The Dallas Cowboys are not doing so well. After three games, the team sits with a 1-2 record, coming off an embarrassing showing against the Chicago Bears. The defense has looked atrocious over the last two games and the offense just doesn’t seem to have enough firepower to keep up. Adding insult to injury is, well, injury, as the offense has lost three key starters in CeeDee Lamb, Cooper Beebe, and rookie Tyler Booker. Coincidentally, all three are out with high ankle sprains.
With problems on defense and injuries on offense, the word “bleak” has forced its way into our minds. Is this a team that’s in a lot of trouble? Are we witnessing what will become a common theme for this team, where close battles will become losses and losses will become blowouts?
Possibly.
With so much uncertainty with this football team, it’s hard to know how this one will play out. The team is not playing well, and there are no assurances that things will improve once the players become more acclimated to the teachings of the new coaching staff. Better health could be around the corner, but again, it’s a long season. It could get worse before it gets better.
One thing that does offer a glimpse of hope is that in all three games, the Cowboys have played well enough throughout the game to give them a fighting chance to win; however, self-inflicted miscues have derailed scoring opportunities. The team has turned the ball over in every game so far, and in many cases, those turnovers have proved costly. Let’s examine each case and try to understand its implications.
EAGLES
The Cowboys lost to the Eagles by a tight margin, 24-20. One might say it was arguably the team’s best game of the season, despite coming up short. The Cowboys scored in each of their first four possessions, putting up 20 points before halftime. Sadly, they would not score again. The team missed the opportunity to make it five-straight scoring possessions when they drove the ball 61 yards down the field. A Miles Sanders fumble deep into Eagles territory ended a chance to put up more points.
If the Cowboys punch it in there, we’re looking at a 27-24 game. Do the Eagles muster up an additional drive to still win the game? Maybe. The Eagles always seem to find a way to pull out the win, but it still speaks to how close the Cowboys were to pulling out a road win against the defending Super Bowl champs.
GIANTS
The Cowboys came out on top on this one in what was a wild shootout, but it was a nailbiter. The offense turned the ball over on its opening possession of the second half when Dak Prescott was intercepted. The Giants had the ball at the Cowboys’ 40-yard line and drove down to the 10 before turning the ball over on downs. A surprise defensive stand nullified the Cowboys’ giveaway.
In overtime, the Giants were the team that squandered the game away with a turnover when Russell Wilson threw the ball up for grabs only to have it land in the arms of Donovan Wilson for the interception. Four plays later, the Cowboys were in Brandon Aubrey field goal range for the game-winner.
In this scenario, the Cowboys were the ones who benefited from others’ mistakes.
BEARS
The Cowboys lost to the Bears by 17 points, and there isn’t a play or two that would have changed that; however, the Dallas offense gave the ball away four times in this game, and each time they were in scoring position. Javonte Williams fumbled the ball on the Cowboys’ opening series. Instead of first-and-10 inside Chicago’s 30-yard line, it was the Bears’ ball.
Not only did it start off bad, but it ended poorly as well, as the Cowboys’ last three offensive possessions ended in interceptions, two of which were picked off in the end zone. If the Cowboys don’t turn the ball over and get into the endzone on half of those possessions (the ones there were deep in Chicago territory) and kick field goals on the other two, you’re looking at 20 more points on the scoreboard. They lost by 17. That’s a different ballgame.
These are all hypotheticals, and the fact is, the Cowboys did give the ball away. We can wonder what could have been until we’re blue in the face. It won’t change anything. That said, it’s worth noting that if the Cowboys did a better job taking care of the ball, especially when they were deep in their opponent’s territory, it could reshape our feelings about this football team to give us a smidge more hope going forward.
See More:
