The Dallas Cowboys have agreed to pay the “Triplets”—Trevon Diggs, CeeDee Lamb, and Dak Prescott—a total of approximately $364 million. That isn’t Bitcoin, Canadian dollars, or pesos. The Cowboys are not mediocre after seven games of the NFL season, and their highest-paid and “best” players are playing at an unimaginable level. It seems that owner Jerry Jones’ rhetorical cockiness toward the local radio broadcasters didn’t work.
The Cowboys, who had just had their bye week, didn’t appear all that different from their previous six games on Sunday night in Santa Clara. Not good. overmatched. Completed. The Cowboys had a respectable first half but fell 30–24 to a very injured 49ers club after being dominated in the third quarter. In the third quarter, the Cowboys offense amassed 16 yards while the 49ers scored 21 points. The Cowboys offense did not had a first down for over 22 minutes.
In these kinds of games, the Cowboys performed like they have in the past: they scored a few touchdowns in the fourth quarter to give themselves a shot, but they fell short of winning. The output occurred when the score was out of control, but they will brag about how well they moved the ball in the fourth quarter. When the defender is making every effort to keep the clock running toward 00:00, it is significantly simpler to move the ball. The Cowboys are now 3-4, so it is as unrealistic to imagine them hitting.500 and then moving up the standings in the hopes of making the playoffs as it is for Jerry to sell the team by Wednesday.
Despite some significant injuries, the Cowboys are a mediocre club that isn’t getting better. Money isn’t the only factor here. But in this instance, money must be a factor at least somewhat. The person who purchases the Cybertruck that explodes after driving to get groceries has been the Cowboys’ return on investment ever since they paid out the enormous contracts for cornerback Trevon Diggs, quarterback Dak Prescott, and receiver CeeDee Lamb. The only option available to the Cowboys was to pay all three. Additionally, as free agents, all three would have excelled.
However, the $97 million, five-year contract they offered Diggs—which includes a $33 million guarantee—looks awful. It appears that Lamb’s four-year, $136 million contract, which includes a $80 million signing bonus, is not too bad. Additionally, the $240 million deal they granted Dak—which includes $231 million in guarantees—is negatively impacting the franchise. Since they all attack Diggs’ refusal to tackle, opposing offenses have turned him into a focal point. He gives Deion Sanders a Ronnie Lott appearance.
Diggs was never a physical player, even prior to his season-ending ACL injury on September 22, 2023. He appears to prefer playing 7-on-7 football now that he is fully recovered from that injury. He is now stealing money. Sunday night, Lamb scored two touchdowns, but only after the club had fallen behind 27-10 in the middle of the fourth quarter. This is the home run batter who reduces his team’s deficit to 11-2 with a home run in the ninth inning. On Sunday night, Lamb received more than 120 yards, but pay attention to when the majority of that productivity occurred. Most of these yards and scores were too late to have the impact they needed.
Jason Garrett and Troy Aikman, both former Cowboys who are now announcers, alternated this week in scolding Lamb’s season debut. Since Aikman and Garrett are close friends, you can guarantee that their texts and coffee-related criticism of Lamb were more nuanced than their public statements. If they didn’t mean it and had video proof to support it, those guys—especially Garrett—wouldn’t have said it. Now let’s talk about the quarterback.
Dak hasn’t looked like the player that was a finalist for the NFL MVP award the previous season since he signed the deal that made him the highest paid player in the NFL just before the season opener against Cleveland in Week 1. Dak threw two interceptions on Sunday night. He has thrown two picks in seven games this season for the fourth time. Analytical specialists estimated that Dak’s pass to Lamb near the sidelines early in the third quarter had “an approximately 00.0000000000001 percent chance of being completed.” Dak is unable to toss that ball.
In the closing minutes, with the team trailing by six, Dak threw a fantastic pass down the left sideline to KaVontae Turpin, who would have received it for more than fifty yards. Had the ball been caught by Turpin. Prescott hasn’t looked like himself here in 2024, and it’s been that kind of season. It doesn’t help that his offensive line has been mediocre and he lacks a rushing game. He’s not comfortable expressing what’s wrong with him. The Cowboys’ top-paid players aren’t their greatest players, and they are 3–4. While money isn’t the main focus, it does play a role.
