Emmitt Smith
Dallas Cowboys legend Emmitt Smith had some harsh words for his former team's defensive efforts against the Chicago Bears on Monday Night Football. Twitter

Dallas Cowboys legend Emmitt Smith had some harsh words for his former team’s defensive effort against the Chicago Bears on Monday.

The Cowboys never found a way to stop the Bears on Monday night, allowing nearly 500 yards of total offense and 32 first downs during a 45-28 loss. Josh McCown, the Bears’ 34-year-old backup quarterback, threw for 348 yards and four touchdowns against Dallas’ hapless secondary. The loss dropped the Cowboys out of first place in the NFC East, and drew the ire of Smith, who took to Twitter during the game to criticize the squad’s poor performance.

As the game started, Smith noted that the Cowboys’ defense needed to “step up” in order for the team to secure a win. Instead, the Bears scored 24 first half points -- McCown accounted for three touchdowns.

“Is everybody open????” Smith wrote. “Call the Police, Chicago offense is speeding.”

Later in the night, Smith denounced the team’s defensive strategy entirely. “This Scheme is garbage,” he wrote. The entire Twitter rant can be viewed here.

Smith wasn’t the only pundit to criticize the Cowboys’ defense. ESPN analyst Ray Lewis made similar comments during the postgame show, Larry Brown Sports notes.

“Taking no credit away from [McCown], but when you think about who he played against, that may be one of the worst defenses in the NFL today,” Lewis said, via Larry Brown Sports. “You see how they were just out of position. Nobody communicating. The balls that they had an opportunity to make interceptions … they could have made three interceptions.”

The Cowboys’ defensive struggles on Monday night were nothing new for a team that has allowed more yards from scrimmage than any other team in the NFL this season. ESPN’s Adam Schefter reported that the Cowboys are allowing 426.8 yards per game.

Furthermore, Dallas is just 131 yards away from shattering the 2012 New Orleans Saints’ single-season record for most-yards allowed in a season. The Cowboys still have three games left this season, against the Green Bay Packers, Washington Redskins and Philadelphia Eagles.

[H/T For The Win]