New York Giants great Tiki Barber is a bit concerned about the Dallas Cowboys following their 44-19 loss to the New Orleans Saints. The NFL on CBS game analyst and WFAN radio host spoke to ClutchPoints in a one-on-one interview while speaking on behalf of IBM's new roster management tools in ESPN fantasy football leagues and addressed the Cowboys' Week 2 defeat at the hands of the Saints.
Barber made sure to give credit to the Saints, especially the influence that first-year offensive coordinator Klint Kubiak has had on the team. However, he didn't spare the Cowboys' defensive unit for their disastrous showing against New Orleans after allowing touchdowns on their first six possessions.
“To give up 44 points and you're supposed to be one of the elite defenses, that's concerning,” says Barber. “They kind of got lucky on some of the plays. The big CeeDee Lamb touchdown, it was kind of a cluster with the defense, and that led to a huge play. Other than that, they didn't do much and so it just feels like the same story with them. But again, it's early and it's too soon to judge.”
It was the second straight blowout defeat at home for the Cowboys after falling to the Green Bay Packers in the Wild Card round last season, 48-32. The Cowboys allowed touchdowns on six of their first seven defensive possessions against the Packers, who were the youngest team in the NFL last season and were seven-point underdogs entering the game.
Dallas' loss to New Orleans marked their first regular season home loss since the season opener back in 2022.
Tiki Barber also discussed the Philadelphia Eagles' recent heartbreaking loss to the Atlanta Falcons, 22-21. Kirk Cousins led a game-winning drive, throwing a touchdown pass to Drake London with 34 seconds remaining. The Eagles had led the game since early in the second quarter and hadn't trailed other than being down 3-0 to start the game.
While Barber didn't express as much concern over the Eagles' home opener loss to the Falcons, he did say Philadelphia “gave” the game away. The loss stung even more considering the Eagles had a chance to put the game away on their drive before Atlanta's game-winning score. However, another former Giants running back, Saquon Barkley, dropped a wide-open pass on a 3rd-and-3 conversion.
“The Eagles, they just gave a game away,” says Tiki Barber. “It's hard to win in the NFL. They kind of gave that game away because they had it. All they had to do was get that first down. They were trying to get the Falcons defense to jump. They actually got it, but the offensive line didn't move back to cause the defensive offsides. As a result, they had to build a Plan B, which was a pass in the flat to Saquon and he just dropped it. It left the door open for Kirk Cousins and Drake London to win that game.”
“It's hard to win in the NFL. I'm not saying you have to be perfect, but when it comes down to these clutch crunch time moments, you gotta be on the money and the Eagles just weren't that.”
It doesn't help matters that the Eagles are coming off of a disastrous end to the 2023 season after starting out last year with a league-best 10-1 record. Philadelphia dropped six of their last seven games, including a Wild Card playoff loss to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.
With that being said, it's only two weeks into the season and both NFC East teams will have the chance to make people forget about their most recent losses. However, it won't be easy as the Cowboys will play host to the Lamar Jackson-led Baltimore Ravens, while the Eagles visit the Saints after they ran roughshod over Dallas in Week 2.
