Cowboys' Brian Schottenheimer addresses Micah Parsons elephant in the room amid defensive struggles

The defense of the Dallas Cowboys was once again a liability as the club suffered a 30-27 loss to the Carolina Panthers that dropped Dallas to 2-3-1 this past Sunday. 

Thus, it's understandable that first-year Cowboys head coach Brian Schottenheimer had to spend a portion of his Monday addressing whether or not his team would be better if he still had star pass-rusher Micah Parsons on the roster this fall. 

Cowboys have "other great players" on defense after Micah Parsons trade

"I mean, I don’t really know," Schottenheimer acknowledged, per Jon Machota of The Athletic. "Micah’s a great player. We’ve got other great players. But it takes 11 on defense. And that is the thing that, nine, 10 guys on a football team, offense, defense, special teams, if one of those is a little off with their assignment, a little off with their alignment, then plays happen. And so I think it’s more about the guys that are here continuing to impress on them the importance of doing their job and doing it correctly and with the right fundamentals and technique. That’s really what we’re focused on."

Cowboys owner and general manager Jerry Jones wanted to bolster his club's run defense when he agreed to send Parsons to the Green Bay Packers for two first-round draft picks and Pro Bowl defensive tackle Kenny Clark in late August. More recently, Carolina running back Rico Dowdle torched the Cowboys for 239 scrimmage yards and a receiving touchdown in Week 6. 

Brian Schottenheimer not "panicked" about woeful Dallas defense

According to ESPN stats, the Cowboys began Tuesday ranked last in the NFL in yards allowed per game (411.7) and 31st in points surrendered per contest (30.7). Nevertheless, Schottenheimer insisted on Monday that defensive coordinator Matt Eberflus will be holding onto his job for the foreseeable future. 

"I met at length with the defense [Monday] morning," Schottenheimer added during his comments. "That’s not because I’m panicked. That’s because I know I can offer solutions. 'OK, what’s Carolina thinking? Why are they doing this? Why are they running those type of plays, and here’s how I would attack you,' and things like that. It’s not to question, it’s to educate them from an offensive standpoint to make sure we’re on the same page."

As of Tuesday morning, ESPN BET had the Cowboys as 2.5-point underdogs for this coming Sunday's home game against the Washington Commanders (3-3). Schottenheimer may have to revisit his stance regarding Eberflus' status if the Washington offense goes up and down the AT&T Stadium field en route to handing the Cowboys a fourth loss on the season.