FORT WORTH, Texas — Count Hall of Fame running back LaDainian Tomlinson among those troubled by how the Dallas Cowboys reacted to a dirty hit that knocked quarterback Andy Dalton out of Sunday's game against the Washington Football Team.
Washington linebacker Jon Bostic delivered the cheap shot to Dalton, who had given himself up and was sliding to the ground. Bostic's hit was hard enough to knock Dalton's helmet off. Dalton was later diagnosed with a concussion.
No Cowboys players retaliated or confronted Bostic, something that remains a talking point days later. Tomlinson, an analyst on NFL Network and a fellow TCU product like Dalton, became the latest to voice his displeasure on how the situation was handled.
"It was appalling to me," Tomlinson told the Star-Telegram on Wednesday. "The Cowboys' offense, the guys out there on the field, sat there and looked at that hit. That's one of the unwritten rules. I guarantee you — I guarantee you — on any one of the teams that I played for, if that happened to any one of the quarterbacks, we don't really care what's going to happen after the fact, but in that moment somebody has to pay for that. As a player, you know that's crossing the line.
"You know that's crossing the line and this generation it's even worse because they know they cannot hit the quarterback like that when he's going to slide anyway. He's giving himself up, so you can't even launch at him. That's what makes it more egregious."
Tomlinson added that the response illustrated a bigger issue facing the Cowboys, a team that is disconnected. Having anonymous players take random shots at the coaching staff is one thing, but not defending a teammate after an opponent's cowardly act is another, he said.
"That team is not connected. That's something you can't fix easily," Tomlinson said. "It just doesn't happen."
Tomlinson, the former TCU standout who played 11 years in the NFL, doesn't see it happening this season either. He believes the Cowboys will remain a disjointed team for the remainder of the season.
The Cowboys simply don't have a leader in the locker room with quarterback Dak Prescott sidelined with an injury.
"The guy that they really truly need is done, he's not playing. That's Dak," Tomlinson said. "Dak is the only guy who can hold that team together and get them to stay on the same page.
"Andy hasn't been there long enough. He doesn't know those guys and football doesn't work like that. These guys have to learn to trust you. They've got to love you if you want them to have their back in that aspect. That's why they all stood around looking at each other, like I can't believe this just happened."
The Cowboys (2-5) take on the Eagles (2-4-1) on Sunday night in Philadelphia.
