FRISCO, Texas -- The questions surrounding the Dallas Cowboys defense remain the same today as they were in the offseason as they were last season as they were the year before that.

Can they get enough pressure on the quarterback? Can they cover on the back end?

Through two games, opposing quarterbacks are completing 72.9 percent of their passes against the Cowboys. Only the New Orleans Saints (80.3) and Miami Dolphins (79.5) are allowing a higher completion percentage

If there is a smidge of good news, according to ESPN Stats & Information, the opponents are averaging just 6.4 yards per attempt, 14th fewest in the NFL.

But how can the Cowboys get better?

Will David Irving move directly into the starting lineup when he returns from suspension #cowboysmail

— Outside The Star (@OutsideTheStar) September 22, 2017

@toddarcher are these rookies enough to save this secondary? #cowboysmail

— Dallas Thacker (@DallasThacker) September 22, 2017

The Cowboys will welcome Damontre Moore back from a two-game suspension this week against the Arizona Cardinals. David Irving will be back before the Cowboys play the Green Bay Packers on Oct. 8. Are they difference-makers?

Maybe not difference-makers, like, say, a DeMarcus Ware, but they can be better than what the Cowboys have had from Taco Charlton and Charles Tapper in the first two games. So much better that the Cowboys’ problems will be solved? I don’t think we need to go that far.

As well as Irving finished last season, his play in the offseason and in training camp was not at the same level. To expect him to come off a month-long break and be a starter is a bit much, in my opinion.

To me the secondary has been of greater concern all along, in part because of the youth. But I think with the talent they have there in Chidobe Awuzie, Jourdan Lewis and Xavier Woods, they have a chance to become a lot better as the season goes along. Awuzie needs to get healthy. It is looking like he will miss Monday’s game with a hamstring strain. Lewis gave up a touchdown but also had an interception against Denver. Woods seemed to do OK as a slot player, which is not a spot where he had much experience.

Younger players improve though the course of the year. Bill Parcells would call veterans “progress stoppers.” Some of the time he believed it was better to go with a younger player over a veteran because the rookie can grow into the position. The veteran, largely, was the same guy he had always been.

The Cowboys have to find some answers on their defense. Moore will help. Irving will help. The growth of the young secondary players will help.

But what will help the most is the offense.

The Cowboys have seen the formula work that way in 2014 and last season.

In the season opener against the Giants, the Cowboys controlled the ball for 34 minutes, 14 seconds. They ran 18 more plays than New York. Last season, the Cowboys held the ball for an average of 30:14. The more the offense stays on the field, the more the defense can’t be exposed.

Last week against the Denver Broncos, the Cowboys converted just three of 14 third-down chances and were on the field for 26:10.

A year ago the Cowboys scored touchdowns on 38 of 57 red-zone drives. By scoring touchdowns, especially early, the opposing offense has to change its philosophy, helping the defense when they become one-dimensional. Through two games this season, the Cowboys have scored just two touchdowns on seven red-zone possessions.

The returns of Moore and Irving and the growth of the young secondary players will help the defense, but if the offense performs better, then the defense will be better.