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It took all of two weeks for the Dallas Cowboys hype to be almost completely silenced.
The Cowboys lost their second straight game on Sunday, falling to the Green Bay Packers by a score of 34-22 in a game that was not even as close as the final score indicated.
Dallas trailed 31-3 at one point, and it took a furious rally from Dak Prescott and Co. to even get within striking distance.
This comes on the heels of a Week 4 loss to the New Orleans Saints in which the Cowboys scored just 10 points.
So, here are three burning questions for Dallas after its Week 4 defeat:
3. Were the Cowboys a Product of Their Schedule?
The Cowboys began the season 3-0, ripping apart the New York Giants, Washington Redskins and Miami Dolphins. The thing is, the combined record of those three teams is 2-12.
While you can only play who is on your schedule and the Giants and Redskins are both divisional opponents whom Dallas will see again, it is somewhat alarming that the Cowboys' winning ways ceased the minute they started facing legitimate competition.
To be fair, Dallas won 10 games a year ago, so the Cowboys are probably still a good football team that should (key word: should) make the playoffs, but there is no question that their soft early slate is an elephant in the room right now.
2. Is Their Run Defense a Problem?
For all of the talk about how good the Cowboys' defense is (and it is good), it certainly has not done a good job defending the run, as Aaron Jones gashed Dallas for 107 yards and four touchdowns on Sunday.
It marked the second time that the Cowboys had allowed a 100-yard rusher this season, as Saquon Barkley tore them apart for 120 yards on just 11 carries in Week 1.
Overall, Dallas ranks 13th in defending the run, and while that isn't bad, it certainly is not elite. In addition, the Cowboys are giving up 4.4 yards per carry, which ranks in the bottom half of the NFL.
Make no mistake about it: if you want to win in the playoffs, you have to be able to stop the run. I'm not saying Dallas can't do that, but it has only looked so-so in doing so thus far this season.
1. Is the Offense Hitting a Wall?
Yes, the Cowboys put 24 points on the board in the second half on Sunday, but let's keep in mind that the Packers had a 24-0 lead at one point in the third quarter and went into prevent defense, which made it easier for Dallas to gain some offense back.
The Cowboys didn't log a point in the first half, and last week against the Saints, Dallas mustered just three points over the first two quarters and 10 points for the game.
The Cowboys still rank first in the NFL in yardage, but they have dipped to ninth in points per game after lighting it up against bad defenses over the first three weeks of the season.
Ezekiel Elliott has largely been bottled up each of the last two weeks, and Dak Prescott has come crashing back down to earth after his torrid start to the season.
I think most knew Dallas' offense was not as explosive as it was over the first two or three games (Prescott didn't even look great against Miami), but where is the middle ground?
