It’s been made clear the Dallas Cowboys have a flawed team. They’re sitting at 1-2 with one of the worst defenses in the entire NFL and an offense that can’t get going for more than a quarter per game. 

Head coach Mike McCarthy’s postgame message was a clear one: The team needs to clean it up. 

“I stood up in Week 1 and said the same thing, I didn’t feel like we were nowhere close to where we needed to be,” McCarthy told reporters. “And we clearly got some things that we’re going to work on and anytime you struggle in a situation or a unit struggles, whether it’s run defense, run offense, or pass protection and so forth, well guess what? You know what’s coming next week, so we need to clean our own house, our house isn’t where it needs to be right now.”

What does cleaning the house look like for a Cowboys team that is hellbent on not making any additions from a personnel standpoint? I believe it starts with looking at the three potential fatal flaws the Cowboys have right now. Let’s dive in.  

1. The elephant in the room: The run defense

Anyone watching the Cowboys knows it’s no secret: You can run on this defense. And you can do so with relative ease.

274 rushing yards. That’s what the Ravens were able to accumulate on Sunday against the Cowboys defense that allowed 190 rushing yards to the New Orleans Saints a week before. On at least one third-and-three and a third-and-six, Baltimore opted to pound the rock instead of running the risk of dropping back. 

There are many reasons behind this problem, starting with personnel. The Cowboys claim they like their personnel but fans better hope Jerry Jones is just saying stuff while actually planning to upgrade the position room in the not-too-distant future. The team needs it badly. However, players are clearly frustrated with their own execution as well.

“I think now we got people just trying to be Superman,” a clearly upset Micah Parsons told reporters on Sunday. “People just got to own their jobs, bro.” 

The film will reveal more once we get to it but perhaps Parsons’ comments point toward potential room for improvement. Gap assignment will be important to scrutinize during the week. 

2. Pass protection 

Last year, the Cowboys were able to mask some of their weaknesses by letting Dak Prescott cook on the passing game, throwing at the fourth-highest rare in early downs (neutral situations) after the bye week. Now, that might be what they need once again but there’s a big problem they need to figure out to be successful with such a plan: Their offensive tackles need to do a better job in pass protection. 

We knew Tyler Guyton would take time to develop but it’s clear Terence Steele’s struggles have persisted even now that he’s healthier. Last year, helping out Steele was easier as Tyron Smith could be left on an island working Dak Prescott’s blindside. But now? 

The Cowboys have to find a way to help out two of their tackles while not compromising their passing game. McCarthy needs to find a way to help out his quarterback. 

3. Cowboys’ playcalling needs a spark

Let me say one thing: Davante Adams and Brock Bowers went off against the Ravens secondary in Week 2 and that had everything to do with high effort and timely play-calling designed to catch the defense sleeping.

That included some specific coverage beaters that used Adams to open up Bowers underneath and vice versa. 

Meanwhile, the Cowboys seem to be really struggling to scheme Lamb open as he consistently faces bracket coverage looks. On Sunday, Prescott’s best plays came when he completely stopped looking Lamb’s way and instead focused on spreading the ball around. Simply put, the team’s passing concepts lack creativity and must get better moving forward.

The same goes for the running game, which remains stubborn on keeping things inside and avoiding getting to the outside save for a few calls every week. The reality staring the Cowboys in the face is this: Your personnel is far from great and it’s time to make up for it through scheme.