FRISCO — The Dallas Cowboys' 30-24 loss to the San Francisco 49ers was not much of a surprise itself. Coming out of the bye week, not many prognosticators gave this team much of a chance to begin with and the game produced a much closer result than anticipated.
But the same issues that hurt the team before the bye week trickled over into their Week 8 contest. Significant injury woes, poor quarterback play and offensive schematics complemented with an overall talent discrepancy continued as major themes of the Cowboys' fourth loss.
Very quickly, the climb for Dallas to move back into NFC East and playoff contention has become even more difficult. But not everyone around the team feels that way.
Monday, Cowboys' Chief Operating Officer Stephen Jones appeared on Dallas radio station 105.3 The Fan and posited his belief in the team as they navigate through "adversity."
“This team is made up of a lot of the same players that won 12 games the last three seasons. Right now we’re just going through adversity. We’ve had more than our share of injuries it feels like this year, especially on the defensive side of the ball.
"I think we have really good football players. At times we’ve had spurts when we’ve played well and obviously at times we’re not playing well.”
The "Blow It Up" plan hindered Dallas' progress from the start. However, the position that this team still resembles those of recent seasons that flirted with title contention just simply is not true.
Overall, to pretend that this team and this season is the same as the 12-5 team from four years ago and since is a lie.
The Cowboys' laundry list of injuries unexpectedly set them back, but that misfortune does not fully account for why Dallas has struggled to compete this season. While the 30-24 score may look cleaner, those who watched saw how quickly the game slipped out of reach before the late rally.
Perhaps the return of Parsons, Brandin Cooks and DaRon Bland could lift this group in the coming weeks. But there are pronounced talent and schematic discrepancies between the Cowboys and the teams they are competing against.
As a result of their 12-win season in 2023, the schedule will not ease up on them either, continuing against the NFC South leader Atlanta Falcons Sunday afternoon. At 3-4, the Cowboys must be urgent about solving their adversities sooner than later.
