The Cowboys gave up a 21-point lead before beating the Eagles last Sunday night and one of the biggest plays during Philly’s comeback was a pass to Jeremy Maclin that turned into a 72-yard gain because cornerback Brandon Carr gambled on making a play on the ball and missed.
It wasn’t the first time that Carr’s man turned in a big play in the passing game this season, a habit that’s out of line with the size of Carr’s paycheck and has led to criticism of the cornerback over the course of the year. It also led to questions for coach Jason Garrett about giving more time to Sterling Moore or Tyler Patmon in the final weeks of the season. Garrett said he thinks Carr would like to have the Maclin play back and that he’s generally pleased with Carr’s efforts.
“He’s done a really nice job in coverage. I think he’s tackling better, and I think he’s showing up more as a physical guy just like the rest of our defense,” Garrett said, via the team’s website. “We’ve got to do a better job of preventing some of those big plays.”
Owner Jerry Jones also had some thoughts on Carr’s play. Jones said the corner is “fighting through the challenges” of playing a tough position while adding that he thinks more pressure up front would lead to more plays in the secondary. It’s a hard point to argue, but it’s also hard to see the Cowboys defense morphing into something very different at this point in the season. That means there will continue to be pressure on Carr to make more plays when the ball is coming his way, something that could happen often when Andrew Luck and the Colts arrive in Dallas this Sunday.
