The Dallas Cowboys' defense got taken for a ride in the team's home opener last week, giving up 44 points to Derek Carr and the New Orleans Saints. It was a beatdown of epic proportions and came as no small surprise, either, given the defense was supposed to be arguably the strongest phase of the game for this year's Cowboys.
On ESPN's Sunday NFL Countdown before Dallas took on the Baltimore Ravens in Week 3, Rex Ryan ripped the unit with merely two words: "Hot garbage."
"Garbage," Ryan said when asked by host Mike Greenberg to give one word to describe the Cowboys' defense. Then he emphasized that they were "hot garbage" when Greenberg asked for two words.
Rex Ryan didn't hold back on the Cowboys defense 😯 pic.twitter.com/4Bgp6k0UGv
— NFL on ESPN (@ESPNNFL) September 22, 2024
Even Cowboys fans would likely not disagree with Ryan. While the defense held strong in Week 1 against the Cleveland Browns, giving up 17 points and 230 yards of total offense, they suffered a complete collapse against the Saints. The 40-burger was bad enough, but the other stats are even worse. New Orleans totaled 432 yards of offense, averaged 7.7 yards per play, and Alvin Kamara scored four touchdowns on his own. It was as bad as bad gets.
The hope was that the defense would play as well as last year and compensate for any potential steps back taken by the offense after the departure of Tony Pollard in the backfield and the realization that Dallas has little depth at receiver. However, it seems that Dak Prescott is able to compensate on that front just fine, while the defense barely put up a fight against a Saints unit that was league-average in 2023.
The Cowboys will have to put up a better fight to win, or at least avoid further disdainful descriptions from a former defensive coordinator, against Lamar Jackson's Ravens on Sunday.
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This article was originally published on www.si.com as Rex Ryan Blasted Cowboys’ Defense With Brutally Honest Message .
