The Dallas Cowboys were losing 30-17. It was 4th-and-5 from their own 44-yard line. A few minutes remained in the third quarter. Brian Schottenheimer chose to punt.
It is hard to pinpoint exactly when the Cowboys lost to the Denver Broncos on Sunday as they were outmatched in just about every way. An argument could be made that it was over the moment that officials flipped a coin in the air to establish who would receive the opening kickoff.
What we can pinpoint though is the point of no return that the Cowboys faced on the day. It was here. It was when Brian Schottenheimer chose to trust his defense, the one that’s reputation preceded itself before the game, during the game, and at this moment that you are reading these words. Who would trust them? Why would anyone do so? What argument could be made for it?
To be clear, Schottenheimer seemed to understand this on the Cowboys’ previous possession. Circumstances were a bit different as Dallas was facing 4th-and-3 from the Denver 27-yard line, but he went for that when they were in easy field goal range. He turned down points in the name of more points. He understood, seemingly, the stakes and how precious points were given the deficit and state of the defense.
So what changed one possession later? You could argue the field position obviously, but the counter is that the remaining time in the game makes that a wash. Even if you want to get stuck in the minutia of this argument, consider that the Broncos did what everyone thought they would as they marched down the field and scored a touchdown that put the game even more on ice. Then, for good measure, they proceeded to score another one.
Choosing to punt felt like Schottenheimer waving the white flag at best. At worst it seemed like a head coach who was unaware of how not trustworthy his defense is these days. Neither are good.
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