Cowboys' Rival Exec Worried over Zimmer's Defense: 'Don't Know How They Stop Anybody'

The Dallas Cowboys' defense is not striking fear out of opponents.

The team fell to 1-2 on the season after a 28-25 Week 3 loss to the Baltimore Ravens and the defense has allowed 89 points thus far in the 2024 season. This comes from a unit that allowed just 299.7 yards per game and 36 total touchdowns in 2023 and came into 2024 with an argument to be the top defense in the league.

The struggles could be attributed to shaking off rust from the offseason but some around the league believe it may be indicative of a huge problem.

"If I were Dallas, I'd be worried," an evaluator from a team told Mike Sando of The Athletic. "I don't know how they stop anybody. They lost their best run defenders. They have a bunch of front-seven players that can't get off blocks and get knocked back."

One change for this season is the defensive coordinator, as Dan Quinn departed for the Washington Commanders head coaching role and former Minnesota Vikings coach Mike Zimmer stepped into the Cowboys role.

Zimmer has a strong track record on the defensive side of the ball and the Cowboys have significant pieces like Micah Parsons and TreVon Diggs. However, the unit did see significant turnover in the offseason and also is also without defensive back DaRon Bland due to a foot injury.

Bland will return in 2024 and the defense should show some improvement but it likely will not be as intimidating as the 2023 version. This, combined with the talent in the NFC and the Cowboys already being down in the win column will make it an uphill battle to sit atop the conference.