DeMarcus Lawrence: Cowboys 'Need to Build a Stronger Backbone' Amid Struggles

Dallas Cowboys defensive end DeMarcus Lawrence didn't hold back after his team fell to 2-5 on Sunday with a 25-3 loss to the Washington Football Team.

"We need more belief, more high spirits around this team and really more fight," he said, per Cowboys writer David Helman. "That's really one of our weaknesses. We need to build a stronger backbone, fight and also make sure that we're doing everything possible to come out with a victory."

To say this season hasn't gone according to plan for the Cowboys would be quite the understatement.

Star quarterback Dak Prescott suffered a significant ankle injury during a Week 5 victory over the New York Giants and will miss the rest of the season. That left the offense in the hands of veteran Andy Dalton, but he left Sunday's loss following a hard hit to the head.

That left 2020 seventh-round draft pick Ben DiNucci under center, which is surely not what Dallas had in mind when it was dreaming of a Super Bowl appearance at the start of the year with an offense featuring Prescott, Ezekiel Elliott, Amari Cooper, Michael Gallup and CeeDee Lamb.

It isn't just the quarterback position, as Elliott fumbled twice in a Week 6 loss to the Arizona Cardinals and had just 45 yards in Sunday's loss. He hasn't looked like one of the best running backs in the league who led the NFL in rushing in two of his first four years.

Plus, Dallas' defense is last in the league in points allowed per game and has been abysmal all season.

Despite all of that, the Cowboys are right behind the 2-4-1 Philadelphia Eagles for first place in the NFC East. The division is so bad that all it will take is a couple of wins for Dallas to be in full control of its playoff fate.

It will try to get one of those in a critical showdown with the Eagles next Sunday.