'They're Soft!' Cowboys Ripped by ESPN's Rex Ryan After Disaster at Jaguars
Former NFL head coach Rex Ryan had no holiday cheer to bestow to the Dallas Cowboys after Sunday's heartbreaking loss to the Jacksonville Jaguars.
Ryan contrasted the famous words of another NFL coaching alum, the late Dennis Green, when discussing the letdown on the Monday edition of "Get Up!," claiming that the Cowboys, alas no strangers to big leads vanishing, "Ain't the team you think they are."
"They're soft. They don't finish!" Ryan declared.
The 17-point advantage Dallas lost in Duval County created only the second Cowboys loss in the last five weeks, a 40-34 overtime defeat at the hands of the surging Jaguars. But, on both occasions, the Cowboys (10-4) have lost a multiple-possession lead in the fourth quarter, having previously 14 points slip away in a loss in Green Bay last month.
A former NFL defensive guru, Ryan took particular issue with the Cowboys' lauded pass rush. While the team did lose Dorance Armstrong and Leighton Vander Esch to injuries (the former did return), it was only able to sack Trevor Lawrence once on Sunday. That Micah Parsons takedown accounts for the Cowboys' only sack over the last two weeks, as they were kept off the ledger entirely in an unconvincing win over the lowly Houston Texans last week.
"That pass rush, (people said) all they need to do is get a lead, that pass rush will suffocate you, close out games. That's not the case!" Ryan said. "When you look at the last two weeks in particular against below average pass protection teams, Houston and Jacksonville, they've had 72 drop-backs. This vaunted pass rush has one quarterback sack."
Ryan did spare quarterback Dak Prescott from his wrath. Though Prescott threw two interceptions to Rayshawn Jenkins (the latter coming on a "volleyball'' botch by receiver Noah Brown going back for the walk-off score in overtime), he threw for 256 yards and three scores to help Dallas build the early lead.
"To me, the only thing that's real is Dak Prescott," he said. "He is a leader. He brings their team back. So, to me, you have that going for you. But your defense, your defense is overrated."
Dallas still clinched a spot on the NFC playoff bracket thanks to the Washington Commanders' loss to the New York Giants, but their chances for the East division title likely evaporated. A chance to at least delay the Philadelphia Eagles' clinch lands on Saturday afternoon at AT&T Stadium (3:25 p.m. CT, Fox).
Geoff Magliocchetti is on Twitter @GeoffJMags
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