Stephen A. Smith didn’t wait long to point the finger after the Cowboys let a 14-point second-half lead slip away and fell to the Arizona Cardinals, 33-30, in overtime on Sunday.
On First Take a day later, Smith blasted the Cowboys’ defense, called the loss “pathetic,” and said the “Cowboys are trash” after Dallas dropped to 3-5. The Cowboys gave up 30 points in the second half and overtime, and ESPN noted that the team had been 202-0-1 when holding a 14-point lead in the fourth quarter.
Smith also argued that Jerry Jones missed on a major coaching move, saying the owner should have hired Rex Ryan as defensive coordinator instead of Christian Parker.
“Jerry Jones made a mistake by not going and getting Rex Ryan to be his defensive coordinator,” Smith said. “You need somebody fiery, you need somebody that’s gonna hold cats accountable, you need somebody that’s gonna make people recognize that their jobs are on the line if they don’t go out there and produce...
“The losses don’t hurt enough because life is real comfortable in Big D.”
Michael Irvin, another former Cowboys star, was just as blunt about Parker’s role in the mess. Dallas has now allowed 20-plus points in 15 straight games, and Irvin said Parker “is totally overwhelmed.”
“Right now, it is bad,” Irvin said. “There is no getting around that, and snatching defeat from the jaws of victory is a new pain and a new low.”
Dan Orlovsky also weighed in, saying “the Cowboys need to make a change somewhere within their football team. They’re 3-5.”
That said, a midseason firing of Brian Schottenheimer does not appear to be coming. Jones said after the loss that he does not see that kind of move happening, despite Schottenheimer’s 10-14 record with the Cowboys.
“I made a change, and I don’t want to mention it because I’m not proud of it,” Jones told reporters after the loss. “But I made a change with Wade Phillips there in the middle of the season, and I don’t see that here at all.”
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Texans Put One Young Lineman Under Pressure After The Bye
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For a Houston team sitting at 2-5, the margin for error is already thin, and offensive line play looms large in any hope of staying in the AFC South race. The coaching staff is pushing Ersery to keep his effort and technique locked in through the whistle, a sign that the Texans believe his growth could matter just as much as any midseason adjustment they make elsewhere. [Read more 🡒]