The Dallas Cowboys have been one of the most inconsistent teams in football entering NFL games today. Set to face the Los Angeles Chargers on Monday Night Football, there are still a lot of questions around the league regarding the Cowboys’ legitimacy.
Dallas opened the season with a perfect start, crushing the New York Giants 40-0 on Sunday Night Football. After following that up with a 30-10 victory over the New York Jets, it seemed as if the Cowboys might be the best NFL team in 2023.
- Dallas Cowboys offense stats 2023: 26.8 PPG (8th in NFL), 327.4 total yards per game (16th), 4.9 yards per play (21st in NFL), 36.84% red-zone touchdown rate (28th)
Related: Week 7 NFL power rankings
However, the team’s performance has been sporadic ever since. In Week 3, the Cowboys’ offense gained 417 total yards, but it also went 1-for-5 in the red zone across a 28-16 loss to the Arizona Cardinals. Dallas followed that up by routing the New England Patriots in Week 4 with a 38-3 finish.
Just one week later, however, the Cowboys’ reputation took a massive blow. On the national stage, Dallas allowed 42 points to the San Francisco 49ers while Mike McCarthy and Dak Prescott’s offense mustered up just 197 total yards on 49 plays in a 32-point loss. Now at 3-2, there are plenty of Cowboys’ skeptics around the league right now.
In Mike Sando’s weekly poll of NFL executives for The Athletic, one team official raised doubts about the Cowboys even being considered a very good team in the NFL.
“Run defense and consistency on defense, and then offensively, what is their identity? They just are not very good. Their best games are when they play great defense and get turnovers, but that is not going to happen enough, especially against the good teams.”
Anonymous NFL executive on the Dallas Cowboys
Related: Kellen Moore talks revenge game against Dallas Cowboys
One fortunate thing for the Cowboys is that there doesn’t appear to be a clear-cut favorite in the NFL right now. With the San Francisco 49ers and Philadelphia Eagles losing to backup quarterbacks in Week 6, there are no more undefeated NFL teams.
However, the season-ending injury to Trevon Diggs and repeat red-zone woes for this Cowboys’ offense are legitimate sources of concern. Coaching also plays a key role in how teams are compared head-to-head and McCarthy’s track record in recent years hurt Dallas.
If the Cowboys win in convincing fashion on Monday, there will likely be positive buzz in Dallas and national discussion about the team as a playoff contender. With that said, a loss to the struggling Chargers would raise questions about whether or not Dallas can even win a playoff game or make it to the postseason.