FRISCO, Texas -- It just seemed so easy, didn't it?
Somehow, someway the ball would fall to a Dallas Cowboys defender for a takeaway. From 2021 to 2023, the Cowboys created 93 takeaways, far and away the best in the NFL. They intercepted 59 passes and forced 34 fumbles. The Buffalo Bills were second with 80 (54 interceptions, 26 fumble recoveries).
The Cowboys also turned the turnovers into touchdowns with 15 from during that stretch, also a league high.
It hasn't been so easy this season.
Entering Sunday's game against the 5-3 Atlanta Falcons (1 p.m. ET, Fox), the 3-4 Cowboys are tied for 26th with four interceptions and one fumble recovery through seven games.
"It's football, man," cornerback Jourdan Lewis explained. "Honestly, it's just not coming our way. But you know they come in bunches. And I know some guys that can get them, so ..."
Unfortunately for the Cowboys, some of them are injured.
As Wednesday's practice began, Cornerback DaRon Bland was working on the cords, continuing his rehab from August foot surgery as he closes in on playing for the first time this season. Linebacker Micah Parsons was preparing for a session on the cords as he inches closer to a return from a high left ankle sprain suffered Sept. 26.
Last season, Bland set an NFL record with five interception returns for a touchdown while leading the league with nine picks. Parsons had 40.5 sacks in his first three seasons and his pressure led to takeaways.
When each will return to action is up in the air. Neither practiced Thursday. Bland has yet to play this season. Parsons is looking at missing his fourth straight game.
"I think their individual statistics in that category speaks for themselves," coach Mike McCarthy said. "Definitely, they're impact players, and what DaRon accomplished last year was the best, and best ever. Micah is that impact pressure player. They definitely would help."
Also on Wednesday, the Cowboys were missing cornerback Trevon Diggs, who had calf soreness. He is one of four Cowboys with one interception this season. One of the others, cornerback Amani Oruwariye, was placed on injured reserve Wednesday with a back injury.
Defensive end DeMarcus Lawrence was rehabbing from a mid-foot sprain and looking at least a few more weeks before he can return to the field.
Despite missing the past 3 1/2 games, Lawrence still leads the Cowboys with three sacks. And despite missing the past three games, Parsons still leads the Cowboys in quarterback pressures with 21. Defensive tackle Osa Odighizuwa is second with 12.
"You go back and talk about turnovers and things like that, a lot of those things come from pressure on the quarterback, and we haven't been getting much of those," defensive coordinator Mike Zimmer said. "But hits on the quarterback is typically what give you turnovers. And sometimes tipped balls, which we haven't been getting very many of those either."
Through seven games last season, the Cowboys had 13 takeaways with nine interceptions and four fumble recoveries. The quarterback sacks from last season to this one are not that different (18 to 16), but the Cowboys jumped out to major leads last season, forcing teams to pass, which aided the pass rush.
This season, the Cowboys have trailed by large deficits in the losses to the New Orleans Saints, Baltimore Ravens, Detroit Lions and San Francisco 49ers. There is less risk for the opposing offense.
The Cowboys work daily in practice on drills designed to take the ball away, either with interceptions or fumbles, like punching the ball from ball carriers.
"We keep track of not only takeaways, but takeaway opportunities," McCarthy said. "You've got to first be in position for the takeaway. And that's the energy and the footwork and the proper angles. When you talk about the pursuit and finish of the defense and your coverage units, that's how we train.
"We executed takeaways at a higher level the last three years, but our opportunities are not far off of the last couple of years. We're getting there, but we're not converting. We've got to keep working."
The only fumble recovery the Cowboys have recorded came on the final play of their Week 5 win against the Pittsburgh Steelers after a series of laterals. There have been 130 plays since then without a fumble recovery -- with just two fumble opportunities.
The Cowboys have gone 81 pass attempts since their last interception. According to ESPN Research, that's the eighth-longest drought. The New York Giants have gone 206 pass attempts. Of the seven teams with a longer dry spell only the Arizona Cardinals do not have a losing record. The Giants, Carolina Panthers, Miami Dolphins, Cleveland Browns, New York Jets and Tennessee Titans are a combined 10-36.
Diggs put some of the drop-off on the scheme changes between Zimmer and Dan Quinn, the Cowboys' coordinator from 2021 to 2023.
"A lot less vision on the ball," Diggs said. "Just us being able to read our man, a lot less man [coverage]."
Under Quinn, the Cowboys played man coverage 62%, 56.9% and 61.3% of the time from 2021 to 2023, while employing zone 37.8%, 43.1% and 38.7% of the time, according to ESPN Research.
This season, the Cowboys have played man 47.8% of the time and used zone coverage 51.8%. Since 2007, Zimmer's defenses have finished in the top 10 five times in takeaways. Eight times they finished in the bottom half of the league.
"Definitely a very unique defense, a lot of calls," Diggs said. "We got a lot of formations, shifting, different calls. It requires you to play a little bit slower, got to think more, instead of knowing what you have.
"Like knowing, 'OK, I have this man. I can play faster. I can be on my man, I know what I have,' instead of reading stuff and reading players. It's a little bit more effort, but it's still a good defense at the end of the day. We just have to all buy into it and put our best foot forward."