Notable headlines surrounding America’s team.
Cowboys loss comes in blowout fashion against Lions in Week 6- Mark Heaney, Inside The Star
It was an embarrassment all around.
First Half
I mentioned the two fun plays at the beginning of the first drive, but like I said, that was just about it for Dallas in the first half.
In total, the team was outscored 27-6 in the first half. When you add up the Cowboys’ last four home games dating back to the Packers’ playoff loss, they get outscored 110-35 in the first half.
That is abysmal, and its shocking coming from a team that was so dominant in home games the last two seasons.
Both of the first two drives in the 1st quarter had promise, but they ended in a field goal and Dallas’ fourth red-zone turnover of the season, which leads the NFL.
Red-zone struggles have plagued the Cowboys offense since last year, but this newly found turnover issue is an even bigger problem, and it falls directly on Dak Prescott’s shoulders.
He was simply not good enough today, and certainly not in the first half.
Dallas started and ended the first half with a pair of field goals, but the drives in between ended in an interception, two punts, and a turnover on downs. Woof.
Dak on message to Cowboys after blowout loss, going into bye week: ‘Look in the mirror’- Patrik Walker, DallasCowboys.com
It certainly needs to be a long look for Dak.
A lot went wrong for the Cowboys, and Prescott is owning his part in the failing.
When asked if he could play better going forward, having thrown for only 17 completions in 33 attempts for 178 yards with no touchdowns to two interceptions in the face of the Lions’ pass rush, the All-Pro quarterback didn’t shy away from accountability. Instead, he leaned into it fully.
“For sure,” said Prescott. “Yeah, simple as that. I don’t want to say I have to play perfect by any means, but I’ve got to play better, better than I did and close to [perfect]. Especially when you’re playing a team like that.
“As talented as they are, they’re hot right now — good on defense, great on offense. Yeah, for sure.”
Unfortunately for the Cowboys, as it stands, they cannot say the same about themselves on either side of the ball, the offense unable to score touchdowns while the defense has allowed 167 points in its last four home games, the third-most in NFL history over that span of contests.
Jerry Jones says Dallas Cowboys will not be moving on from head coach Mike McCarthy – RJ Ochoa, Blogging The Boys
Jerry stands firm in face of questions about Mike McCarthy’s job.
The Dallas Cowboys are 3-3 and have reached the bye. In a vacuum that sounds okay.
But the how we got here matters and at the moment the Cowboys are pulling into Bye Town after driving through a 47-9 embarrassment of a loss. The loss was so bad that it was actually the worst one, in terms of losing by 38 points, in both the history of AT&T Stadium and the Jerry Jones era of ownership.
You would think that Jerry Jones himself, the birthday boy as fate would have it on Sunday, would want to utilize his full and total power to change that. Some may feel like it is in the team’s best interest for him to make a move at head coach.
According to Jerry postgame… that will not be happening.
Dan Campbell actively trolling Cowboys adds more embarrassment to Week 6 beatdown – Jerry Trotta, The Landry Hat
As if it couldn’t get any worse.
On the very first offensive play for the Lions, they reported offensive lineman Dan Skipper as an eligible receiver. On Detroit’s final possession of the first half, Campbell had both Skipper and tackle Taylor Decker report as eligible. The play culminated with a David Montgomery touchdown run – his second of the first half.
In last season’s matchup, the Lions scored a potential game-tying touchdown with 23 seconds remaining in regulation. Ever the aggressor, Campbell opted to go for two and the win but he added a little spice to the play with Decker caching the pass in the end zone.
However, the refs threw a flag claiming that Skipper was the only offensive lineman who reported as eligible. Replay quickly showed, though, that Skipper, Decker and even left tackle Penei Sewell all signaled before the play that they were eligible.
In a league that is plagued by grotesque refereeing, that was one of the worst calls in recent NFL history. It was so bad that it was a toss-up if Brad Allen’s would get to ref in the playoffs.
As much as we hate to give Campbell credit, this was an excellent troll job. It’s one thing to make a statement with the first play of the game, but Campbell rubbed salt in the Cowboys’ wound by having Skipper and Decker report as eligible while already leading by three scores.
3 Mike McCarthy replacements the Cowboys should already have on speed dial- Lior Lampert, FanSided
Dallas’ future HC might have been on the opposing sidelines on Sunday.
1. Ben Johnson
Dallas could look to their Week 6 opponent’s sideline to find McCarthy’s heir apparent. Lions offensive coordinator Ben Johnson was the hottest name on the head-coaching circuit last offseason, ultimately electing to stay in Detroit.
Johnson evaluated his opportunities before eventually removing himself from the market. Whether he didn’t like the options at his disposal or wanted to see things through in Motown remains unclear. But if “America’s Team” calls, we anticipate him picking up.
After being the mastermind behind Detroit’s top-five scoring unit last year, Johnson and the Lions have enjoyed similar success this season. The Cowboys experienced that first-hand in their latest loss.
The league has recently favored offensive-driven coaches, and Johnson is the cream of the crop in that regard. His feel and creativity as a play-caller are arguably second to none, making him the top target for Dallas.
4 takeaways from Cowboys’ disappointing loss vs. Lions- Tyler Reed, Sports Illustrated
Spoiler alert, the takeaways are not good.
1. Injured Defense Shows
What happens to a Cowboys defense that doesn’t have Micah Parsons, DeMarcus Lawrence, DaRon Bland, and Marshawn Kneeland? Well, the rest of the unit gives up 47 points. The Cowboys’ defense was beat up coming into this one, and it showed in the most terrible way.
2. Running Game Waves White Flag
Rico Dowdle had a season-best performance last week against the Steelers, So this week, it would make sense for the Cowboys to lean on Ezekiel Elliot to get the majority of the workload. Elliot’s six carries for eight yards really pop on that stat line.
