Cowboys DC Mike Zimmer: 'I Probably Panicked' on Early Calls in Blowout Loss to Lions

Dallas Cowboys defensive coordinator Mike Zimmer attempted to explain what went wrong for his unit in Sunday's 47-9 loss to the Detroit Lions.

Speaking to reporters on Tuesday, Zimmer said he "probably panicked on some calls early" and things fell apart from there because "when we've been bad, it just steamrolls."

The Lions wasted no time pouncing on an undermanned Dallas defense. Jared Goff's second pass of the game was a 42-yard completion to Tim Patrick that set up a David Montgomery touchdown run two plays later.

Detroit scored on each of its first nine offensive possessions before head coach Dan Campbell pulled most of his starters midway through the fourth quarter.

The Cowboys were playing without Micah Parsons, Eric Kendricks and DeMarcus Lawrence. Goff sliced up the defense with by going 18-of-25 for 315 yards and three touchdowns. The Lions also ran for 184 yards and two touchdowns on 36 carries.

Zimmer's first season on Mike McCarthy's staff is not going well. The Cowboys rank 24th in yards allowed (356.5), 27th in DVOA and 30th in points allowed (28.0) through six games.

The Cowboys are 0-3 at home this season and have allowed a total of 119 points in those three games. They are 3-0 on the road, but those wins have come against the offensively-limited Cleveland Browns, New York Giants and Pittsburgh Steelers.

Despite all of their struggles on both sides of the ball, the Cowboys are only one game out of a playoff spot with a 3-3 record.

Zimmer and the Cowboys do get a break with their bye this week, but their schedule only gets tougher when they resume play. Their first five games out of the bye are against the San Francisco 49ers, Atlanta Falcons, Philadelphia Eagles, Houston Texans and Washington Commanders.

That stretch could end up determining whether the Cowboys can make a playoff push in the NFC, or if they will be making early offseason plans for the first time since 2020.