Another terrible start, another humiliating defeat at home

ARLINGTON – Every team faces adversity over the course of a regular season. Some more than others.

The cowboys are allowed to marinate with them for a week.

Detroit absolutely dismantled Dallas 47-9 at AT&T Stadium on Sunday afternoon. The result sparked boos from fans starting in the second quarter and sent the Cowboys humbly into a bye with a 3-3 record.

How bad was it? Head coach Mike McCarthy raised the white flag with 13:12 to play and sent quarterback Cooper Rush into the game for Dak Prescott.

Oh, and another treat. Jerry Jones turned 82 on Sunday.

Happy Birthday.

A terrible beginning

To say the Cowboys got off to a slow start at home this calendar year doesn’t begin to describe the extent of their ineptitude.

The numbers that critics give are often limited to the first half. Let’s not stop there. Dallas trailed 47-9 just minutes into the fourth quarter of Sunday’s game.

This was the team’s fourth game at AT&T Stadium – Green Bay, New Orleans, Baltimore and Detroit – this calendar year. Dallas trailed 137-28 at the start of these games.

This is not a misprint. They lost to the Packers by 27 points, the Saints by 22 points and the Ravens by 22 points before falling 31 points behind the Lions.

And if you’re still sticking with the halftime score, the Cowboys are 31-3 at halftime since 2021.

Prescott stays behind

The Cowboys were able to overcome Prescott’s difficulties in the red zone in the win over Pittsburgh.

Not this time.

Trailing by just four points late in the first quarter, Dallas had a third-and-5 at Detroit’s 7-yard line. Given Brandon Aubrey’s expertise, the Cowboys certainly would have scored points if they didn’t turn the ball over.

So…

CeeDee Lamb ran a crossing route from right to left. Detroit cornerback Brian Branch was sitting in the back left corner of the end zone and Prescott sailed the pass right to him for the interception.

It was Prescott’s third red zone turnover – two end zone interceptions and a fumble – in five quarters.

A neighborhood to forget

The Cowboys had a whopping 107 yards of offense in the first quarter.

They finished the first half with 111 yards rushing.

That’s right. The Dallas offense had four possessions in the second quarter and gained a not-so-great total of four yards.

Those who know math will tell you that’s an average of one yard per possession.

Rico Dowdle led the ground attack with five yards. Lamb led Dallas with nine yards through the air. The killer: Prescott was sacked twice in the quarter, resulting in minus-18 yards.

Desperate times

The Cowboys trailed by 17 points with less than three minutes left in the first half. The game slipped away.

On fourth-and-2 at their own 38-yard line, McCarthy opted for first down rather than the punt. Prescott dropped back in shotgun and threw incomplete to KaVontae Turpin to give the ball to the Lions on downs.

Detroit responded with a touchdown for an encore.

Too little, too late

There has been much consternation recently over Prescott’s inability to make contact with Lamb in the second half of the game. The two found each other on Sunday.

Are you feeling better?

Lamb caught three balls for 43 yards in the third quarter of the team’s stunning loss. That might not sound like much, but in the second half of the first five games he had just four catches for a meager 25 total yards.

It may not be a ray of hope, but it has to be that way.

Catch David Moore and Robert Wilonsky as they co-host Intentional Grounding every Wednesday during the Super Bowl from 7 to 8 p.m. on The Ticket (KTCK-AM 1310 and 96.7 FM).

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