IRVING, Texas – There's no way of sugarcoating it, and few would bother trying to: the Cowboys are in the midst of the longest losing streak of Jason Garrett's tenure as head coach.
It's something they'll have to sit on for at least another week, as they settle in for their Week 6 bye. But to hear it from them, it's not going to affect them moving forward.
"We're highly confident, and nobody is going to break – period, point blank," said Jeremy Mincey on Tuesday. "We're going to get back to work here soon and work even harder."
There's no shortage of problem spots to pick through after a third-consecutive loss, but one would guess the lopsided nature of Sunday's 30-6 defeat against New England is bound to weigh heavily on Mincey and his teammates going forward.
Not the case, to hear it from Mincey, who was steadfast in his belief that the Cowboys could right the ship.
"It's weird, man. But I don't feel like anything is falling apart," he said. "I just think that right now we're a little discombobulated, but I think we will get it together. It's still the same guys – bend but don't break."
The talk of the Cowboys' losing streak goes hand-in-hand with their well-documented rash of injuries. Lamenting the loss of crucial players like Tony Romo and Dez Bryant isn't going to do anything to amend the losses, but Mincey did point out the continued reinforcements Dallas can count on.
Romo isn't eligible to return to the roster until mid-November. But there's optimism around the team's facility that the Cowboys may welcome back Bryant, as well as Randy Gregory, in the near future. That goes along with the return of Greg Hardy and Rolando McClain, who combined for 13 tackles and three sacks last weekend.
"We're just a little wounded right now, but the wounds will heal," Mincey said. "Once we get those wounds healed, we'll be right back where we need to be."
While they wait for that, the Cowboys can get back to the drawing board. Much will be made of a potential quarterback switch in the coming week, but there are other issues to consider. The Dallas defense handled itself well against Tom Brady and the Patriots, but it wasn't lost on Mincey that the Cowboys haven't forced a turnover in three weeks – and have only managed a takeaway in one of five games this year.
Once again, though, Mincey faced criticism with optimism.
"It's tough, it's tough – especially in this situation we're in," he said. "We've definitely got to get the ball back to the offense. It's tough, but I think that turnovers come in bunches and it's a matter of time before we have the splash of great things happening."
It's going to be a long, two-week wait to see how exactly things can improve for the Cowboys, but they'll have a big opportunity with another division game on the horizon. To hear it from one of their defensive leaders, though, the Cowboys are confident things will pick up.
"I'm very optimistic about this year. I mean, we're 2-0 in our division and we've still got a long road to play ball," Mincey said. "We'll be having a few guys back here soon enough, and this thing will get put back together."
