FRISCO, Texas — Certain formations, the checks Dallas has against them, and the calls that put defenders in position were where the Dallas Cowboys communication broke down Sunday night, Rashan Gary said Tuesday.
“Really can’t say what the breakdowns was, but just certain formations that it was given, different checks that we have, and different calls to get guys in different positions to help us get off the field,” Gary said. “That was the breakdown.”
The New York Giants won 28-20 at MetLife Stadium. New York gained 394 yards and converted 9 of 11 third downs. Jaxson Dart threw 2 touchdown passes to Isaiah Likely and another to Devin Singletary.
Specifics stayed inside the building for Kenny Clark. Communication was still the main item on his list.
“We’re going to keep that within us, but the main thing is just communication for sure,” Clark said.
Kenny Clark Says The Cowboys Were Not On The Same Page
Nobody on the defense expected to be off on communication in the opener, according to Clark. Dallas starters did not play in the preseason and worked through joint practices in training camp instead.
“It’s definitely not what we was coaching,” Clark said. “We didn’t expect to go out there and not be on the same page as far as communicating. Biggest thing is we got to attack the week and make sure we get all that handled. Best thing about it is it’s all stuff that we can control, and we get that fixed.”
Clark said it came down to more than one thing.
“It’s a combination of a lot of things,” Clark explained. “The main thing is just making sure we’re communicating and being on the same page.”
Cowboys coach Brian Schottenheimer said Monday that the defense had done a good job with communication before Sunday.
“I will say I think the communication on defense surprised me a little bit, because I think we take a lot of pride in it,” Schottenheimer said. “And I think we’ve actually done a really good job of it.”
Schottenheimer detailed the specific communication errors on film Monday.
Dallas Cowboys Lose Their Green Dot For One To Two Weeks
DeMarvion Overshown wore the green dot Sunday and handled the defensive calls. He strained his hamstring in the fourth quarter and is expected to miss one to two weeks. Schottenheimer named Dee Winters the most experienced option at linebacker.
Communication sat next to physicality at the point of attack in Clark’s answer about this week.
“At the end of the day, we’ve got to all better, play ball how we know how, communicate, and be physical at the point of attack, just play ball how we know how,” Clark said.
Two teams that lost their openers meet this week. The Washington Commanders fell 24-22 at Philadelphia.
Gary said Dallas has to bring urgency into the game after going 0-1 in the division. Kickoff is 3:25 p.m. CT Sunday at AT&T Stadium on FOX.
