HUMILIATION: Cowboys DOMINATED in Denver Debacle | Can Dallas SALVAGE Their Season?

Summary

Locked On Cowboys Podcast

Episode: “HUMILIATION: Cowboys DOMINATED in Denver Debacle | Can Dallas SALVAGE Their Season?”
Date: October 27, 2025
Hosts: Marcus Mosher & Landon McCool

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Episode Overview

This episode of Locked On Cowboys unpacks the Cowboys’ humiliating 44–24 loss on the road to the Denver Broncos. Marcus and Landon break down what the lopsided defeat exposed about the Cowboys on both sides of the ball, focus on the organizational implications, and debate whether Dallas can salvage their season after this “measuring stick” game revealed staggering weaknesses. With expert, candid insight, they pull no punches in examining the team’s composure, playcalling, and defensive collapse.

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Key Discussion Points and Insights

1. A Measuring Stick Game Gone Wrong

• (02:15) Marcus frames the loss: “On Friday’s show we said that the Broncos aren’t going to be the best team the Cowboys play all season ... we felt like this is one of the bigger games—a real measuring stick game to see if you are ready to go on the road and beat a good team. Unfortunately, I think we got some bad answers about this Cowboys team.”
• Landon underscores it: “All the weaknesses on both sides of the ball were exposed ... this roster still has some ways to go.” (03:41)

2. Composure and Mental Missteps

• (04:23-05:11) Marcus highlights the mental mistakes:
  • "The moment felt a little bit too big for them. They had a bunch of pre-snap penalties ... a lot of mental mistakes. It just felt like things were unraveling so fast for this team."
  • Cites specific errors: James Houston lining up offsides, Tyler Guyton/ Brock Hoffman issues, and a crucial red zone penalty for illegal formation on CeeDee Lamb.
• Landon calls out Brock Hoffman’s composure and penchant for penalties—and Sam Williams’ penchant for following big plays with costly errors.

3. Playcalling and Game Management Debates

• (06:34-11:47)
  • Marcus and Landon debate Brian Schottenheimer’s playcalling—Marcus argues Schottenheimer played it too safe, “didn’t have the energy Denver had,” and failed key go-for-it opportunities.
  • “It’s fourth and one. Go get a yard. Or, you know, it’s fourth and five from midfield. I trust my offense to get five yards more than my defense to not give up 70 yards.” (09:24)
  • Landon suggests he can see Schottenheimer’s logic given the “so, so terrible” defense: “Maybe the best plan was to make [Denver] do a bunch of plays down the field and hope they make the mistake ... neither side was a good option for the Cowboys at this point.”
  • Marcus pushes: “I just wish Schottenheimer would, and at some point maybe he will, realize I cannot have any trust in this defense. I need my offense to be the unit that's going to win me these games.” (10:22)

4. Defensive Collapse—A Complete Disaster

• (14:17-21:52)
  • Marcus: “426 yards allowed, 44 points. And Denver honestly let off the gas for like the last seven minutes of this game. It could have been even worse. This is about as bad as I’ve felt about their defense in a long time.” (14:44)
  • Drive-by-drive breakdown: After an opening interception, Denver scored touchdowns on drives of 74, 62, 65, 72, 84, and 55 yards.
  • Landon highlights the futility: Both Broncos running backs averaged well above 6.5 yards per carry—“It just felt like every play was a chunk play … it was a Sean Payton, well-designed pass scheme ... the Cowboys just weren’t providing any kind of resistance.” (16:24)
  • Personnel issues:
    • Defensive ends like Sam Williams consistently exploited
    • Kenneth Murray “getting blocked out of the frame or making the tackle seven yards down the field”
    • "A nobody’s list of defensive backs" as injuries stack up; undrafted players and a 7th-round rookie (Bridges) forced into action
    • Landon: “There’s nothing positive to hang your hat on in this game. They didn’t do anything well at any point, on any level. It was a semi-professional performance. It was embarrassing.” (17:36)
• Astonishing stats:
  • Broncos faced just two third downs in the first half, converting one.
  • Marcus: “At this point there’s not a single player that you could insert into this defense ... they are five, six, seven, eight guys short on this defense right now.” (18:32)
• Landon on the lack of coaching impact: “At a certain point you’ve got to deal with the guys that are there ... guys that have been there since training camp clearly still not knowing what they’re doing.” (20:21)
• Marcus: “The Cowboys have played eight games this year. They’ve allowed 40 or more points in three of those eight games ... on pace to be a historically bad defense.” (21:03)

5. Offensive Analysis: Clunky, Outmatched, and Over-Dependent on Dak

• (24:39-29:04)
  • The offense put up 24 points (7 in garbage time). Marcus: “It just felt very clunky all day … that’s the best way to describe it.”
  • Landon details the negative game script, the problems with the pass rush (against a Broncos defense “on pace to be historically good in sacks”), struggles with the ref crew, and lack of consistency or rhythm.
  • “Dak basically got hit on every single throw … the run game was up and down … it forced Dak to get into that mode where he has to be the guy that gets it on third and long.”
  • Marcus notes a strategic misfire: Too many horizontal plays and “cute” calls given the Broncos’ speed—“The best plays for the Cowboys’ offense in this game were when they were throwing the ball down the field.”
  • Landon: “They didn’t work Ferguson at all—he had only one target and that was the interception. That gave Dak only high leverage options down the field.” (27:43)
  • Dak, after four stellar games, reverted to “less than superhuman”—and, as Marcus says, “if he doesn’t play absolutely amazing A+ football, the Cowboys have a hard time even hanging in these games.” (28:23)

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Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• On Team Readiness/Deficiencies
  • “You could just tell within the first quarter of this game that the moment felt a little bit too big for them.” —Marcus Mosher, 04:23
  • “All the weaknesses on both sides of the ball were definitely exposed.” —Landon McCool, 03:41
• On Defensive Horror
  • “This is about as bad as I’ve felt about their defense in a long time.” —Marcus Mosher, 14:44
  • “It was a semi-professional performance. It felt like it was embarrassing.” —Landon McCool, 17:36
• On Playcalling and Philosophy
  • “Your offense is your bread and butter ... it’s fourth and one. Go get a yard. I trust my offense to get five yards more than my defense to not give up 70.” —Marcus Mosher, 09:24
  • “They are five, six, seven, eight guys short on this defense right now.” —Marcus Mosher, 18:32
• On Challenges Ahead/Season Outlook
  • “This could get worse. I don’t know how it could get worse. I guess it could stay this bad before it gets better.” —Marcus Mosher, 21:03
  • “Defense is just like a vacuum of talent right now. There’s just nothing—almost nothing there.” —Landon McCool, 21:52
• On Reliance on Dak Prescott
  • “If he doesn’t play absolutely amazing A++ football, the Cowboys have a hard time even hanging in these games.” —Marcus Mosher, 28:23

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Timestamps for Important Segments

• 02:15 — Loss as a Measuring Stick Game
• 03:41 — Exposure of Team Weaknesses
• 04:23-05:11 — Mental Mistakes & Lack of Composure
• 06:34-11:47 — Playcalling and Schottenheimer Critiques
• 14:17-21:52 — Complete Defensive Breakdown
• 24:39-29:04 — Offensive Struggles & Dak Pressure

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Summary Tone & Final Takeaways

Marcus and Landon are frank, analytical, and sometimes exasperated as they dissect one of the Cowboys’ most revealing and disappointing performances of the season. They emphasize the organizational issues exposed, frustrations with coaching (especially playcalling and defensive scheme/personnel), and a sobering look at the team’s defensive crisis—doubting whether any midseason fix is truly possible. The show closes on the note that the Cowboys’ hopes ride disproportionately on Dak Prescott delivering “A-plus-plus” games, an unsustainable formula with the current state of the team.

This episode is essential listening for Cowboys fans seeking honest, in-the-trenches analysis as Dallas faces a potential crisis point in their 2025 campaign.

Transcript

[Tyler Roland]

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[Landon McCool]

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Discount will automatically apply. Week eight was a measuring stick game for the Cowboys and unfortunately came up a little bit short. We'll dive into it next.

[Tyler Roland]

You are Locked On Cowboys, your daily Dallas Cowboys podcast, part of the Locked.

[Marcus Moser]

On Podcast network Your team every day. Welcome back to the Locked on Cowboys podcast, part of the Locked On Podcast network. Your team every day. We'd like to thank you for making us your first listen of the day. Today's episode is brought to you by Game Time. Download the Game Time app, create an account and use promo code lot NFL for $20 off your first purchase.

[Tyler Roland]

Welcome back.

[Marcus Moser]

I am your host Marcus Moser. He is Landon McCool and on today's show we're talking about the Cowboys 44 to 24 loss to the Denver Broncos. Landon On Friday's show we said that the Broncos aren't going to be the best team the Cowboys play all season. That's probably going to be the Chiefs or the Lions, maybe Philadelphia here in a couple weeks. But we felt like this is one of the bigger games. It was a real measuring stick game to see if you are ready to go on the road and beat a good team. Unfortunately, I think we got some some bad answers about this Cowboys team.

[Landon McCool]

Well, yeah, I mean, I think what we, what we did say is that this is probably the toughest defensive situation that this offense is going to face going into Denver. And that much proved very true.

[Marcus Moser]

Right.

[Landon McCool]

And, and I think the, the lingering issues that have been going on at certain points, it felt like with the pass protection that Dak had been able to kind of get them out of at different times, the Levy kind of broke on that. And, and that's really, I mean, frankly, we shouldn't even be starting with the offense. We're talking about the offense because, you know, the defense is so absolutely atrocious.

[Marcus Moser]

We'll get to the offense. Just big picture. I think the fact that the Cowboys came up so short in this game, unfortunately, I think it reveals a lot about where this team is at right now, kind of the makeup of this team and honestly how far away they feel compared to some of these tip top teams.

[Landon McCool]

Yeah, I mean, I think, I think all the weaknesses on both sides of the ball were, were definitely exposed, you know, in this game. And, and so yeah, it, it was revealing and I think we were right in the sense that this was a, a measuring stick game and an Elitmus test game. And, and I think it showed us, you know, that this, this roster still has some ways to go. And obviously, you know, there was some injury aspect that, that contributed to that. But, but even, even keeping that in mind, I mean look, you expected that it to be kind of tough sledding on the offensive side of the ball because you were facing a good defense, but to give up 44 points against what was extremely middling offense, I think that's obviously the bigger of the two sins.

[Marcus Moser]

And for me it was the, it was a lot of the composure stuff. You could just tell within the first quarter of this game that the moment felt a little bit too big for them. They had a bunch of pre snap penalties. James Houston lines up offsides. I, I think Tyler Guyton has a false start on the one yard line. They had a lot of mental mistakes. It just felt like things were unraveling so fast for this team that they couldn't catch up. They, they ended up getting back into the game a little bit and then they just couldn't stay out of their own way. And I think to me that's the difference. Like you, this is a very young team and the Cowboys are hoping that for the youth on this team, they get better, they get more experience. But you really feel it in these road games, like how young they really are, maybe how far away they are.

[Landon McCool]

Well, I mean the Guyton penalty to me was on Hoffman and they just called it incorrectly because Hoffman didn't snap it. And I bring that up because Hoffman also had another penalty earlier in the game. So specifically, it felt like Hoffman was having a hard time controlling the situation at certain points. He could have easily been called for a personal foul even later when he was kind of fighting with guys, which, you know, it's kind of Hoffman, but still, it's. It's become a point where, you know, that's a problem. So maybe, hopefully the return of Cooper BB Will help solve some of that. But you're right. Like, I mean, ultimately, it wasn't just Hoffman that was having problems. I mean, CD Lamb couldn't line up correctly and got a penalty in the red zone, if I'm. If I'm not mistaken, with the illegal formation. You know, I mean, and then obviously the defensive guys, you know, including Sam Williams, who just did the most Sam Williams thing ever, making a play on the. In the goal line for a tackle for loss, turning around and then getting a. Was it a personal foul penalty? And then. And then, you know, getting a first down, which somehow or, or no, it's on. It was on the touchdown. It was, you know, gave them the opportunity, which somehow actually worked in our favor. But, but, but, you know, look, I mean, at the end of the day, your luck runs out with that stuff. And, And I think, you know, you're right. That undisciplined play was a huge portion of. Of. Not the biggest portion, but. But a huge portion of. Of why the Cowboys lost this game.

[Marcus Moser]

I want to talk about Brian Schottenheimer really quickly because I think for the most part, Schottenheimer has done a really good job this season, but this is one of the games where it felt very much like. I don't want to say he's coaching scared, because I don't think that's right. But it felt like this team just didn't have the energy that Denver had. And again, that's on the road. It's a Sean Payton team that's incredibly well coached. Vance Joseph is one of the best defensive coordinators in the league. It just didn't feel like Schottenheimer had a good feel for this game. And you. And I might disagree with this, but there were a couple situations in this game. The first one was a. They had a fourth and one from their own 30 that they punted the ball on. Denver went down and scored a touchdown. Seven plays later, they had an interception at half where, I don't know why, they were trying to throw the ball down the middle of the field. They were already in somewhat field goal range there. A little bit more. Yeah, I think, I don't think Dak Dak just can't make that throw. And then in the third quarter, the game was 17:30. You're down by 13 points, and then you have a fourth and four at your own 44 yard line and they punt, and the next time they see the ball, the game is 37, 17. It's basically over. I just, I think Schottenheimer's got to realize in some of these games, once he sees his defense, we can't afford to punt.

[Landon McCool]

Yeah, I think you and I agree on like, maybe the calls we would have made in those situations. I think where we disagree is like where the mistake was made because to me, I can. I think I can make the argument that because of the way that Denver's offense was playing, I mean, because even though they scored 44 points, Bo Nix was definitely playing erratic at certain points and was throwing the ball a little wild. Obviously that early interception showed you some of that. I think the, the defense was so bad. It was just so, so terrible. And we'll talk about specifically that. But I, I think you could easily make the call that, like, hey, I would just rather make them go further with the hopes that they screw up and give us the ball as opposed to us. I. I mean, look, it's. It's six, one half dozen the other. But I guess my point is, is that I don't read that as a mis evaluation of where your team is or like a mis evaluation of how the. Your deep bad your defense is. I think it's more of if they were playing any other team, they probably would go for it. But at this point, they felt like maybe the best plan was to make them at least do a bunch of plays down the field and hope they make the mistake, which at certain points they did. They would get in penalties. And that was the other thing too. The refs were calling everything. Both sides got called for a ton of penalties. Right. And so the thought maybe is that, okay, they get behind on the sticks, they. They have an erratic ball, then they turn the ball over. Neither side, neither was a good option for the Cowboys at this point. That's how bad the defense was.

[Marcus Moser]

Your offense is your bread and butter, and that's where all your money is at, and that's where all your picks are. It's fourth and one. Go get a yard. Or, you know, it's. It's fourth and five from midfield. Like, I trust my offense to get five yards more than my defense to not give up 70 yards. And I think because they were calling this game so tightly, throw a back shoulder fade to George Pickens and see if you can get a penalty. They were throwing, you know, they were, they were throwing out flags the whole game. And I think that's the thing that's the most depressing here is that in the second half and really from the third quarter on, Patrick Sartan was out, Dre Greenlaw was suspended because of an incident last week. And you still didn't have the guts to go for it in some of those situations. And in fact, the one time they went for it on fourth down, they got it, they scored a touchdown and they got right back into this game. I just wish Schottenheimer would, and at some point maybe he will realize I cannot have any trust in this defense. I need my offense to be the unit that's going to win me these games.

[Landon McCool]

Yeah, I mean, like I said, I don't think you and I disagree with that overall point. I think we disagree about why he made those calls and whether that was a read about his team. I think again, the Denver Broncos had dominated the line of scrimmage and one is one of the few teams that is materially had dominated the line of scrimmage since Tyler Booker's been back. I, you know, I can understand why, I mean they, they had several tries on the goal line to get in that didn't go in, that didn't go as well. But, but so I could see why he made that call. But at the same time, you know, at the same time I, I, I, I'm not defending it. I would have made the same call as you, but I, I could at least make the argument as to why he did it. And you know, I understand it at least well.

[Marcus Moser]

And honestly, that first drive of the game after the Cowboys got the interception, they had second and goal from the one yard line and they went passing play to George Pickens. Whatever they had on third down, they had the false start and then they, on, then they, they decided not to go for it on fourth down. I think that was one of the situations where I know Brian Schottenheimer wants to get points on the board, but man, you're down there, you can make a statement early in this game, scoring a touchdown. Just thought he got a little bit. I would have loved to see them run the ball two more times there and see what would have happened.

[Landon McCool]

Yeah, and I, I honestly wonder whether like the way the game was being officiated affected the way that that shoddy was calling because it did feel like that. But again, not making an excuse. But I'm wondering if that isn't a factor that as to why he made some of these calls that he did.

[Marcus Moser]

All right, let's talk about the Cowboys defense because it's not great. Yeah, we apparently we do 44 points. Is there any hope for this defense or is it a complete lost cause? We will get to that next this episode is brought to you by Prize Picks. You and I make decisions every day, but on Prize Picks Being right can get you paid don't miss any of the excitement this sports season. Whether you're following the NFL, the NBA, or both, there is no better time to jump in on the action. And if you haven't tried prize picks yet, it's the simplest way to play. You just pick more or less on at least two player stats and if you get them right, you win. It takes less than 60 seconds to make your lineup and you can play anywhere that Prize picks operates, including California, Texas and Georgia. I love that you can pick some other players to root for besides maybe players on your favorite team right now. Plus, if one of your players leaves early with an injury, the injury reboot saves your lineup from a loss. So download the Price Picks app today. Use promo code lot NFL to get $50 in lineups after you play your first $5 lineup. That is promo code lockdown NFL for $50 in lineups after you Play your first $5 lineup prize picks it's good to be right. This episode is brought to you by Rugia. Let's be real. Making excuses doesn't solve anything. We've all heard them before. It's just stress. You're tired or it happens to everyone sometimes. But when it comes to performance, sometimes your body just needs a little extra support. And that's where ru comes in. RU.com offers fast acting doctor prescribed treatments for ED, designed to help you stop making excuses and start making moves. If prescribed, your treatment ships discreetly straight to your door. The process is fast, simple and private, and it's all handled by real doctors. It's about confidence, connection and getting back to the moments that absolutely matter. So visit rui.comlotnfl to get 15% off your first order. That is ru.comloton NFL and don't forget to use our promo code Loton NFL so they know that we sent you r Stop making excuses and start making moves.

[Landon McCool]

Foreign.

[Marcus Moser]

Cowboys Podcast we'd like to thank you for making us your first listen of the Day Lane. Let's talk about the Cowboys defense in this one because we have to. It started out really well. They got an interception in the first drive, 426 yards allowed, 44 points. And Denver honestly let off the gas for like the last seven minutes of this game. It could have been even worse. This is about as bad as I felt about their defense in a long time.

[Landon McCool]

Do you want to do the drive by drive breakdown or do. Should I release the crap?

[Marcus Moser]

I got, I got it right here. So it's interception, five plays, 74 yards, touchdown. Four plays, 62 yards, touchdown. Three plays, two yards, punt. That'll be the last, right?

[Landon McCool]

It's got a punt. Yes.

[Marcus Moser]

So again, I could have lived with that. The first four possessions you get a punt and an interception.

[Landon McCool]

Fine.

[Marcus Moser]

Right. Six plays, 65 yards, touchdown. Seven plays, 72 yards, touchdown. End of half, five plays, 22 yards, field goal, 12 plays, 84 yards, touchdown. Eight plays, 55 yards, touchdown. And at that point the game was 44:17 with seven minutes left in the fourth quarter.

[Landon McCool]

So I don't have the. Oh, actually, yes I do. Well, I don't have in front of me the total yards per play, but I do know that both of 7.5. Yeah, both of their starting running backs ended up carrying the ball at well above 6.5 yards a clip. And, and that, that Dobbins was at seven, almost seven and a half yards of clip. It was, I mean it just, you know, even there were times this, the Cowboys defense where it was like they would get your hopes up a little bit and then they were just, I mean I'm talking about throughout the year where you get the third down and ah, they just can't defend the third down. And. But that's not what was happening here. Like every play it felt like, except for like maybe one in four, every play was a chunk play. You were seeing like 7 yards, 11 yards, 8 yards, 25 yards off the right end.

[Marcus Moser]

Right.

[Landon McCool]

Like 22 yards, 12 yard, you know, and then, and then like the, the throws down the, the, the, the field that were ended up being in touchdowns. I think they had a 39 yard, you know, and, and it's, it just felt like it was just every, everybody was getting the ball. There was Bryant, it was sudden, it was, it was Franklin. They, they redistributed, they distributed the ball well. Everyone was open. Harvey, Dobbins. It was what we were afraid of. Like it was a Sean Payton, well designed pass scheme. Right. They, they attacked all areas of the field. They weren't Afraid to throw it down the, the the field at all and, and for them and, and the Cowboys just weren't providing any kind of resistance. You know, it just feels like if we're gonna go with specific players that are problems, it's unsurprisingly a lot of the usual suspects. You know, it's, you're just seeing constantly Sam Williams getting caught at as the target of, of the, of another game's running attack. Right. It just can't seem to get outside on these, on these contained plays that he needs to. To get outside. You're seeing Kenneth Murray. It's making tackles or getting blocked out of the frame or making the tackle seven yards down the field. And then obviously on top of that, it doesn't help that you've got a nobody's list of, of, of defensive backs out there. With Duron Bland, including missing both starting safeties and one of your backups, you're down to safeties four. And a guy that you're calling up on the practice squad. You got a guy who was a seventh round rookie this year that's playing on the other side of your. Even though he got an interception, he was being picked on the rest of the entire night in Bridges, you know, ready. Stewart playing safety at a certain point and he's like 5 9, you know, so yeah, everything. I mean there's, there was. The thing that's so frustrating about this defense is that there's nothing positive to, to hang your hat on in this game. They didn't do anything. Well at any point, on any level. Nobody seemingly had a good game. It was just pure. It was a semi professional performance. It felt like it was, it was embarrassing.

[Marcus Moser]

The Broncos scored 27 points in the first half and the Cowboys got them to third down twice. Twice in an entire half the Broncos faced a third down and they converted one of those two. By the way. It's just a pitiful unit and I again, I know injuries are an issue. Like they've, they had several defensive backs out. We can go through the names. Malik Hooker, Trayvon Diggs, Donovan Wilson Wanye Thomas, Savon Revel, who's still not quite back yet, Josh Butler. But at the same time, like you gotta have some pride out there. And I just, I saw a unit that looks as lost as ever. The fact that they've got a lot of veterans out on this unit, whether it's Clowney, Kenneth Murray and you know, the guys are still completely lost on what to do. Kenneth Murray looks worse now than he ever has in this defense. I. We're going to talk about trading, you know, the trade deadline here in the next week or so. At this point there's not a single player that you could insert into this defense, not even somebody in Green Bay that's going to solve their issues. Like they are five, six, seven, eight guys short on this defense right now.

[Landon McCool]

No, if anything, you know, look, you know, they have inadvertently shown that maybe the, the Michael Parsons trade is good because you need all the first round picks that you can get to fix this defense. And one Micah Parsons sure as heck isn't going to be good.

[Marcus Moser]

He would solve a lot of issues. But you're seeing the problem is that they're like they've just whiffed on a lot of them. Whether it's Sam Williams who continues to be a problem. I mean on, on the first touchdown run, Sam Williams gets blocked out of the hole by a wide receiver. Marcia Nealon is in the game to stop the run. He can't stop the run. One of your bigger off season acquisitions, Kyre Elam is unplayable at this point. Kenneth Murray continues to be an issue. Like it's just been a couple bad years in a row of not being able to find quality defenders.

[Landon McCool]

Yeah. And all, not all of it's like the quality of the player. I mean scheme is a lack of, of quality. Coaching is, is a serious issue here too and has continued to be. And so you know, look, I mean I understand that there's injuries and it's hard to coach these guys when they're not on the field but at a certain point you've got to deal with the guys that are there and it just again guys that have been there since training camp clearly still not knowing what they're doing and if they're not knowing what they're doing, get them off the field. You know, like, I mean especially in positions that defensive end where you do have other options. Like it's, it's just ridiculous that they can't get together and just play the defense. Get mind their own gaps in just play gap sound run defense defense.

[Marcus Moser]

Cowboys have played eight games this year. They've allowed 40 or more points in three of those eight games. They've allowed 30 or more points in five of their eight games. Like this is on pace to be a historically bad defense and unfortunately I know you've got the Cardinals and Raiders the next two games you got some really good offenses between Philadelphia, Detroit and Kansas City all in a row. The Chargers are on the way. This could get worse. Before I don't know how it could get worse. I guess it could stay this bad before it gets better.

[Landon McCool]

Yeah, I mean, you know, the, the worst could be that your, your young players don't develop, you know, they don't get any better than where they, where you are and it's like this and you're just kind of cycling street free agent corners, you know, I mean, look, they've got Kaylin Carson on the roster. They didn't even play him from what I could tell.

[Marcus Moser]

I mean like sauce jersey after the game. It wasn't really clean.

[Landon McCool]

Yeah. So it's, you know, they've clearly whiffed on, on, on some picks. They've whiffed on some free agents. Defense is just like, you know, it's a vac. It's a vacuum of talent right now. There's just nothing, there's almost nothing there.

[Marcus Moser]

All right, let's talk about the Cowboys offense because it was a very up and down day from that unit. What was going on? We'll break it down next. This episode is brought to you by. Game Time NFL fans, the season is back and honestly, there's nothing better than being in the stadium surrounded by fans cheering on your team. But let's be honest, getting tickets can be a hassle. Between queues, login screens and prices jumping at checkout, it's all incredibly frustrating. But that's why I use Game Time, the app that gives the advantage back to the fans. Game Time is fast, easy and backed by the game time guarantee. You will always get 100 authentic tickets delivered on time and at the best price. Plus all fees are included. So the price that you see is the price that you pay. I love that you can see exactly what the view is going to look like in your seats in the app before you buy. And honestly, it's faster, cheaper and less stressful than any other way that I've bought tickets in the past. So download the GameTime app, create an account and use promo code locked on NFL for $20 off your first purchase terms apply. Again, that is promo code locked on NFL for $20 off swipe tap ticket. Go download Game Time today. This episode is brought to you by FanDuel. The NBA is back and there is no better place to get in on the action than FanDuel, the official sports betting partner of the NBA. Even if you missed the start of the game or want to ride the hot hand, FanDuel has live bets on everything from who will score next to fourth quarter comebacks. Plus you can even combine your live bets into A same game parlay for a shot at a bigger payout. It keeps every game exciting, especially when your team is making that late push. So right now, FanDuel is giving new customers $300 of bonus bets when your first $5 bet wins. So head over to FanDuel.com and sign up and play your game with FanDuel, the official sports betting partner of the NBA. Welcome back to the Loton Cowboys podcast. We'd like to thank you for making us your first listen of the day. For your second listen, check out the Locked on NFL podcast. Two shows every single day. One in the morning with Tyler Roland, one in the afternoon with Tony Wiggins. Available wherever you get your podcast. All right, L. Let's talk about the Cowboys offense in this one. 24 points, although seven of those came late by Joe Milton. It just felt like. Joe, by the way, great.

[Landon McCool]

Beautiful.

[Marcus Moser]

Yeah, just felt very clunky all the. All day. That's, I think, the best way to describe it. Yeah.

[Landon McCool]

You know, and again, like, unfortunately they kind of got forced into a negative game script pretty early and, and considering who they were facing in this Denver defense, which is already on pace to be historically good in. In sacks this year, playing in Denver, it presented the Cowboys into a rough spot. They were also, again, in a situation where you have a ref. Ref group that's being very, very on top of it, let's say with, with. With some of the whistle stuff. So the Cowboys having to block this incredible pass rush that certainly got called for some holding, certainly got to put some into compromising positions, you know, and, and your tackles are just not that talented as at pass protection where they can put up with, you know, 31 attempts in a non balanced game script against the best pass rush in football and consistently protect the quarterback. And the passing game was kind of up and down because that, because of that. I mean, Dak basically got hit on every single throw that, even the completions that he made. And, and then the run game was up and down. Right. Especially early. It just wasn't very effective. They weren't able to get a lot of things going against this defensive line. You saw some improvement when, when Blue was able to get in there and kind of mix it up and then he fumbles later and so you feel less confident about it. Williams had an okay game. He ended up with two touchdowns, but wasn't very efficient. There just wasn't anything that was kind of consistently keeping them going and it was forcing Dak to get into that mode where he has to be the, the you know, the guy that gets it on third and long. And that's what you saw to see all the pickings catches on the sidelines and, you know, having to get to Lamb and. And so it just became a situation where they were put into a lot of desperate situations and high leverage third downs and they were facing a heavy pass rush. And it's just a difficult way to live when you can't play balanced over a course of a game.

[Marcus Moser]

I just want to say you're right about the pass rush. Like the tackles were struggling all day, but one of the things I would have loved to see from Brian Schottenheimer is this is an incredibly fast defense, so you don't really want to try to run like horizontal. And there were a lot of like wide receiver screens and out routes and come back.

[Landon McCool]

The Turpin stuff like that ended up being complete waste snaps. It was one for five of his targets and. And all of it was that right where they're trying to get it to the flat and. And they were getting to him before he could even catch the ball at times.

[Marcus Moser]

The best place for the Cowboys offense in this game when they were throwing the ball down the field and a lot of times it was coming on like max protect or they were leaving a tight end in or a running back in. It's something I would like to see from this team. Further, Dak is not a throw the ball 40, 50 yards down the field, but he's really good on those over routes and those kind of things. And that's the way to beat Denver's by challenging their secondary 20, 30 yards down the middle of the field where there's just less commotion. I thought in this game shoddy got a little bit too cute. Trying to show off some of the speed in this one.

[Landon McCool]

Well, and also they didn't work Ferguson at all. Like he had only one target and that was the interception. And I and I look, we haven't seen the all 22. Maybe it was because they were covering Ferguson with guys like. Who was it, Johnny Baron?

[Marcus Moser]

Maybe a little.

[Landon McCool]

Yeah. John A. Baron. Yeah. So maybe they were doing a lot more kind of defensive back underneath, like, you know, top and high and lowing him a little bit more. So we got to look at that on the tape. But it's like, you know, the fact that that was taken away kind of gave Dak only high leverage options down the field in order to try to convert, which, you know, he managed to do on several of them. But it's not a great way to live and die. Ultimately, no.

[Marcus Moser]

And just just a very clunky game. This is not Dak's best game. And honestly this is what we talked about on Friday. Like Dak has been so lights out the last four game, four games that he was kind of due to have a stinker is too strong of a word. But just a less than superhuman game. And you saw like if he doesn't play absolutely amazing A plus plus football, the Cowboys have a hard time even hanging in these games. Yeah.

[Landon McCool]

And he's against an opponent like this where like we said, one of the best pass rushing teams in football in Denver, which is already a difficult place to be to play. It was a very difficult task to ask Dak to do regardless of having to also serve the master of carrying his defense, which was absolutely floundering.

[Marcus Moser]

All right, that is it for today's show. We want to thank you for making lot on Cowboys your first listen every single day. Check out the channel on YouTube, download the podcast wherever you get your podcast. We are free and available on all platforms. He is Lana McCool. Follow him on Twitter @McCool BCB. I'm @Marcus Underscore Moser and we will see you right back here tomorrow. You can just move through life or.

[Landon McCool]

You can find the things that move you.

[Marcus Moser]

It's your choice. You can choose to get out there, choose your people. You could choose to go for it. No, like really go for it. Just choose to do something that moves something you Mazda crafts cars. For those who choose to do more than simply move, Mazda move and be moved.

[Tyler Roland]

This episode is brought to you by Prize Picks. Every day we make decisions, but on Prize picks being right can actually get you paid. Don't miss the excitement of this football season with prize picks where it's good to be right. Playing Prize picks is such a fun, simple way to add more excitement to football. You just pick more or less on player projections like Josh Allen's passing yards or Saquan Barkley rushing for a touchdown and you're in the game. Download the prize Picks app today. Use the code locked on NFL to get $50 in lineups after you play your first $5 lineup. That's code locked on NFL for $50 in lineups after your first $5 lineup price picks. It's good to be right.

[Cody Rourke]

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