Let’s put it out on the table right now. Philadelphia Eagles cornerback Cooper DeJean has not played a good game this season. Not one. And after watching the Eagles’ defense get picked apart by Dallas Cowboys receiver CeeDee Lamb, it’s time to stop pretending the secondary is fine. DeJean struggled, Riq Woolen struggled, and the whole back end of this defense looked lost against one of the best receivers in the NFL.

This is a defense that has carried Philly for most of the season. That’s what makes it so tough to watch.

Cooper DeJean’s contract year is off to a brutal start

I don’t know what Coop did in the offseason. I don’t know what he’s looking at, where he’s going, or what he’s doing out there. Something is off, and it has been off since Week 1.

Keep in mind, this is essentially a contract year for DeJean, because he’s eligible to get an extension next offseason. You would expect a player in his position to come out flying, playing with something to prove every single snap. Instead, he has been brutal. Lamb cooked him, and it wasn’t a one-time thing. It was a recurring theme.

That’s the part that stings. DeJean is supposed to be one of the young cornerstones of this secondary, a guy we expected to build around for years. Right now, he looks nothing like that player.

Now, don’t get me started on Riq Woolen. Lamb beat him three yards off the line of scrimmage and put him on the ground. Lamb wasn’t even looking for the football on the play. He just hit Woolen with an ankle-breaker, and Woolen went down.

Then, to make matters worse, Woolen got beat for a touchdown by Lamb. That’s two embarrassing reps against the same receiver in the same game. When you’re a starting cornerback in the NFC East, you know Lamb is coming. You prepare for him all week. And he still made Woolen look silly.

And Jonathan Jones? He came in to play for one game, and he was spinning around out there trying to find his man. Philly needed somebody to step up in the secondary, and nobody did.

The Eagles still can’t play a complete game

Here’s the thing. I have not seen this Eagles’ defense look so inept since the early-season meltdown against Chicago. Outside of that game, the defense has been a strong anchor for this team.

They have been on the field a ton. Week after week, the offense sputters, and the defense goes right back out there and holds on. So it’s hard, in the grand scheme of things, to look at this unit and get irate. They have been carrying most of the season. You can’t ignore that.

But then again, it all comes back to the same problem. This team cannot play a complete game of football.

That is what’s so frustrating. You look up and down the roster, and the talent is there. Yes, the Eagles are dealing with a ton of injuries right now, and that has to factor into it. I’m not pretending they’re at full strength. But even with the injuries, how do you look at this group and accept that they can’t put together one full four-quarter game?

They can’t do it. When the defense plays well, the offense disappears. When the offense finds a rhythm, the defense gives it right back. It’s never all three phases clicking at once, and that’s not how championship teams operate.

The defense has earned some grace for the way it has played this season, and I’ll give it that. But grace runs out quickly when Lamb is dancing past your corners and walking into the end zone. If DeJean doesn’t flip the switch soon, this contract year is going to cost him real money, and the Eagles are going to keep wasting the best version of their own defense.