After a season-opening blowout win on the road against the Cleveland Browns, the Dallas Cowboys laid an egg at home against the New Orleans Saints in Week 2. Dallas was dominated from start to finish against New Orleans, with the final score coming in at 44-19.
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Not many saw this coming but Dallas got a reality check from the Saints. They looked out of sorts on the offensive side of the ball, with their defense allowing New Orleans to do pretty much whatever they wanted.
This has caused some to push the panic button in Dallas, with the remainder of the failures this team has suffered almost yearly. Even Cowboys legendary running back Emmitt Smith weighed in on the state of the team, showing his disappointment in their performance a week ago.
Smith appeared on the Kay Adams show, “Up and Adams,” to discuss the Cowboys. He was asked whether or not he believed Dallas was a playoff team in 2024 and his answer was a little surprising.
“Not the way that they looked last week. Not the way that they looked like week.”
Dallas entered the year fresh off giving out large contract extensions to quarterback Dak Prescott and wide receiver CeeDee Lamb. Both earned their new deals but with them came the expectation of a Super Bowl run.
The Cowboys have looked a little like Jekyll and Hyde through the first two weeks, albeit in a small sample size. But it has shown that they can be beaten in any given matchup.
Smith believes that Dallas will have to weather the storm with the next-man-up mentality if they are going to push past this poor performance.
“I’m not sure. Last week was just a debacle. It just was a debacle, period. We didn’t rise up like we should have and maybe we don’t have that talented of a football team to rise up and do what people expect. We do have a few injuries here and there but bottom line is next man up.”
ARLINGTON, TEXAS – SEPTEMBER 15: CeeDee Lamb #88 of the Dallas Cowboys rests on the bench during the fourth quarter against the New Orleans Saints at AT&T Stadium on September 15, 2024 in Arlington, Texas. The Cowboys may not be a playoff team in 2024.
Photo by Sam Hodde/Getty Images
The Cowboys have a tough matchup coming this weekend against the Baltimore Ravens, who themselves will enter desperate to get a win. Baltimore sits at 0-2 to start the season and will do whatever they have to in order to leave Dallas with a victory.
If the Cowboys aren’t prepared, they will fall to 1-2 on the year, a place many didn’t see them at. Baltimore is a very physical team so Dallas will need to bring their A-game if they want to defend home-field from the Ravens.
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