There were no shortage of culprits responsible for the Cowboys' embarrassing blowout loss to the Bears on Monday night.
Chicago scored on every possession save for the one that ended with Bears quarterback Josh McCown's game-ending kneel-down. Dallas' suspect secondary has been lambasted, as has Cowboys defensive coordinator Monte Kiffin. But this was a total systemic breakdown, and defensive end DeMarcus Ware was a part of it.
Ware's reputation as one of the game's top defensive players is fading. He picked up a garbage-time sack Monday, giving him six on the season. He's on pace for his lowest sack total since he was a rookie.
The Cowboys need more from Ware -- and he knows it.
"Health-wise, I'm fine. I feel good, I was running around out there. I didn't get tired," Ware said after the 45-28 loss via ESPN.com. "At the end of the day, I haven't been playing like the DeMarcus of the past and I got to get back to that.
"It's December (and) people always say the light turns on in December, and you set yourself apart from everybody and I got to get back on track with that."
Cowboys coach Jason Garrett said a lingering thigh injury has played a role in Ware's pedestrian performance in recent weeks. At 31 and nine seasons into a great career, Ware needs to put a free-falling defense on his back.
The question is whether he's still capable of such feats.
*The latest "Around The League Podcast" recapped all the Week 14 games. *
