Dan Quinn Reacts: ‘Secret Sauce’ is How to Fix Cowboys

The Buffalo Bills humiliated “America’s Team” 31-10 at Highmark Stadium on Sunday, exposing the nasty wart that has been the Dallas Cowboys’ road performance this season. Indeed, the leaders of the locker room and the coaching staff are admitting that they are unsure about how to address the issues that exist in at least two areas.

Mike McCarthy, the head coach, has acknowledged the “gap” in performance between home and away. Is quarterback Dak Prescott referring to the need for “problem-solvers”? And Dan Quinn, the defensive coordinator, the architect of a team that was physically intimidated?

Quinn on Monday at The Star said he is disappointed with “our tackling and our ball-hawking” in Sunday’s loss to Bills. He called success in those two categories “our secret sauce,” and noted accurately that in this game, his defense lacked both. But he added two other debatable points. …

One, he said the issue here has nothing to do with “home vs. away” or “turf vs. grass.”

Two, he took time to specifically praise rookie first-round defensive tackle Mazi Smith, just-signed vet defensive tackle Carl Smith and vet defensive end DeMarcus Lawrence. Mazi, Quinn insisted, “played strong and square inside.”

And we will stop there. He did? They did? “Strong and square”? As the first wall of a group that allowed Buffalo’s James Cook to look like Walter Payton as he rushed for 179 yards and a touchdown on 25 carries while also catching two passes for 42 yards and a touchdown?

“Strong and square”? Dallas had been flying of late, while the Bills had found some form after a bumpy stretch earlier in the season.

The Cowboys had the opportunity to defeat a quality AFC club on the road and further solidify their Super Bowl credentials in a game designed to test their credentials. That said, not a single shot was fired by Dallas, hence none of the aforementioned happened. The offensive lacked flow and was awkward. Regarding the defense, we would like to yield to DQ.

However, we question whether he’s using a pat on the butt rather than a solid kick to control people’s personalities. What do we mean by “strong and square”?

So … assuming that privately, the Cowboys coaches acknowledge that this defense was anything but “strong and square” – “weak and round,” maybe? – what’s the fix? “I don’t know what happened, to be honest,” Dallas’ Micah Parsons said.

“Honestly, it’s just unacceptable at this point. I don’t understand why we’re not playing well, we’re not coming together on the road. It’s something that we need to look at and get better because we’re back on the road next week.”

The differences between how Dallas plays at home compared to on the road are eye-opening. The Cowboys at AT&T Stadium average 39.9 points, but on the road, that number drops down to 18.2 points per game.

So, the Cowboys are a completely different team on the road and what perhaps will give fans sleepless nights is the way the season is shaping up, Dallas will be on the road in the playoffs – that’s unacceptable, and coach Mike McCarthy knows it. “We play so well at home, and there’s just too big of a gap in our road games,” McCarthy said “We’ve got to be better.”

The Cowboys’ inability to play reliable football away from home against a top opponent and their long-standing concerns with run defense were both made clear by the defeat.

All of which culminate in an astounding thrashing that raises doubts about the Cowboys’ capacity to turn things around in time for the playoffs. McCarthy’s candid assessment of those players up front, who, in our opinion, were pushed around, will also be our choice. What do you think about the D-line, Big Mike? “There won’t be any gameballs distributed,” McCarthy declared categorically.

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