Dallas Cowboys: Studs and duds in shocking Week 6 loss to Jets
By Randy Gurzi
Stud: Jourdan Lewis
It was weird to see, but the Dallas Cowboys actually recorded an interception in this game, and it came courtesy of a defensive back. For years, this has been a major issue with this defense as their secondary is one of the worst — if not the worst — in the league at generating turnovers.
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In fact, they entered this game with just one interception on the season. They doubled that up when Jourdan Lewis stepped in front of a red-zone pass intended for Jamison Crowder. In typical Cowboys’ fashion, they missed the field goal on the ensuing drive, but Lewis continues to make plays whenever the team wises up and puts him on the field.
Which leads us to our first dud:
Dud: Defensive coaches
Rod Marinelli is often praised for his work as a defensive coordinator but he has had some issues during his Dallas tenure. The most frustrating is the way they struggle to set the tone against some teams and they have a history of allowing average quarterbacks to look like Hall of Fame stars.
They also have a problem generating turnovers. Much of that is due to the coaching as Marinelli and defensive backs coach Kris Richard prefer their corners to follow the receiver with their eyes while never looking for the ball.
On top of that, they’re far too reliant on measurements. That was one reason they took Taco Charlton over T.J. Watt in 2018. It’s also why Richard stubbornly keeps Jourdan Lewis on the bench despite him being their best ball hawk.
This week, Marinelli and Richard were especially bad as they allowed Robby Anderson to rip off 125 yards including a 92-yard touchdown while Sam Darnold threw for 338 yards. It was a terrible performance and it’s starting to become a trend.