Cowboys' Schottenheimer promises 'changes' to defense

Dallas Cowboys head coach Brian Schottenheimer is promising changes to his defense after a blowout loss to the Denver Broncos in Week 8.

"There's always reasons to change, and there will be change," Schottenheimer said Monday, according to team writer Patrik Walker. "I can promise you that. I can show you that. We've already had meetings, and we've talked about those changes. We're in the mode right now of where we've got kind of a one-game season."

However, the head coach hinted that significant changes won't occur until the bye week, which follows their upcoming contest against the Arizona Cardinals.

"I just say that because we've got Arizona before the bye and, really, bigger changes to our style will happen over the bye week. That's when we get a chance to say, 'OK, now we're looking back at nine games. What were those issues and did we get them corrected?'

"No? Well, now we need to do this and we need to do that."

Dallas' defense produced another horrendous performance against Denver, allowing 41 points and 426 yards of total offense. The Broncos averaged 7.5 yards per play in the contest, and the Cowboys' pass rush failed to sack quarterback Bo Nix.

It's been a disappointing start to the season for defensive coordinator Matt Eberflus, who's in his first season with the Cowboys after spending three years as the Chicago Bears' head coach.

Eberflus, who became the first Bears head coach in franchise history to be fired during the season, is coordinating a Dallas defense that ranks dead last in EPA/play and success rate heading into Week 9, according to Ben Baldwin's database.

"Just like I'm not gonna overreact to us being Washington or having beaten the Jets, I'm not gonna overreact to this," Schottenheimer added. "I'm going to deal with the facts, and the facts are we did not play very well. That is not our standard. Therefore, we will make changes, and we will do things better.

"It's a one-game season, because we want to find a way to beat Arizona and go into the bye, sitting here at 4-4-1."