Grades from Sunday’s game are (surprise!) not good for the Dallas Cowboys.
If the Cowboys were feeling a little cocky following their big win over the Browns a week ago, they’ve certainly come back down to Earth after a blowout loss at home to the Saints. It was a complete reversal of last week’s performance, as the offense played well but the defense looked lost. Let’s get into some grades for all the different units in this one.
Quarterback
Dak Prescott threw two picks in this game, but it was definitely a better performance than last week for the quarterback despite facing another great defense. On the day, he completed 69.2% of his passes for 293 yards with a touchdown and the two aforementioned interceptions.
Of course, one of those came as a result of his intended receiver falling down, while the other came late in the fourth quarter when the game was pretty much already over and Prescott was simply trying to create something out of nothing. For the most part, though, Prescott looked more like himself than he did in Week 1, though it was still not the type of performance we’re used to seeing from him.
Grade: B
Running backs
The running backs didn’t get much of an opportunity in this game, since the Cowboys got down by so much so quickly, but they looked better than they did a week ago. Rico Dowdle, in particular, had a better game with 30 rushing yards on just seven carries. Ezekiel Elliott only put up 16 yards on six carries, but most of his attempts came in short yardage scenarios.
Interestingly, Deuce Vaughn saw a lot of snaps in this one, though he ultimately only carried the ball four times for 11 yards. It seemed as if the Cowboys wanted a three-headed running attack in this game, but they ultimately had to abandon it because of the score. It’ll be interesting to monitor this group and how the rotation evolves going forward.
Grade: B-
Pass catchers
With Jake Ferguson out, Luke Schoonmaker was pushed into TE1 status for this game. All things considered, he did well; Schoonmaker caught six passes for 43 yards, though it was hard to wonder how much better things would’ve gone with Ferguson in there. Elsewhere, CeeDee Lamb had a good game and Jalen Tolbert came up with several big catches on the day.
The thing that ultimately kept this group from earning a higher grade was a general inability to get open. The Saints started double-teaming Lamb early, but there were plenty of contested catches everywhere else. Also, Jalen Brooks causing an interception and later dropped a pass that didn’t help the position group’s grade either.
Grade: C+
Offensive line
The offensive line had a tough time against this physical Saints defensive line. Tyler Guyton got called for a hold that stalled out a drive and later for a false start, while Cooper Beebe was called for an ineligible man downfield. They also struggled in pass protection, with Prescott being sacked three times.
Still, there were plenty of reps where Prescott had clean pockets, and the run blocking was a tad better than last week’s effort despite a smaller sample size. There is still room to grow for this group, but they performed okay against a great defense.
Grade: C+
Pass rush
No defense had a better pass rush last week than the Cowboys, but it seems they left all their pass rush juice in Cleveland. Derek Carr was rarely under pressure in this game, and it wasn’t just because the quarterback was getting the ball out quick. The lone sack that Dallas recorded was a play where Carr was chased out of bounds; Chauncey Golston was credited with the sack, but he never actually touched Carr.
Micah Parsons was hardly seen or heard from in this game, too. The Saints put on a masterclass in scheming around Parsons, and the star pass rusher struggled to get anything going. Part of that is due to the defense rarely seeing a third down, let alone a third and long, but it’s still concerning how absent this entire pass rush was.
Grade: F
Run defense
After a strong performance against a run-heavy offense a week ago, Dallas went right back to their old ways of folding against the run. Alvin Kamara averaged 5.8 yards per carry, and Jamaal Williams averaged 4.9 yards per carry.
In fact, the only Saints player in the entire game to not average at least 4.3 yards a carry was Carr, whose only rush attempt was a QB sneak that went one yard for a touchdown. That kind of performance against the run is simply not going to get it done, especially with Lamar Jackson, Derrick Henry, and the Ravens coming to town next week.
Grade: F
Pass coverage
Carr didn’t have to do much in this game, only attempting 16 passes in the entire game. It also didn’t help that he seemingly had all day to throw. Still, when Carr did throw the ball, he encountered very little resistance from this defense.
Chris Olave had an easy catch in the wide open middle of the field because of the play design, and several short passes turned into huge gains because of the misdirection before the snap. Carr had one bad pass that was made worse by Olave tipping it into Donovan Wilson’s hands for an interception, but it was an otherwise easy day for Carr. That can’t happen again for this secondary.
Grade: D+
Special teams
No real notes here, as Brandon Aubrey remains a legitimate weapon. He was perfect on the day, hitting all four field goals with ease and also drilling his lone extra point attempt. Bryan Anger’s lone punt of the day was downed inside the 20 as well.
KaVontae Turpin even had a nice 35-yard kick return, though he was unable to attempt a return on the lone punt of the day from New Orleans. The only thing keeping this group from a perfect day is the lack of any true splash plays, such as a score or a blocked punt or kick. Maybe that’s nitpicky, but they set the bar pretty high last week. Either way, the Cowboys’ problems do not extend to the special teams unit.
Grade: A
