CHICAGO – If you didn’t believe the ending was near for Jason Garrett before, this could be it. Yes, the Cowboys are still in good shape to win the poor NFC East.

The confidence level of this team to do anything of substance in the postseason, if it gets there, remains doubtful.

Chicago manhandled Dallas 31-24 on Thursday night, dropping the Cowboys to 6-7 on the season as they head into a 10-day break with a three-game losing streak and having lost four of their last five games.

Here are five things we noticed from the Cowboys’ loss:

The defense is in shambles

Missed tackles, not containing the edge of the defensive line, lack of pressure and maybe even effort, are the biggest problem areas for this defense. Mitchell Trubisky’s 23-yard touchdown run that made the score 31-14 in the fourth quarter sealed this game and was probably another example of how bad this defense has been. There was also a 30-yard screen to tight end J.P. Holtz; a completed pass between two defenders; and Jaylon Smith trying to intercept a pass in the end zone, but the problem was Allen Robinson II had the ball, too. When two players catch the ball at the same time, it goes to the offense. This was just a poor performance by the defense. After a Jourdan Lewis interception, it gave up scores on the next four possessions.

Where was Tony Pollard?

Tony Pollard, the backup rookie running back, suffered an ankle injury in the build up to the game. He was listed as questionable on the injury report and made the trip to Chicago. But he was inactive for the game and it forced the Cowboys to use only one running back, Ezekiel Elliott, and fullback Jamize Olawale for the game. It was a difficult situation for the Cowboys because they had two running backs on the practice squad that could have been promoted. However, if the Cowboys had promoted either Jordan Chunn or Mike Weber, someone would have needed to be released. The Cowboys signed guard/tackle Caleb Benenoch this week as interior offensive line insurance. Benenoch probably needed to be released just to give the Cowboys some cushion at the running back position.

Dak Prescott’s struggles

When the night was over, Dak Prescott completed 27 passes for 334 yards with one touchdown and no interceptions. Prescott has struggled the last couple of weeks, especially after talk surfaced he was an MVP candidate. In reality, Prescott wasn’t an MVP candidate, his team has been .500 the majority of the season and now his team is below .500. Prescott just doesn’t look himself and that was glaring after the first possession of the game. Dallas produced its longest drive of the year, 17 plays for 75 yards that took 8:57 off the clock in the first quarter. After that drive, everything changed, and not for the better. The late charge by Prescott boosted his numbers, but he didn’t play well.

Amari Cooper gets his targets

After no targets in the first quarter, it appeared the home/road splits were going to continue in a negative way for Amari Cooper. Instead, Cooper was able to get going and finished with six catches for 83 yards with one touchdown. Prescott made a wonderful throw on a fade route to Cooper who was covered tightly by cornerback Kevin Toliver II. It seemed whatever Cooper and the Cowboys offense were doing on Thursday night was a struggle. Cooper, while saying he’s healthy, just doesn’t look the same sometimes as he jumps off the line of scrimmage. He’s dealt with leg and foot issues this year and it’s apparent it’s still bothering him.

What more can Jerry Jones do?

Jerry Jones, the Cowboys owner and general manager, said he will not fire Jason Garrett because he believes he’s the right man for the job. At least for now. Jones’ thinking is firing a coach doesn’t work unless a team quits on his coach. He did it in 2010, firing Wade Phillips when it was clear that team quit on him. Has this team quit on Garrett? Thursday’s score and the team’s record tells you plenty about what’s going on with this team.