ARLINGTON, Texas — It’s another bone-jarring loss for the Dallas Cowboys, their second in a row, dropping them to 1-2 on the season after already being soundly beaten by the New Orleans Saints in Week 2 at AT&T Stadium and finally waking up both offensively and defensively in the fourth quarter against the Baltimore Ravens, but it was too little, too late.

They lost their last game by a final score of 28-25, in which Dak Prescott and the offense scored three touchdowns in the final quarter, the special teams recovered an onside kick, and the defense rediscovered its ability to get off the field on third down.

That was until they couldn’t, because with one last chance to stop Lamar Jackson and Co. and give the ball back to the offense with a chance to win the game, Jackson was able to convert and effectively stop the Ravens’ fourth quarter collapse and prevent an 0-3 start to the season for them.

For the Cowboys, it’s all about self-reflection ahead of a short week that culminates in a road game at the New York Giants on Thursday night. Three of the team’s leading defensive players spoke about the current situation, as they have just a few days to prepare for the game against their division rival.

And DeMarcus Lawrence, Trevon Diggs and Micah Parsons didn’t hold back.

“Yeah, a terrible start. Uh, you know, the whole thing falls on our shoulders as a defense. It doesn’t matter how much willpower you have at the end. If you don’t start well, you’re most likely not going to finish well, so the result is the result. The only thing we can do is review it and get better from it.

On the current level of frustration:

“Yeah, it’s frustrating. I mean, of course it’s frustrating. If you don’t love the game, it’s not going to be frustrating, but I know the men in this room love the game and that’s why you saw the difference in the second half when we cleaned up our mistakes from the first half. We just have to put it all together, come together as a team and get back on the right track.”

What is the most frustrating part:

“We have a game plan, but we don’t stick to it. It’s just little things. So as soon as we stop playing in the minor league and start playing professional football again, everything will be fine.”

How to fix run defense:

“Play pro football. Do what your coaches teach you – use your gaps, play your blocks, stay in your gaps. I’m in, you know? I’m not out at all. It’s just little things we have to get back to doing, and that’s what we’re going to do this week.”

“(Unacceptable.) We waited too long to fight. I think everyone had the right attitude at the beginning, but at the end of the day it’s about going out and doing it, you know.”

“We just need more hats for the ball. It’s the little things we need to clean up. When someone gets out of their gap, it leaves a big hole and the rest is history. It’s little things we need to fix. We need to keep working on it. I feel like everyone is on the same page now. It’s just a matter of executing and doing it.”

To finish the game strongly:

“I mean, we should have played like that for four quarters, you know? We shouldn’t have waited until the fourth quarter, nine minutes into the game, to get going. … I think we have the guys to do what we need to do. We have talent from top to bottom, so I’m not worried about it. We just have to do it.

On the short week with the upcoming division duel:

“I think we should still feel it. I definitely feel it. When Monday comes, Monday comes and if we have to focus on the next team, we’ll focus on the next team, but we have to feel that pain. I hate losing. I don’t like losing.”

On the Ravens’ third attempt that ended the comeback:

“Yeah, that was the shit from me. I have to make that play. No matter what situation we’re in, at the end of the day, I have to make that play. They want me here, so they want me to show up when the time comes, so that’s on me.”

Among the boys who performed heroic deeds during the two defeats:

“I think right now we have guys just trying to be Superman. Guys just have to do their own jobs, brother. I don’t even want to be Superman. We don’t need any Supermans at all. We just need 11 guys playing together, and right now it’s just not in sync.”

What could be the reason for the discrepancy in defense:

“I mean, we preach something all week, and everybody in the locker room says we’re going to do what we have to do, and everybody’s going to take responsibility for it. … (It shouldn’t have) come down to third down (in the final seconds). We do what we’re supposed to do, we win the game. It’s just like, at what cost are we just going to keep putting ourselves through this?”

On the question of whether the Ravens showed something unexpected:

“(They did) exactly what I expected. Motion 42, they’re going to run to 42. I mean, it’s clear as day. We know when it’s a real pass because those guys are going for the ball in a damn close four-point stance. So it’s just like, let’s go for it and just play?”

On his confidence in the team to get back on the road to success:

“My trust is in the organization. We’ve got to do it right. You know what I mean? This is a successful organization. I’m going to uphold that standard, but at the same time, everybody’s got to uphold the standard; and I think I trust my faith, and I just believe we’re being tested right now. I really believe we’re being tested. It’s got to come together. It’s humbling. When you’re at your all-time high, God will always find a way to bring you back down, and right now we’re totally down, and everybody’s got to feel strong in faith and say, ‘When are we going to trust? Trust God, trust ourselves, trust the team, trust the framework of the defense?’

On solidarity in the dressing room after two lost home games in a row:

“We just have to stick together. This is a tough test. Like I said, this is when your faith has to be the strongest, right? When things aren’t going right. We thought we were good in Cleveland and you guys came back and you guys took crushing defeats one after the other. This is when your faith is tested the most. It’s in the Bible, brother. This is always the test, man. And at some point you just have to stand up and say, ‘I’m not going to fall.'”