Ex-NFL wide receiver baffled over Cowboys’ demise; makes suggestions on how team can improve

The Dallas Cowboys left a bad taste in fans’ mouths on Sunday night when they suffered a blowout loss in the playoffs at the hands of the Green Bay Packers.

But what went wrong in the 48-32 debacle is up for debate.

Former NFL wide receiver Jason Avant told Fox News Digital in a recent interview that the “Cowboys will Cowboy.”

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Dak Prescott of the Dallas Cowboys looks on after a play against the Green Bay Packers during the second half of the NFC Wild Card playoff game at AT&T Stadium on January 14, 2024, in Dallas. (Cooper Neill/Getty Images)

“Like, they will do some things that just baffles you,” he said. “I just don’t understand how you have an entire week to prepare for a team, and you go out there and lay an egg like that offensively and give up so many yards defensively and not make adjustments.”

“Like [owner] Jerry Jones said after the game: It’s as bad a loss as the Cowboys have had. They have to go back to the drawing board. I think their defense is built on a lead, and I don’t think that’s a sustainable defense in order to win games in critical moments. If a team doesn’t make mistakes offensively, can you stay in the game? And I don’t think the Cowboys can.”

Avant, who recently partnered with Action Network, said he sees two things the Cowboys need to fix immediately: stopping the run and getting more weapons for Dak Prescott.

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Jason Avant of the Philadelphia Eagles catches a pass during the game against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers at Raymond James Stadium on December 9, 2012, in Tampa, Florida. (Drew Hallowell/Philadelphia Eagles/Getty Images)

Packers running back Aaron Jones ran for 118 yards and scored three touchdowns. Prescott was 41 of 60 for 403 yards with three touchdown passes. But all three of Prescott’s touchdowns went to Jake Ferguson. Michael Gallup had over 100 yards receiving, but it was the first time he did that all season.

“The games that they lost this year, they’ve been dominated up front. So, I think that they have to get to a place where they can consistently stop the run,” Avant said. “And if they can consistently stop the run, I think that their back-end pieces are enough to win. They have a good pass rush, and they have good secondary play, but they get dominated when it comes to running the ball. I think that that’s a big thing, and they have to address that either in a draft or bringing in veteran players that are just run-stoppers.”

“The other issue that they have is having more weapons than CeeDee Lamb consistently. Michael Gallup has been a no-show for most of the year. There’s not been much production besides [Jake] Ferguson or CeeDee Lamb. Everybody else is hit or miss and that has to do with Dak Prescott.”

Avant said Prescott needs to utilize those weapons more for the Cowboys to succeed.

Dallas targeted Lamb 181 times this season and Ferguson 102 times. Brandin Cooks had the third-most targets with 81.

Jason Avant of the Philadelphia Eagles runs with the ball against Washington at Lincoln Financial Field on December 23, 2012, in Philadelphia. (Alex Trautwig/Getty Images)

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After another 12-win finish, Dallas will likely need a deep think to see what the real issues are.

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