September proves the Cowboys should have kept Jourdan Lewis in the offseason

The Dallas Cowboys are off to a sluggish start through the first month of the NFL season with a record of 1-2-1. Their latest outing was a 40-40 tie with the Green Bay Packers which saw their defense struggle to stop the pass.

After taking a lead in overtime, the secondary wasn’t able to get the Packers off the field, with a fourth-down completion from Matthew Golden standing out as the key play.

Had Dallas made that stop, they could have ended September at 2-2 and on a high note.

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Instead, they head into October guilty of surrendering a league-leading 1,189 yards through the air. Much of the attention for their defensive struggles has been focused on their decision to trade Micah Parsons, but that’s not the only departure that’s made an impact.

Jacksonville Jaguars cornerback Jourdan Lewis exits the tunnel before the game against the Houston Texans. | Morgan Tencza-Imagn Images

During the offseason, Dallas allowed veteran cornerback Jourdan Lewis to leave in free agency, and he signed with the Jacksonville Jaguars for $30 million over three years and has been worth every penny. Heading into Week 5, he’s allowing just 7.6 yards per catch and held opposing quarterbacks to a passer rating of just 42.6, according to PFF.

Lewis alone wouldn’t fix their defensive woes, but he’s outperformed everyone on the Dallas roster, and could have made an impact this past weekend when every defensive back struggled to stop Green Bay’s wideouts.

Jacksonville Jaguars CB Jourdan Lewis celebrates his interception with S Andrew Wingard right, and DE Josh Hines-Allen. | Corey Perrine/Florida Times-Union / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

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