Cowboys better hope this was just one-week blunder, not sign of worse things to come

This happens to the Dallas Cowboys every once in a while. Just when they start feeling really good about themselves, maybe look and feel like a Super Bowl contender, someone comes and beats them down to size.

It's just not supposed to happen this early in the season. And not in their home opener. And not against what should have been a very beatable team.

But the Cowboys' homecoming on Sunday turned into a nightmare as they were drubbed by the New Orleans Saints 44-19 in front of their suddenly very concerned home fans. Jerry Jones was hardly alone when he said afterward: "We certainly didn't see it coming." Not against a team quarterbacked by Derek Carr. Not against a team that was 9-8 a year ago and wasn't supposed to be much better this year.

Cowboys cornerback Trevon Diggs called the whole thing "unacceptable," which it certainly was.

The bigger question is: Was it just a one-day lapse or a sign of more bad days to come?

The answer to that isn't completely clear.

"Obviously, we've got a lot of room for improvement here," Jones said. "Extraordinarily disappointing. We will correct this. We will improve."

Jones is probably right to be confident, because there is nowhere to go but up after what happened in this game — especially for the defense which looked so dominant in their opener one week earlier against the Cleveland Browns. The Saints had no trouble with them at all, scoring touchdowns on their first six possessions — really a ridiculous stat. Running back Alvin Kamara, who had six touchdowns all of last season and four the year prios, scored four of the touchdowns by himself in this one game.

None of that is good, obviously. Clearly, though, the Cowboys don't want to show any signs of panic — and with good reason. A year ago, they got off to a dominant start, winning three of their first four games by a combined score of 108-13 (albeit against the Giants, Jets and Patriots). Then they went to San Francisco and were hammered, 42-10.

Panic set in outside the organization when that happened (even though everyone knew the 49ers were a likely Super Bowl contender). Many insisted the beat-down proved the Cowboys were just not true contenders themselves.

Then the Cowboys went out and won seven of their next eight games giving everyone a chance to breathe a deep sigh of relief.

But that success masked the issues that showed up in their big loss. In that blowout loss in San Francisco, the Cowboys showed they couldn't stop the run against good teams and they had their own problems running the football. And it was a warning that when Dak Prescott was asked to carry a team that wasn't able to help him, that's when things usually went wrong.

Well, guess what happened on Sunday against the Saints? The same old problems resurfaced again. The Cowboys gave up 115 yards (and three rushing touchdowns) to Kamara and 190 rushing yards overall. Meanwhile, Rico Dowdle and Ezekiel Elliott — the Cowboys' 1-2 punch in the backfield — combined for just 13 carries for 46 yards.

Prescott, meanwhile, was at times outstanding while trying to carry the Cowboys on his own in an impossible situation. He completed 27 of 39 passes for 293 yards and a touchdown. But he also ended up throwing two interceptions, too.

Prescott and receiver CeeDee Lamb (4 catches, 90 yards, one touchdown) might be the most potent quarterback-receiver combo in the NFL. But even they can only do so much.

"We're going to learn from it," Prescott insisted. "That was a good team. Got to give them credit. This is the NFL. It's about trusting the process and responding. I know we have the guys to do that. 

"Honestly excited to get back to work and turn this page."

A quick rebound is certainly possible. Maybe it's even likely. The Cowboys' defense is much, much better than it showed on Sunday, even if it's probably not as dominant as it was in Week 1. Prescott has only thrown two touchdown passes this season so far, and after Lamb's summer holdout he's not exactly off to a prolific start either (nine catches on 17 targets for 151 yards and a touchdown over two games). Their history suggests they will get going soon and start putting up lots of points.

But even that won't solve all the Cowboys' apparent issues. And there's a real danger they'll be evident next Sunday, too. That's when the surprisingly 0-2 and probably very angry Baltimore Ravens head to Dallas with their strong running game and diverse offense. And if Carr, Kamara and the Saints found things to exploit in the Cowboys defense, it's a good bet Lamar Jackson and Derrick Henry will see it too.

"At the end of the day I just believe we got outplayed," said Cowboys linebacker Micah Parsons. "Whoever played on that field, everyone didn't play to 100 percent. That's just me being accountable and saying the truth. We all got to play better."

Yes they do. But better play won't necessarily erase all their issues. Remember, Jones' "all-in" offseason didn't include making the Cowboys a better running offense or defense. He decided to mostly go with the status quo on defense, and letting running back Tony Pollard go in favor of the Dowdle-Elliott tandem probably made the running game worse.

That was clear on Sunday. The Saints saw it, exploited it, and humiliated the Cowboys. Every other team in the NFL has clearly seen it too.

So yeah, the Cowboys aren't likely to look this bad going forward. They definitely shouldn't panic. And they may even bounce right back with a big win against the Ravens next weekend.

But their issues are serious enough — and familiar enough — that the Cowboys at least should take them seriously. Consider them a warning sign. Because as they learned last year, even if they start winning again regularly, those problems aren't likely to go away.

Ralph Vacchiano is an NFL Reporter for FOX Sports. He spent the previous six years covering the Giants and Jets for SNY TV in New York, and before that, 16 years covering the Giants and the NFL for the New York Daily News. Follow him Twitter at @RalphVacchiano.