Because their defense is so bad, the Dallas Cowboys are an average team when they’re offense plays at a high level. When the offense struggles to finish drives, they are one of the worst teams in the NFL, and that is playing out in real time against the Arizona Cardinals with the entire nation watching.
Appearing on Sirius XM before kickoff, Jones said he already has a trade that’s effectively complete, but it hasn’t been announced because other teams are negotiating before Tuesday’s deadline. Jones made it clear that a win — or a loss — would not impact how he approaches the deadline.
Troy Aikman addressed Jones’ remarks on the ESPN broadcast, and he feels exactly how Cowboys fans do.
“He might want to cancel that trade,” Aikman said, chuckling. “I don’t think one player, from what I’ve seen tonight, is going to make a difference for this group.”
Troy Aikman said quiet part out loud about the Cowboys’ trade deadline
A lopsided loss to the Cardinals should convince Jones to pull the plug on any trade talk. Unfortunately, Jones isn’t one to punt on a season with eight games left despite a mountain of evidence that suggests this team isn’t going to sniff a playoff berth.
They will be 3-5-1 with games against the Eagles, Chiefs, and Lions coming out of the bye after they play the Raiders in Week 11. They also have the Vikings and Chargers.
It will seemingly take 10 wins to clinch a Wild Card this season. The Cowboys will need to go on a remarkable run to reach that benchmark, and the offense has now turned in duds in consecutive weeks after a scorching start to the season.
Regardless, Aikman’s point is a valid one.
According to Bobby Belt of 105.3 The Fan, Dallas is allowing teams to convert third downs at a 54 percent clip this season. That would be the worst percentage in NFL history by 2.1 percentage points.
The defense had a chance to make a statement coming out of halftime, and it allowed a three-play, 74-yard touchdown drive that gave Arizona a 24-7 cushion. The tackling was the worst it’s ever been, DaRon Bland is chasing ghosts covering Marvin Harrison Jr., and the linebacker play continues to be the worst in football.
Jones all but confirmed that the Cowboys will make a trade by tomorrow’s deadline, so Aikman’s advice will fall on deaf ears. But the Hall of Fame quarterback hit the nail on the head. This team has no business being buyers with what it put on display on Monday night.
