The Dallas Cowboys defense have accomplished their long-stated goal of stacking up takeaways with 18 through eight games in 2013, but they’ve been so bad otherwise, they’ve needed every single one of them just to emerge from the first half of the season at 4-4.
“That’s a shame,” said first-year defensive coordinator Monte Kiffin, per the Fort Worth Star-Telegram. “We talk about turnovers and we did what we needed to do. We just didn’t make things as tough as we should have and of course we didn’t stop the pass. You can’t give up big chunks like that, gosh darn it.”
Not only is the Dallas defense on pace to break the franchise record for most yards in a season by a good margin--at this rate, they’ll give up an astounding 6,760 yards--but they’re on pace to give up 5,062 passing yards, which would be an NFL record. It’s that bad.
On Sunday, the team allowed the Lions to stack up 623 yards of offense, 329 of which went to receiver Calvin Johnson. They also became just the second team in history to manage a loss in a game in which they had a plus-four turnover margin.
“When it matters most, when it’s time to get off the field, when it’s time to put a dagger in them in the last drive of the game, we weren’t able to do that,” added cornerback Brandon Carr. “That’s what cost us in the end.”
Stay on top of the latest Dallas Cowboys news with NBCDFW.com. Follow NBC DFW on Facebook or have breaking Cowboys news sent directly to your phone with Blue Star SMS alerts. Text "bluestar" to 622339 (NBCDFW) to subscribe, text HELP for more info, and text STOP to end the subscription. Message and data rates may apply.Read more about it here.
