The Sports Xchange

IRVING, Tex. — The desperate Dallas Cowboys return after last week’s bye looking for answers and looking for a win. They have lost three straight games since quarterback Tony Romo went down with a fractured collarbone.

They need to get back on track, starting Sunday against the Giants, to help keep their season afloat and their playoff hopes alive until Romo returns Nov. 22.

The Cowboys could get receiver Dez Bryant back this week. He has been sidelined with a fractured bone in his foot since the season opener.

But what is certain is the Cowboys will have a new quarterback in Matt Cassel, who has replaced the failed Brandon Weeden.

They have a new left guard in La’el Collins, who replaced a struggling Ron Leary.

And they will give Christine Michael a bigger load at running back to bring punch to the ground game.

However, the biggest change that obviously must hit big is at quarterback with the move from Weeden to Cassel.

“When a backup player goes in, it’s his responsibility to step into that role and do the same things,” head coach Jason Garrett said. “And especially when you’re a quarterback. You have to lead the team. That’s a big part of the job. You have to get people to respond around you. Brandon did that to a certain extent. Expect Matt to do the same thing. That’s part of the job. You do your job. You’re one-eleventh of the offense, but you have a positive impact on the other guys on the offense and the other guys on the team. Tony’s done that for a long time around here. That’s what our expectation is for the quarterbacks who do play.”

The Cowboys (2-3) are desperate but they are not out of it. They remain just a half-game behind the Eagles (3-3) and Giants (3-3) in the NFC East.

Defensive end Jeremy Mincey said things aren’t falling apart and believes the Cowboys will rebound.

“I mean, it’s weird. But I don’t feel like anything is falling apart,” Mincey said. “I just think right now we’re a little discombobulated, but I think we will get it together with this group of men. It’s still the same guys. Bend, but don’t break. We’re just a little wounded right now, but the wounds will heal. Once we get those wounds healed, we’ll be right back to where we need to be.”

Mincey said the Cowboys are still confident in their abilities.

“We’ve just got to go back to the drawing board and figure this out. I know we will,” Mincey said. “I know we’re not going to let these three losses tear this team apart. I’m definitely not. I know we all still believe in each other.

“We’re highly confident. Nobody is going to break. Period. Point blank. We’re going to get back to work here soon and work even harder. We know we’re down a few right now, but we just got to find ways to win. I’m sure we will. It’s about that time to get this thing rolling.”

REPORT CARD AFTER FIVE GAMES

–PASSING OFFENSE: D. The Cowboys have lost three straight games and quarterback Brandon Weeden has gotten most of the blame for his inability to make plays and take chances down field in place of the injured Tony Romo. Weeden will be benched going forward but he got no help because of a lack of playmakers outside, thanks to the absence of injured receiver Dez Bryant.

–RUSHING OFFENSE: D. The notion that anybody could run behind the Cowboys’ talented offensive line has proven to be false. Joseph Randle and Darren McFadden have not come close to getting any of the meat off the bone that DeMarco Murray failed to pick up during his record-setting season of a year ago. The offensive line also failed to live up to expectations through the first five games.

–PASS DEFENSE: D. The Cowboys rank 17th in the league against the pass. The good news is they no longer have to face Matt Ryan, Drew Brees and Tom Brady in back-to-back-to-back weeks. They gave up 438, 438 and 356 yards against those three respectively. The Cowboys also dropped too many potential interceptions.

–RUN DEFENSE: C. The Cowboys rank ninth in the league against the run but don’t be fooled by those stats. They have not done well enough against the run and they continue to miss too many tackles. The Falcons, Saints and Patriots all had tremendous success running the ball, especially in the second half.

–SPECIAL TEAMS: B-minus. P Chris Jones and K Dan Bailey have been good, very good. The special teams coverage has been solid. But the return game has been disappointing at best. Cole Beasley has had no impact as a punt returner and the Cowboys are starting over on kickoff returns. The Cowboys rank 25th in kickoff return average and 31st in punt return average.

–COACHING: D. The Cowboys have had to work wonders because of the loss of Tony Romo and Dez Bryant on offense. It hasn’t been pretty with Brandon Weeden at quarterback and no playmakers on the outside. The defense played the first four games without stalwarts Greg Hardy and Randy Gregory. But the Cowboys are not taking the ball away or making enough plays.