5 points: Observations from the Cowboys loss to the Lions

A lot of disappointing things happened to the Cowboys on Sunday.

The Dallas Cowboys left AT&T Stadium licking their wounds after the Detroit Lions tore them apart, leading to one of the worst home losses in team history, 47-9. This is becoming a theme for the Cowboys after they were one of the best home teams in 2023.

Let’s dive into what happened.

First Point: Dak Prescott and the offense struggle

Mike Sando, who covers the NFL at large for The Athletic, shared his thoughts on the game during the latest episode of Scoop City. He referenced the loss at home to the Baltimore Ravens and said that despite Dallas losing at halftime, they managed to close the gap offensively in the second half and show something positive. The Cowboys’ offense did not show anything against the Lions.

After their first two drives and another turnover in the red zone, it started to feel like ‘here we go again,’ with the offense having to dig themselves out of a hole at home. With around two and a half minutes to go in the second half, Dallas was down 20-3 and went for it on fourth down… from their own 38-yard line!

Finding themselves in that scenario, at home nonetheless, and not having a better play call than a short pass to the team’s smallest wide receiver is malpractice on multiple levels. You can still believe Prescott is worth the record-setting extension he signed, but he is uncharacteristically putting the ball in harm’s way through six weeks. The Cowboys quarterback currently leads all signal callers with 13 turnover-worthy plays per Pro Football Focus.

Second Point: The lack of experience hurts Dallas against top opponents

The Cowboys have some big-time players on the injury report and cannot play football right now. Micah Parsons, DaRon Bland, DeMarcus Lawrence, Brandin Cooks, Eric Kendricks, and Sam Williams did not play against the Lions. All those names listed outside of Kendricks were on the field to face Detroit a season ago.

Veteran presence doesn’t always directly lead to wins, but it can be beneficial when facing tough opponents and creative play-callers. When we look at the players Dallas lost this offseason and their replacements, there’s a noticeable difference in experience.

Tyron Smith (161 games in Dallas) — Guyton (5 games)

Tyler Biadasz (61 games with Dallas) — Cooper Beebe (6 games)

Tony Pollard (79 games with Dallas) — Rico Dowdle (42 games)

Dante Fowler/Dorance Armstrong (127 games with Dallas) — Marshawn Kneeland/Chauncey Golston (58 games)

Biadasz, Pollard, Fowler, and Armstrong aren’t top-tier players at their positions, but their extensive experience in unpredictable situations is something Dallas could be missing right now. Look at the best teams in the NFL through six weeks (Baltimore, Detroit, Kansas City, and Minnesota); they have a nice balance of experienced players to complement their young, up-and-coming talent. They also have coaches who put their players in the best position to succeed as well.

The Cowboys have a strong track record of drafting and developing their players. With six out of eight draft picks seeing playing time this season, it may seem like a positive outcome for their roster construction. However, this strategy may not be as effective against top opponents such as the Baltimore Ravens and the Detroit Lions, especially in a season with high stakes for the franchise.

Third Point: The special teams unit continues to be special

The special teams unit should not be the phase of the game carrying the Cowboys right now, but that is where things stand. Brandon Aubrey continues to have another All-Pro season, and Bryan Anger is among the most consistent punters in the league.

A new development could be KaVonatae Turpin’s various usage under the NFL’s new “dynamic kickoff.” The former Pro Bowl player had a career-high in yards with 194 off just four returns. He also leads all returners with a 43.0 average off seven run-backs.

Doing something as little as the fake reverse got the Lions to bite and open up a running lane for Turpin to take it 79 yards. A more significant development is that coordinator John Fassel opened up the number of opportunities for Turpin to be the single return man, as opposed to what the team did earlier in the season. Listen to Fassel explain below.

If points are hard to come by right now, having a field flipped by dynamic returns from Turpin could help get the offense back on track.

Fourth Point: How can the Cowboys create turnovers?

Under Dan Quinn, the Cowboys’ former defensive coordinator, the defense forced turnovers at a historic rate. They led the NFL back-to-back seasons from 2021 to 2022 for the first time since the days of the Steel Curtain.

This season under Mike Zimmer, the Dallas defense ranks 23rd with just four. DaRon Bland. The Pick-Six King has yet to play a snap this season, and Trevon Diggs is coming back from missing last year with a torn ACL. The Cowboys are not used to relying on practice squad secondary corners.

When Zimmer first arrived in Dallas this offseason, he mentioned how turnovers could decrease and that he wanted to focus more on stopping the run. Unfortunately, turnovers have decreased, but teams have been running up and down the Cowboys’ defense. Since teams are content with running the ball, that means fewer opportunities to intercept passes in the secondary.

The Cowboys offense has also been unable to keep a lead long enough, forcing more opponents to be in passing situations. Mike McCarthy is well aware of turning the ball over on both sides of the ball.

“You are what your record is. I think we’ve had some out-of-balance games that, when you get in out-of-balance games and you’re on the wrong side of it, you have the numbers that we have. Our turnover ratio is as low as I can ever remember it here.”

If the offense wants more opportunities to figure out its issues, the defense forcing turnovers would go a long way. Conversely, if the offense stopped turning the ball over and lessened the margin for error, it could play freely and get opponents off the field. It’s supposed to be a symbiotic relationship that couldn’t be further apart right now.

Fifth Point: Dak Prescott and CeeDee Lamb should spend the bye week at the “Dak-Yard”

The bye week is a great break for players to go away and spend time with the family members they don’t get to see throughout the long season. However, for Dak Prescott and CeeDee Lamb, it may be beneficial to spend some time working together during the bye.

Lamb’s contract negotiations and holdout this offseason prevented him from being at training camp, which limited his time working with his quarterback. Prescott talked about working with his No. 1 wideout on their own time, but the time they could have spent together in Oxnard would have been invaluable.

Right now, things are out of sync between both players, who usually have as strong a connection as you will find in the NFL. Lamb is fifth in receiving yards, and Prescott is third in passing, but those numbers don’t tell the whole story.

In Saad Yousuf’s latest piece for The Athletic, he mentions that Lamb has caught 58.2 percent of the 55 targets that have come his way. For perspective, that ranks 57th in the NFL. Last season, Lamb caught 74.6 percent of his passes, which was third in the league among receivers with at least 100 targets. Almost a 20 percent drop in production.

The matchups with the Lions this year and last tell two different stories. In 2023, Lamb and Prescott connected for 13 receptions, 227 yards, and one touchdown. On Sunday, it was for an underwhelming seven receptions and 89 yards.

The connection has yet to click up to this point, and maybe the bye week will help work out some kinks. Last year around the bye week, Lamb wasn’t as involved in the offense and then went on to have seven of his next 12 games go for over 100 yards, so there’s hope it could happen again.