Slumping Cowboys insist there’s no panic

FRISCO, TEXAS >> The last time the Dallas Cowboys lost three straight games, they were halfway through star running back Ezekiel Elliott’s six-game suspension two years ago.

Since this skid came more than a month earlier on the schedule, the Cowboys have plenty of time to salvage their playoff hopes — something they couldn’t do in 2017. The urgency is immediate, with a visit Sunday by Philadelphia and the NFC East rivals tied for the division lead at 3-3.

Still, the sense of crisis is considerably higher this time coming off a 2422 loss to the previously winless Jets. It’s not much consolation that Dallas was without both starting offensive tackles and slot receiver Randall Cobb from the start and lost No. 1 pass-catcher Amari Cooper to a thigh injury early.

An underachieving defense fell flat again, unable to stop the NFL’s worst offense statistically on the way to a 21-3 deficit in the first half, or when it mattered most in the fourth quarter. Second-year New York quarterback Sam Darnold had one of his best games as a pro after missing a month with mono.

Super Bowl talk for a 3-0 team that already had high expectations has been replaced by Jason Garrett talk, as in what’s the future of a coach whose contract expires after the season. Owner Jerry Jones brushed off those questions but couldn’t hide a sobering thought.

“Ultimately if you’re one of the really top teams, which we’re not, we are not,” said Jones, who watched one of his most difficult losses on his 77th birthday. “I hope that someday this season we could be one of the top teams. We’re certainly not tonight.”