One of the hardest things to do as a sports writer is to find positive topics to write about when your team just isn’t playing very well. In my case, the Dallas Cowboys have not been playing good football over the past two games.
Shockingly, three of their past four games have been duds, and perhaps even more shocking, all three losses have come at home in AT&T Stadium.
Home field advantage in Arlington has never felt like an advantage. If anything, Jerry World is a tourist attraction that makes visiting teams feel like they’re at a resort.
The Baltimore Ravens came to town yesterday and took care of business, leaving the Cowboys looking for answers after another embarrassing home loss.
Entering with an 0-2 record, many could say the Ravens were desperate and just wanted it more, but if you watched that game with your own two eyes, you’d see that Baltimore didn’t have any added intensity.
They just came out and dictated the pace of the game from the start.
The Cowboys won the toss and unexpectedly elected to receive to put the offense on the field first. I have a sneaking suspicion that they knew they’d have trouble stopping Lamar Jackson and the offense, and they wanted to try to jump out to an early lead.
That didn’t work out, and even though the 28-25 score made the game appear closer, it was 28-6 at one point, and seemed fully out of reach. The Ravens might have tried to give it away, but the deficit was too great to overcome without more time on the clock.
In lieu of digging for positive aspects of the loss, let’s instead try and decipher what went wrong before we move on to Thursday Night Football in New York.
Penalties Killed The Cowboys
Before you berate me for using officiating as an excuse, this is not a knock on the officials. It’s a knock on the Cowboys’ ability to remain disciplined on the field.
There was a penalty from the very first time anyone touched the ball, and it set the tone for the rest of the game. On the opening kickoff, KaVontae Turpin was flagged for holding, pushing the offense back to the 15-yard line after Juanyeh Thomas had returned the kick past the 30.
Later in the opening drive, when facing a crucial 3rd & 1, rookie TE Brevyn Spann-Ford flinched before the snap on a simple quarterback sneak.
Dak Prescott’s first down run instead turned into a 3rd & 6 that, luckily, would still be converted.
They weren’t so lucky on the next 3rd down, however.
This time on 3rd & 10, Jake Ferguson jumped before the snap. 3rd & 15 proved to be too difficult to convert, forcing the Cowboys to punt away their opening possession.
The Cowboys finished the game with just six penalties for 44 yards, but the timing of the penalties were what hurt them the most. Baltimore finished with 13 penalties for 105 yards, but not even that was enough for the Cowboys to overcome their own deficiencies.
What Running Game?
Another reason for the loss is the continued inability to run the football.
Dallas finished the day with just 51 yards on 16 rushes for a 3.2 yards per carry average. We can’t even blame the pace of the game for this. From the jump, they were not able to establish the run.
Rico Dowdle led the team in rushing with 32 yards on eight carries. After Dowdle, there is nothing to write home about.
Prescott finished with seven yards on two carries.
Ezekiel Elliott rushed for six yards on three carries, and Deuce Vaughn carried the ball twice for just five yards.
If you want to, you can throw in Turpin’s one rush for one yard.
The Cowboys’ run game is pitiful, and we can’t even be sure if it’s the scheme or the personnel. It very well could be a mixture of both, but whatever it is, the Cowboys had better find the answer fast.
Currently, they are a one-dimensional offense, and putting all the pressure on Prescott and the passing game won’t end well.
Giving Up Big Plays On Defense
One of the selling points for Mike Zimmer’s defense was that his defenses play disciplined football and don’t give up big plays. That hasn’t worked out well so far.
The defense looked good against the Browns, but has since fallen apart against two innovative offenses.
The Saints exposed the defense with big play after big play on their way to 44 points on the day last week. Zimmer vowed to fix it, but I guess he hasn’t figured out how yet, because the Ravens came out yesterday and did the same.
Lamar Jackson only needed 15 passes to lead his team to victory because the running game was unstoppable from the jump. Even in the small number of attempts, Jackson found big plays for his pass-catchers to set up touchdowns.
Nelson Agholor raced 56 yards on his only catch.
Charlie Kolar’s only catch went for 30 yards.
Derrick Henry, along with harassing the Cowboys on the ground, caught one pass, and it went for a 23 yard gain.
Several chunk runs by Jackson and Henry kept the chains moving and the clock ticking on the Cowboys. It was borderline inexplicable how much space the Ravens’ ball-carriers had to work with on each play.
It felt like there were no Cowboys defenders within 10 yards on nearly every snap.
The Cowboys have a short week to figure out what’s wrong with their defense, and maybe a matchup with the Giants is just what the doctor ordered.
Then again, they could surprise us once more.