Cowboys are adrift without Micah Parsons. Now they have to see him up close

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FRISCO, Texas (AP) — With Micah Parsons coming to town, the Dallas Cowboys are already near the bottom of the NFL in sacks.

Dallas is one of six teams without multiple takeaways through three weeks.

The Cowboys (1-2) knew they weakened their defense significantly when they traded their star pass rusher to Green Bay a week before the season. They probably didn't imagine it would be this bad.

“There’s just too many big plays and we know that. We addressed it,” first-year coach Brian Schottenheimer said after a 31-14 loss at Chicago, with a visit from the Packers (2-1) looming Sunday. “I’m going to be honest with them, and I was. I said, ‘Hey, we’ve got to stop giving up big plays, explosives, and we got to protect the football.’”

Thanks to Brandon Aubrey's tying 64-yard field goal at the end of regulation in a 40-37 overtime victory against the Giants in Week 2, the Cowboys aren't winless, or behind New York at the bottom of the NFC East.

It will be difficult to stay out of the cellar if the defense doesn't figure out the coverage issues that have led to 15 plays of 20 yards or more, second most in the league.

Caleb Williams, in his second season, was the beneficiary a week after 14-year veteran Russell Wilson fell just 2 yards shy of his career high in passing yards. Williams had touchdown tosses of 65 and 35 yards along with completions of 41 and 31 yards to set up two other scores.

Williams wasn't sacked a week after Wilson sat comfortably enough in the pocket to complete seven passes of at least 20 yards. Dallas' four sacks are tied for fifth worst in the NFL.

With Parsons attracting so much attention the past few seasons, other Dallas pass rushers were free to make an impact. Without him, nobody is standing out in trying to make opposing QBs uncomfortable.

“I thought we got pressure on (Williams). We just couldn’t finish it,” Schottenheimer said. “We’ve got to take a look at it. We’re three games into this 17-round fight and have a good opponent coming this week. It’s what we get paid to do, make corrections and get these guys playing better and with more confidence.”

Javonte Williams is off to a great start as the lead running back. He had 76 yards on 10 carries against the Bears after becoming just the third player in franchise history with three rushing touchdowns in the first two games. His fumble at the end of a 22-yard run in the first quarter of a scoreless game hurt, but probably didn't make a huge difference.

Star receiver CeeDee Lamb spraining his left ankle after taking a handoff like a running back could be a huge setback for quarterback Dak Prescott and the passing game. The team says the 2023 All-Pro has a high ankle sprain, which could sideline him several weeks. If it's a lengthy absence, Dallas will need someone to emerge as a second option behind George Pickens. KaVontae Turpin, Jalen Tolbert and Ryan Flournoy each had a notable catch against Chicago.

Prescott showed how valuable he thinks Jake Ferguson will be. The fourth-year tight end who recently signed a $52 million, four-year extension had a career-best 13 catches against Chicago with 82 yards receiving. While his longest catch was just 12 yards, the consistency is what Prescott counts on the most. The 13 catches came on 14 targets.

The only takeaway for Dallas this season was Donovan Wilson's interception of an ill-advised throw from Russell Wilson that gave Dallas a chance for the OT win. The Cowboys are tied for last in turnover differential at minus-5. Dallas was minus-6 while finishing with a losing record last season. They were at least plus-10 in three consecutive playoff seasons before that.

Lamb's sprained ankle is the biggest concern for the Cowboys. DT Kenny Clark's ankle problem isn't far behind, though. The player Dallas acquired in the Parsons deal returned to the game, but Schottenheimer hinted the injury could be problematic. CB Trevon Diggs, who was burned in coverage for the second week in a row, injured a shoulder but returned. Schottenheimer said Diggs should be OK.

2020 — That's the previous time the Cowboys had a historically bad defense. A losing season (6-10) included a first-year coach (Mike McCarthy) bringing in a defensive coordinator who used to be a head coach (Mike Nolan). This time, the former head coach running the defense is Matt Eberflus, who was fired by the Bears last year. The scheme and the personnel haven't been a good fit so far, just as they weren't five years ago.

The Cowboys are at risk of further embarrassment with a highly motivated Parsons visiting after the trade that netted Dallas two first-round draft picks in addition to Clark. Owner Jerry Jones sent Parsons packing after months of acrimony over a new contract. A young offensive line has protected Prescott fairly well through three weeks, but this will be a unique challenge for that group.

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