Troy Aikman On The Dallas Cowboys’ Struggles And How It’s More Than Just One Issue

Dallas Cowboys great Troy Aikman isn’t sugarcoating it — it’s been a “tough” year for his former team.

Aikman is a three-time Super Bowl champion and one of the greatest quarterbacks of all time. The current Monday Night Football color commentator was a part of the last Cowboys team to win a Super Bowl back in 1995.

In fact, it was the last time Dallas advanced to a conference championship game. So far during the 2024 season, it doesn’t look like the Cowboys will come anywhere close to replicating that type of success. At 3-4, Dallas has the second-worst defense in the NFL at 28.3 points allowed per game and their offense is struggling, ranking 22nd in the league in points scored per game (21.4).

Simply put, the Cowboys can’t stop the run and they can’t run the football — which is the reason why they’re losing games.

“They have no run game to speak of, an inordinate amount of pressure on the passing game and Dak Prescott and these receivers,” says Aikman in a one-on-one interview. “They've had a hard time stopping the run. Of course, Micah Parsons and DeMarcus Lawrence (who have been sidelined due to injury) those guys are obviously the essence of it. They just can't run the ball and they can't stop the run and those are pretty foundational places to start if you're going to have success.”

Aikman isn’t lying — the Cowboys are bad in the trenches. They rank second-to-last in rushing yards and last in rushing yards allowed on defense.

If you’re not winning the game in the trenches, there’s little chance you have of winning the game. It’s no surprise that the Cowboys have been blown out in all four of their losses this season, with late comebacks against the San Francisco 49ers and Baltimore Ravens making the score look better than it actually is. Dallas trailed by as many as 22 points against Baltimore and by as many as 17 points against San Francisco.

“It's been a tough year,” says Aikman matter-of-factly. “I thought it might be coming into the season and it has been. I don't think they anticipated being where they're at right now. I think the questions coming into the year as far as what did they do to address their ability to run the football. Also on the defensive side of the ball, with some of their players that they've lost, how they were going to be able to defend the run.”

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Aikman says the Cowboys were inactive in free agency with the expectation that the younger players would step up. However, that clearly hasn’t been the case with Dallas frequently being dominated on the line of scrimmage on both sides of the ball.

“They were relying on a lot of young players that they felt good about, that they've drafted, they've had in their program for a year or two and if those guys were prepared and ready to play the level necessary and that's why they weren't as active in free agency,” says Aikman.

The lack of a running game due to relying on inexperienced players such as Rico Dowdle and aging veterans such as Ezekiel Elliott more recently Dalvin Cook, has resulted in an offensive game plan heavily reliant on Dak Prescott and CeeDee Lamb. The problem is, the Cowboys are also lacking a secondary receiving option with Brandin Cooks also sidelined due to injury.

The Cowboys also ranked 30th in turnovers on offense and 26th in turnovers forced on defense. In other words, it’s not just one thing in Dallas — it’s everything.

“Brandin Cooks has been hurt, he was their No. 2 guy, so they've had to rely on some others,” says Aikman. “Not running the ball is obviously part of it. They've turned the ball over, they've not gotten turnovers consistently — that's the other part of it. As far as not scoring points, not winning games, they typically have lost the turnover battle every week as well. There's just a lot that's working against them, they haven't been able to get really any type of rhythm offensively. They've got some young players they're relying on the offensive line. There's a lot of things to point to as to why they struggle.”

Dallas has arguably the toughest schedule over the next four games, with dates against the Atlanta Falcons, Philadelphia Eagles, Houston Texans and Washington Commanders over the next month.

Although things look bleak, Aikman still believes the Cowboys can turn things around as soon as this week against the red-hot 5-3 Falcons. Dallas is currently two-and-a-half games behind the Commanders for the NFC East lead.

“Anything can happen,” says Aikman. “They're going to be better than what they've been. Obviously this becomes a big game, a tough game this week at Atlanta. I like that team, I like how Kirk is playing. They've got good players on offense, skilled players. They've done a good job, so that'll be a good game. Of course, they've got to get it turned around.”

The former Super Bowl MVP stresses the importance of winning this week for the Cowboys.

“Winning this game is the first part of it and then take it the next week and see what happens,” says Aikman. “But yeah, they're obviously 3-4 — they're not out of anything. But they've gotta to start stringing some wins together and they've got to play good against good teams and that's their challenge.”

Aikman is partnering up with Salad and Go, a restaurant chain specializing in salads and wraps. The new partnership with see Aikman in a series of commercials and social media advertisements with the restaurant chain.

The Cowboys legend and Oklahoma native — who obviously loves meat as a protein — explains why he’s eating healthier and partnering with a salad restaurant chain.

“I really believe in what they're doing,” says Aikman of partnering with Salad and Go. “I've spent some time there with Salad and Go and I just think offering some affordable and nutritious options with good ingredients for the masses, with where I'm at in life and eating well and getting rest, sleep and biohacking and all the stuff that I'm doing, this is a natural fit.”

Aikman goes into detail about his own diet plan, saying that he still eats meat, but it’s grass fed. He also stresses the importance of getting an adequate amount of sleep.

“I've always eaten well, I'd say probably around COVID, I felt people were going to go one of two ways,” says Aikman. “I just decided to get in the best shape of my life. I don't want to say strict — I don't like that word — but I got more disciplined even more than where I was with my eating habits. Dove in a little bit more with where (the food) was being sourced. I do intermittent fasting, I eat between the hours and noon and 7:00 and made sleep a priority. I get a minimum of eight hours — it's usually closer to nine hours of sleep — but I do the red light therapy and sauna cold plunge, hyperbaric chambers, I do those things every day.”

Aikman details how eating healthy is key for everyone and why Salad and Go is a good fast food alternative for those looking to eat better.

“I really believe strongly in it,” says about eating healthy and partnering with Salad and Go. “I just think that our food sources in this country and how people are eating and taking care of themselves is causing a lot of the problems that we have within our healthcare. This is an affordable option for everyone, real proud of what they're doing.”