Jerry Jones Backs Cowboys' Defense, Unit is 'Getting Better' Despite Collapse vs. Cardinals

Dallas Cowboys owner, president and general manager Jerry Jones offered a positive outlook Tuesday regarding his team's defense despite Sunday's 33-30 overtime loss to the Arizona Cardinals.

During an appearance on 105.3 The Fan in Dallas (h/t Jon Machota of The Athletic), Jones said of the defense, "I like the way we're trending. ... I think it's better by what you saw Sunday in the first part of the game. It's looking that way with the future in mind that we can get better. And we are getting better."

Defense has been a consistent issue for the Cowboys in recent years, and that continues to be the case this season, as they rank last in the NFL in total defense and 27th in scoring defense.

Dallas' defense seemed to be heading in the right direction when it allowed just seven second-half points in a 38-21 win over the Philadelphia Eagles in Week 7, followed by giving up only three first-half points against Arizona on Sunday.

Entering the fourth quarter of Sunday's game, the Cowboys had a 17-10 lead, and they went up 24-10 early in the fourth.

The Cardinals' offense exploded from there, though, thanks in large part to head coach Mike LaFleur making a quarterback change from Jacoby Brissett to Gardner Minshew.

Minshew threw touchdown passes to Tyler Allgeier, Trey McBride and Michael Wilson in the fourth quarter, and the only reason why Arizona didn't win the game in regulation was due to a missed extra point by Chad Ryland with six seconds left.

The Cardinals got the job done in overtime, though, as Minshew drove them into field goal range, and Ryland hit from 42 yards out for the win.

Dallas gave up 467 yards of total offense, including 202 on the ground, as Allgeier rushed for 147 yards and a touchdown on just 11 carries.

Since ranking fifth in both total defense and scoring defense under defensive coordinator Dan Quinn in 2023, the Cowboys have taken a nosedive on that side of the ball.

After Quinn became head coach of the Washington Commanders, the Cowboys were 28th in total defense and 31st in scoring defense under DC Mike Zimmer in 2024, and 30th in total defense and 32nd in scoring defense last season under Matt Eberflus.

Dallas pivoted to its fourth different DC in the past four years this season with Christian Parker, but things haven't gotten much better.

The Cowboys did bring in former NFL head coach and DC Mike Pettine a few weeks ago to serve as a senior defensive assistant alongside Parker, although it hasn't led to any significant improvements yet.

Three of Dallas' next four games are against the Indianapolis Colts, Tennessee Titans and Eagles, so while the matchups suggest that better times could be ahead for the defense, that unit has yet to prove it on the field.