The Dallas Cowboys generated headlines for the wrong reasons this week, in part because of Micah Parsons' comments on Jalen Hurts a week before the Cowboys were actually scheduled to play the Philadelphia Eagles. Dallas played the Jacksonville Jaguars in Week 15, as the defense gave up 34 points, 503 yards, and blew a 17-point lead in Sunday's loss.
Did the Cowboys overlook Jacksonville, thinking about the outside chance they could to be two games behind Philadelphia on Christmas Eve? Head coach Mike McCarthy denied that there was any of that mindset in the locker room.
"You know, this is my 29th year in this league. You don't overlook any game," McCarthy said Sunday. "When we have conversations about 'don't take the cheese' it's really for the younger players and just to stay focused based on the questions they have to answer that will be different than they normally answer.
"We spend a lot of time on the film and game planning. Like I said, I thought we had a good week of practice. [They were an] uncommon opponent; these guys haven't played against each other before, so I thought the guys put the time in. It was a hell of a football game, and we came out on the wrong side."
Dallas picked a bad time to have its worst defensive output of the season, and now sit three games behind Philadelphia -- with three games to play. Parsons hasn't played at the dominant level he's accustomed to, as he has just nine tackles and a sack in his last three games. He did have 12 pressures in Sunday's loss, but didn't get the finishes he would like.
What has changed from earlier in the season?
"We're not getting traditional looks. Way more chips, ball is coming out way faster," Parsons said. "There's not a lot of dropbacks, more playaction. Boot passes are being thrown on us, there are quicker passes. It's a lot more quick game against us. If you look at any other game, there's more dropback.
"We're getting different game plans. We gotta expect that and change our game plan."
Trevon Diggs has struggled the last three weeks in coverage as well, giving up 13 completions on 17 attempts (76.4%) for 100 yards and a touchdown for a 109.9 passer rating. Whatever the Cowboys are doing on defense right now isn't working.
"Obviously we gotta do something different," Parsons said. "Everything can't be perfect, but you strive for that type of execution. Giving up 34 is not execution.
"We gotta get back to the basics. We can't afford to get complacent at this time of year...I'm not the type of person to come here and make excuses. We just gotta get better."
