Troy Aikman has brutal message for Dallas Cowboys

The Dallas Cowboys aren’t on Monday Night Football until Week 11, but that didn’t stop ESPN MNF analyst Troy Aikman from weighing in—and laying the hammer down—on his former team. The NFL can’t flex a team out of MNF until Week 12, so Dallas’ second MNF matchup in Week 14 against the Cincinnati Bengals will likely get flexed. But come Week 11, Aikman and Joe Buck will be on the call for Cowboys-Texans.

Whether or not the Cowboys can change their fortunes in their next three games against San Francisco, Atlanta, and Philadelphia is beside the point here. Aikman wanted to get some things off his chest after a 47-9 loss to the Detroit Lions and thought things needed to be said about the state of the team, the coaching staff, and the wide receiver position, in particular.

And he didn’t hold back.

Appearing on Dallas-Fort Worth’s 96.7 The Ticket, Aikman didn’t mince words as he went in on Dallas’ wide receivers; he particularly didn’t have kind things to say about star wideout CeeDee Lamb.

“I think the routes are terrible,” he said via Jon Machota, who covers the Cowboys for The Athletic. “I think they run terrible routes. And I’ve thought that beyond this year. I think CeeDee (Lamb) has got to improve in his route running. As a quarterback, if you’re not certain where guys are going to be consistently, it’s hard to play the position.

“That’s what I see. I see guys lazy coming off the line of scrimmage. Sometimes they run, usually if they do, it’s because they’re anticipating they’re going to get the football on that play, but if they’re not, they don’t. And it all ties together. I’m not impressed with that part of it.

“I just finished watching the Baltimore Ravens because I have them this week. You put on film of theirs and watch their receivers run routes and they come off the football, so does San Francisco’s and Green Bay’s and others. But it’s hard to play the (QB) position if you’re not certain how guys are going to run routes or where they’re going to be.

“And I’m not speaking for Dak (Prescott). Dak may say, ‘Hey, I think (their routes) are amazing.’ But as a former quarterback watching it, it’s gotta get a lot better.”

Aikman didn’t hold back. According to the Hall of Fame quarterback, the Cowboys’ offense, specifically the wide receivers, has been inconsistent at best and downright lazy at worst. If they don’t clean up their act soon, it’s going to be a long stretch against some heavy hitters like San Francisco and Philadelphia.

Aikman’s criticism? Spot on. Whether or not Prescott has a different view doesn’t change the fact that this team is underperforming. And if things don’t turn around quickly, come Week 14, fans might be tuning into anything but the Cowboys on Monday night.

[Jon Machota on X ]

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