There are so many issues with the Cowboys right now.
What else is there to say? Not enough adjectives can accurately describe the abysmal performance of the Dallas Cowboys against the Detroit Lions. Sure, they are still a .500 team heading into the bye, but they played like a winless bunch with no solutions to their problems in sight. As the Lions dominated the Cowboys at AT&T Stadium for their third loss at home this season, the “home” crowd serenaded the Cowboys with boos on the field. Before long, the Lions crowd took over the stadium, and chants for Jared Goff and Detroit took over the building. As a Cowboys fan, the range of emotions mirrored the five stages of grief throughout the game.
Denial: “There’s no way this team is this inept offensively.”
Anger: “ANOTHER INTERCEPTION?”
Bargaining: “If they can get healthy on defense, maybe they can get more stops.”
Depression: “So long as Jerry is making money, nothing is going to change.”
Acceptance: “We’ll see what happens against the Niners.”
It’ll be a long two weeks before the team gets another chance to redeem itself and put this paltry performance behind them. Yet, after this game, there has to be some critical examination of why this team has underperformed not only at home, but also against good teams. Over the bye, there will be plenty of time to examine what needs to change, but for now, let’s examine how the coaching impacted this embarrassing loss and what went wrong for the Cowboys during their 47-9 loss.
On a more minor note, it may be insignificant to some, but it’s unfathomable why a head coach still chooses not to defer after winning the coin toss to begin the game. This means that no matter how bad the game is going, your team can get the ball and start the second half with a glimmer of hope, especially considering that onside kicks aren’t allowed until the fourth quarter and if a team is trailing. The Cowboys again opted to take the ball to start the game, and all they could muster was a field goal after a good drive. Detroit saw Dallas stagnate and capitalized on points with a touchdown on their opening drive. That has developed into a pattern in the last few weeks. It doesn’t matter what bravado Mike McCarthy is trying to instill in the team, it’s a nonsensical decision to start with, but it is exacerbated by an offense that cannot finish drives in the red zone. McCarthy should know his team better than this, but that’s only minor. What else stands out about the coaching from Sunday’s game?
Per Mina Kimes, Dak Prescott had the highest tight-window rate in 2022. Fast forward to this season, and it’s been a theme all season that the Cowboys’ offense is littered with tight-window throws that force Prescott to place the ball in risky situations. Some of that can be attributed to the need for more talent in wide receivers. Still, the coaches can do more to alleviate that for Prescott. Take Detroit for a direct model in juxtaposition.
Watching how the Lions’ offense operates with creativity, pre-snap motion, and isolating receivers in mismatches, only magnifies the Cowboys need for easier situations to move the ball. At one point, Amon-Ra St. Brown had to be covered by linebacker DeMarvion Overshown after Detroit cleared out their receivers, which afforded St. Brown a clear path across the field. Dallas must incorporate more misdirection or even pick plays to get the players open. Since they don’t do this anywhere as much as they should, the Cowboys are forced to play methodically and nearly perfectly on every down to avoid a third and long.
Meanwhile, Detroit unveiled the playbook that seemed almost a personal vendetta for the Cowboys’ controversial win against them last season. The Lions featured their offensive linemen in two of their three trick plays despite having a substantial lead on the Cowboys. In short, the Lions were having more fun than the Cowboys, and it showed thanks to their play-caller/play-designer alleviating the burden off their respective star quarterback and receiver versus Dallas thrusting everything at Prescott and CeeDee Lamb and expecting them to fly the team out of an early tailspin. The same accusations that head coach Mike McCarthy had been under fire for in Green Bay are starting to emerge with Dallas. You know the ones: Stale, unimaginative, bland. You can use the exact synonyms to describe the Cowboy’s broken offense. Now, if you want to underline that the offense has personnel problems, we agree.
However, what cannot be understood is utilizing Ezekiel Elliott as much as he was after Rico Dowdle’s game last week against the Pittsburgh Steelers. Elliott did admit to reporters his frustration with his lack of participation in the offense. Yet, his getting a prominent role on the offense’s second series of the game didn’t help. Elliott carried the ball four times for six yards (1.5 yards per attempt) on that drive. His last carry on that drive went for one yard and put Dallas in second and long, where they threw a red zone interception two plays later. The offense doesn’t have many playmakers, but catering meaningful carries to a player, a shell of his former self, falls on both the coaches and the player. For the season, Elliott has 30 carries for only 98 yards. The offense must find a way to put the ball in the hands of the best players in more diverse ways and keep their better players on the field in the first place.
