3 things Cowboys must improve from Week 4 to avoid losing to the Jets

The Dallas Cowboys played better than almost everyone expected against the Green Bay Packers on Sunday night. Dallas was the largest underdog this past week and ended up not losing the game.

The defense was poor, allowing 40 points, but the offense was able to score 40 on a top-three scoring defense, ultimately ending the game in a tie. Home teams that scored 40 points and had zero turnovers were 300-0 before this contest. The Cowboys didn’t win because they still had a lot of poor play that has to be fixed before the team plays the New York Jets in Week 5.

Third-down defense has to be better

The top offenses in the NFL converts less than 55% of its third-down plays. The Cowboys have allowed 32 conversions out of 55 attempts this season, a 58% conversion rate. The only team to convert under 55% against the Dallas defense was the New York Giants at 43% and they still scored 37 points.

Green Bay converted 10 of their 14 third downs, at a rate of 71%, and they averaged over 15 yards per play on those 14 snaps. Dallas can be beaten by any team on the schedule if they continue to play defense on third downs the way they have been.

The linebacker position has to improve across the board

Jack Sanborn has solid instincts, but he can never get to the angle to bring down a ball carrier. On wide runs, Sanborn is behind the play consistently. Kenneth Murray has the athleticism, but lacks the instincts, especially against offenses that utilize motion extensively. Shemar James made multiple rookie mistakes, like overrunning a play to miss a tackle.

Marist Liufau nearly doubled his snap count, but wasn’t the difference maker fans hoped for. He made two losing plays late in the fourth quarter, a missed tackle and a 15-yard unnecessary roughness penalty. The future could be DeMarvion Overshown, Marist Liufau, and Shemar James, but the team needs better play in Week 5, or they could be upset in New York.

The team has to limit its penalties

The issues with penalties have been a problem in Dallas for a long time. This coaching staff had done better going into the game.The team had only allowed two first downs on the season due to penalties, even with the poor performance against the Giants, with 12 penalties totaling over 100 yards .

Sunday was the first time the team could’ve lost due to penalties. Penalties slowed down a couple of Dallas drives on offense, and the defense allowed the Packers to extend their drives five times due to penalties. The new coaching staff must improve the team's discipline on penalties.

You can find Mike Crum on Twitter @cdpiglet or on YouTube at Across the Cowboys podcast

This article originally appeared on Cowboys Wire: 3 things Cowboys must improve from Week 4 to avoid losing to the Jets