"They Don't Have an Identity": Cowboys Legend Calls Out Dak Prescott and Co. After Embarrassing Loss to Buccaneers
· Yahoo Sports
The Dallas Cowboys had a chance to build on a hard-fought win over Houston, but Thursday night brought a different kind of test. Instead of taking care of business at home, Dallas let a previously winless Tampa Bay Buccaneers team leave AT&T Stadium with a 24-16 victory. The defeat raised fresh questions about the Cowboys’ consistency, and former Dallas offensive lineman Nate Newton offered a blunt assessment.
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Reflecting on the difference between his former team and the current roster, the three-time Super Bowl champion argued that Dallas lacks the identity and resilience needed to handle difficult moments.
“Let’s not compare those guys to us, because these guys are, they don’t have an identity,” Newton said on Cowboys Country. “We built our identity on mental toughness first, physical toughness second. That allows you to go through the adversities, the ups and downs of games. These guys, for the last two years, every adverse situation turns into a trauma-like deal.”
The Cowboys that Newton and other greats played for set a standard in the league. There is a reason why Dallas has hit a championship drought since winning their last Super Bowl in the 1990s.
The Cowboys’ performance against Tampa Bay gave that argument a clear point of reference. Dallas opened the game with a 70-yard drive capped by Javonte Williams’ one-yard touchdown run and held a 10-7 lead at halftime. But Tampa Bay took control after the break, scoring 17 points in the second half while Dallas managed only six. Tampa Bay finished with 419 total yards, 241 of them on the ground, and kept the ball for 39 minutes and 21 seconds.
Quarterback Dak Prescott threw for 316 yards and a touchdown on 24-of-42 passing, but two interceptions hurt Dallas. Tampa Bay linebacker Yaya Diaby intercepted a pass intended for Ryan Flournoy in the third quarter, while linebacker Alex Anzalone grabbed another after tight end Jake Ferguson couldn’t grab on to one late in the fourth.
“No, we can all probably try to make some excuses, but the reality of it is we just didn’t get the job done,” Prescott said after the game. “I’m not going to blame it on travel. I am not going to blame it on a quick week. It’s the NFL. We had three or four days to prepare for this one, and so did they. And unfortunately, they beat us in the preparation, and it showed today.”
The Cowboys owner and general manager, Jerry Jones, was also unhappy with how easily Tampa Bay ran the ball. He had expected more from Dallas’ defensive front, but the Buccaneers kept finding room between the tackles and steadily wore down the defense.
“Extraordinarily, extraordinarily disappointed,” Jones said. “You really do need to get it done when it’s there to take. They basically were very physical. I thought both their fronts, was really surprised at how well they ran the ball, how they ran it between the tackles.”
Jones was visibly frustrated after that second pick and began making his way out of his suite after Buccaneers running back Bucky Irving broke free for a big rushing gain towards the end of the game.
Head coach Brian Schottenheimer knew the Cowboys had to fix their mistakes instead of making excuses for the loss.
“We are solution-makers. We’re not excuse-makers; we’re solution-makers. That’s what we’re working on really, really hard right now. We’re having the hard conversations. We’re looking at the film. We’re studying the areas [of concern].”
Newton’s words leave Dallas with a problem that goes beyond one loss. The Cowboys can talk about fixes all week, but the real test comes when things go wrong again. Will they finally show the toughness Newton says is missing, or will another setback send them down the same familiar road?
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