FRISCO, Texas — Cowboys defensive coordinator Christian Parker said Thursday he overthought the final defensive call in Sunday’s 34-31 loss to the Baltimore Ravens and would make a different call if the situation came up again.
Brandon Aubrey’s field goal tied the game at 31 with seven seconds left in Rio de Janeiro. The Dallas Cowboys kicked the ensuing kickoff into the end zone for a touchback, and Baltimore took over at its own 35. Lamar Jackson hit Zay Flowers for 27 yards, and Tyler Loop made a 56-yard field goal on the final play.
Parker had a different call in mind before he changed it. He said he talked himself into what Baltimore would try with overtime looming.
“Oh, for sure. I had an original call in mind, overthought the situation relative to what their mindset was going to be, going to overtime, trying to get something quick, Hail Mary, all those things,” Parker said. “So definitely would make a different call if that situation came up again.”
He confirmed the play was a zone call rather than man coverage.
Cowboys coach Brian Schottenheimer said Tuesday that the coverage itself was not the problem. The defense played too tight, he said, and the ball should have been forced to the low underneath defender rather than the deep one. Schottenheimer added that Parker would have liked some other calls back and took responsibility for the final 28 seconds himself.
Christian Parker Tunes Out Criticism As First-Time Coordinator
Criticism of Parker, a first-time coordinator, picked up during the week. He said he does not pay attention to it.
“Yeah, to be honest with you, I don’t pay it any mind. We have more than enough on our plate in here to worry about what the outside noise is, whether it’s good or bad,” Parker said. “Regardless of how that outside noise creeps in the building, it can affect you in multiple ways. So we’ve just been focusing on trying to get this next one. Week four is the most important, going down the road and playing Houston. Definitely a talented offense, and they’re trying to get on the right track themselves. So we’re in a very similar situation.”
Coaches, friends, and family form Parker’s sounding board. He said the way Dallas lost made the week harder.
“Of course. Yeah, I think everybody does. Whether it’s coaches, friends, family, you always have people that you know you kind of have in your corner,” Parker explained. “And again, losing is tough; losing the way we did is even tougher, especially when you know you play a big part of that too. So the best thing you can do is get back to work and try to get the next one.”
Christian Parker Ties Cowboys Pass Rush To Run Defense
Dallas is giving up too many points, Schottenheimer said Tuesday, and its edge contain and tackling were sloppy in Rio. Parker said improving the pass rush without adding players starts with stopping the run, which creates more true passing downs.
“Yeah, I think there’s a couple different ways. I mean, obviously the most obvious one is blitzing more, right? But that doesn’t always benefit everybody,” Parker said. “I think that, number one, the better your run defense is, then the more situations you have to truly rush the passer. If you’re playing 50-50 downs all the time, you don’t have as many true pass-rush ops to build different front structures and do different things to kind of manipulate the offensive line. So I think that’s where it starts.”
The Cowboys have not intercepted a pass through three games. Parker said affecting the quarterback comes first and that turnovers tend to arrive in bunches.
“Yeah, I think, well, you got to affect the quarterback. If you affect the quarterback, then you affect how the ball is thrown. So I think that’s where it starts,” Parker said. “Again, like I was asked before, run defense first, controlling the line of scrimmage, getting after the quarterback, those opportunities will come. And usually when they do, they come in bunches. We don’t want to be a feast-or-famine unit.”
The biggest growth since Week 1 has been connectivity, Parker said. The next step is individual wins on the perimeter and short of the sticks.
“I think that we need to improve just making more isolated plays when the offense is either, whether it’s a perimeter run block and us maintaining containing leverage on the ball carrier, or if we’re in a zone or a man, tackling a guy short of the sticks or winning our one-one,” Parker said. “I think that’s the next step you take once you have the understanding of the schematics down.”
Houston enters Sunday 0-3. Wide receiver Nico Collins carries no injury designation after missing two games, while Texans linebacker Azeez Al-Shaair is out with a groin injury. Kickoff at Reliant Stadium is set for noon CT on Fox.
