th.
With quarterback Tony Romoout eight weeks with a fractured collarbone, it would not be surprising to see the offense take a step back with the backup quarterback regardless of how well the Cowboys say Jon Kitna can play. So the defense needs to pick up its play.
“If guys don’t score, they can’t win,” linebacker Bradie James said. “We came out on fire. Things happened in the game, we didn’t respond well. So that’s another challenge that we have to accept as the defense. We’ve got to stop people, regardless of who’s doing what, who’s playing what, whether it’s a mismatch - we’ve just got to get the job done. It’s just going back to basic ball.”
If the Cowboys are to salvage a season that has gone horribly wrong so far, their defense must revert to its near impenetrable form of late 2009.
The defense closed the regularseason by allowing more than 300 yards and more than 60 yards rushing once in the last three games, and posted two shutouts. The Cowboys gave up eight first downs on 33 third-down plays.
In Dallas’ two most recent games, Minnesota and the Giants converted 11 of 25 third downs. New York ran for 200 yards and threw for 297. The Giants had seven passes of 20 or more yards after the Cowboys allowed six total in the previous three games. They gave up five runs of at least 10 yards, the second-most they’ve allowed this season.
“When you have setbacks in one part of your game, the other part has to step up, just like the individual players do on that side of the ball,” owner and General Manager Jerry Jones said. “Yes, I expect [the defense] to step up.”
The Jaguars might be the right offense to see at such a dire time.While Maurice Jones-Drew is 11th in the NFL with 510 yards rushing, he has only one 100-yard game this season. David Garrard is back after missing last week due to a concussion, but he is averaging 6.55 yards per attempt, has been intercepted 7 times and sacked 12 times.
Jacksonville’s top wide receivers, Mike Sims-Walker and Mike Thomas, average slightly fewer yards per catch (11.4, 11.9) than tight end Marcedes Lewis (12.0).
“As far as confidence goes, no, I don’t think you lack confidence and belief in what you’re doing,” linebacker Keith Brooking said. “What our defense has done with pretty much the same guys speaks for itself at the level we can play. Two bad quarters don’t mean you can’t get it done anymore. It’s a wake-up call more than anything.”
The Cowboys can’t afford to hit the snooze button again.
Sports, Pages 28 on 10/31/2010