The Cowboys’ backs were up against the proverbial wall heading into Week 9’s trip to Atlanta. They fell flat, never coming nearly as close to winning the game as the 27-21 final might make it seem. The injury to quarterback Dak Prescott was, of course, the story of the game, only the latest example of the writing on that aforementioned wall. The 2024 squad appears to be doomed beyond reach.
Too bad, because there were actually faint glimmers of hope to be found here and there at the Falcons’ jewel of a stadium. Dallas actually had some semblance of a ground game, although Prescott suffering a hamstring injury while using his legs would end up being the social-media punchline. And somewhere in an alternate reality, Rico Dowdle’s tip-drill touchdown catch was the kind of play to perhaps turn around a season on the brink.
But fourth downs proved to be the death knell for Dallas, both on offense and defense, and provided much of the bad and the ugly that summed up this contest. When the chains had to be moved or a stop had to be made- when it mattered the most– the Cowboys simply didn’t have what was required. It was the story of Week 9… and could end up being a summary of the season.
Here’s our look at the good, the bad, and the ugly from the Dirty Bird defeat.
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Good: Cowboys get doubly lucky on Dowdle’s TD grab
Dowdle’s third touchdown reception of the season was one he’ll remember. The running back kept himself open for a scrambling Dak Prescott and then, while falling, tapped the ball into the air once and then twice before it it dropped into his grasp as he lay on the Mercedes-Benz end-zone turf. It made for a nice capper on Dowdle’s day: 12 carries for 75 yards to lead the team and five receptions on six targets for 32 yards and the highlight-reel score. But the juggling circus catch required more than just a fortuitous bounce or two of the ball. Replays show that left tackle Tyler Guyton could have easily been called for a hold on (and subsequent takedown of) Falcons lineman Grady Jarrett. That he wasn’t- given Guyton’s penalty proclivity- and the touchdown was allowed to stand was about the only bit of good luck Dallas had on the day.
Bad: 4th-down defense’s open-door policy
The Cowboys defense is scaring absolutely no one, not even when it’s do-or-die. Dallas opponents have attempted to convert on fourth down a staggering 16 times though eight games, and they’ve been successful on better than two out of every three attempts. Faced with a 4th-and-4 just past midfield in the first quarter, the Falcons never hesitated on the call and picked up 10 yards with ease. (They were already lining up to go for it when Jourdan Lewis needed an extra moment after third down.) So when they came up against 4th-and-3 on their next possession, it was a no-brainer. The Cowboys needed a timeout- this time to let a dinged-up Trevon Diggs gather himself- and when Atlanta finally snapped the ball, they pounced. Diggs got caught up in horrible position, giving up a 36-yard walk-in touchdown to Darnell Mooney. Atlanta was a perfect 2-for-2 on 4th downs on Sunday.
Ugly: Terrible fake punt fails, nearly backfires big-time
Less than two minutes into the second half, instead of marching downfield to take the lead, the ineffective Cowboys were already staring at fourth down from inside their own 40. Yet special teams coordinator John Fassel dialed up a fake. Punter Bryan Anger wound up and lobbed a painfully long throw outside the numbers to C.J. Goodwin, who had fallen down on his route. The ball hit Falcons cornerback Natrone Brooks right in the hands; he would have likely had a pick-six had he held onto it. (As it was, Atlanta went on to score a touchdown on their short-field possession.) Fassel revealed Monday that he was the one who recommended the fake- over Mike McCarthy’s call for a punt- and inexplicably said he doesn’t regret the decision.
Good: Dak finding his legs again (until…)
The easy punch line was there for the taking as soon as Prescott’s hamstring injury was announced. Yes, Cowboys fans had been pleading with the quarterback to get back to using his legs to make plays, especially this year with the running backs struggling. He finally did on Sunday… and boom. But the unfortunate injury came as the 31-year-old was evading a sack, not taking off on some half-baked naked bootleg or trying to hero-race a track-star DB downfield to the pylon instead of just stepping out safely. It could have happened even without a “run, Dak, run” element to the gameplan. And up until the otherwise routine Kaden Elliss sack, Prescott was making renewed and excellent use of his wheels. He ended the day with just just three carries for 30 yards, but his 22-yarder midway through the second quarter was the team’s longest of 2024. It was fun while it lasted. Sigh.
Bad: 4th-down offense is, in fact, offensive
There’s aggressive playcalling… and then there are just dumb play calls. The Cowboys manage to do both with regularity when it’s fourth down. The team has gone for it 17 times this season; only four clubs have gone for more. But Dallas has converted just 35% of those tries; that ranks 27th out of the league’s 32 teams. The Cowboys were a dreadful 1-of-5 on fourth-down attempts versus the Falcons, but none (not even the atrocious fake punt) was more embarrassing than CeeDee Lamb’s jet sweep that crashed and burned for a three-yard loss. The play call fooled no one- especially the Atlanta defense- and it not only wasted the Cowboys’ sole takeaway of the day, it set up Kirk Cousins & Co. at midfield, giving them a head start on a touchdown drive that stretched their lead to double digits.
Ugly: The wrong kind of double-dip
Down 14-10 as the second quarter drew to a close, the Cowboys had a chance at the coveted “double-dip,” scoring just as the first half ends and then taking the opening possession after halftime for another score, all without the other team ever touching the ball. Done right, it could have tilted the scoreboard to a 24-14 Dallas lead. Instead, the Cowboys got zilch out of the back-to-back drives. They took six plays to cover just 20 yards going into the break, and then opened their third quarter with… a false start penalty by Terence Steele on the first play after kickoff. That set the tone for a four-play drive that gained all of 13 yards and turned the ball over on downs. Forget the double-dip and never mind the single scoop; the Cowboys offense couldn’t even get the door to the ice cream shop open for a free sample taste.
