Another week, another mood swing for Cowboys Nation. The Dallas Cowboys failed to get what would have been their first road win in 2018. They fell short of taking the Washington Redskins to overtime in an NFC East match up that was lost as the visiting team kept shooting themselves on the foot.

As Dallas falls back to a losing record on the season, there are a lot of things to point out regarding last Sunday's heartbreaking loss.

Here is this week's edition of Takeaway Tuesday! As always, feel free to tell me your thoughts on the comments section below.

Cowboys could've had the "ugly win" but ended up with horrific loss.

The Cowboys have lost four games in total this season and this one is definitely the most painful one yet. Why? Despite all the drive-killing penalties and mistakes they made, Jason Garrett's team actually had a chance to walk away from FedExField as the NFC East leader.

But they didn't. Instead, a "snap infraction" pushed them back five yards and Brett Maher failed his first field goal attempt since week 1 as the football hit the post.

What's even worse, is that once again, this team proved to have a ton of flaws. This isn't just about poor quarterback play, wide receivers dropping passes, offensive linemen getting beat or about coaching.

It's about all of it collectively being bad and inconsistent.

A couple of weeks ago, we were complaining about Garrett not being aggressive enough to go for it on fourth and one on the opponent's 42. In response to the immense backlash from fans, analysts and even Jerry Jones, Garrett went for it on fourth and one in his own territory in Washington.

This was definitely a good call. In this case, coaching was good, but execution wasn't. Dak Prescott fumbled on a simple QB sneak and the drive was done. The Dallas Cowboys have many, many issues. Pointing the finger at one coach or one player will not make the difference.

This isn't your 2016 offensive line.

Since 2014, Cowboys Nation has been proud of this team's offensive line. Filled with elite talent, no one would ever beat them, but things have changed. Ron Leary and Doug Free are long gone and Connor Williams and La'el Collins have taken their places. Travis Frederick is sidelined with an immune system syndrome and well... as much as you and I hate to admit it, Tyron Smith is not the same.

Cowboys Nation on Twitter

So far today... Tyron Smith penalty kills a great run by Dak. Connor Williams penalty kills a great throw from Dak to Beasley. La'el Collins penalty kills a great run by Dak.

They can make blocks and are an above-average unit, but the penalties make them look like a terrible one. The game started with a huge gain erased by a holding penalty and a few plays later it was the Redskins with the lead 7-0.

Prescott hasn't played very well, and this OL's struggles are a big part of the why.

Simply put, Dak needs to be better.

Before we say Prescott is a terrible quarterback and a one-year wonder, let's try to find some middle ground. Dak is not a great quarterback. He's not an elite gunslinger that will put the team on his back and lead them to victories. He's definitely not that. But he's also not a terrible quarterback and he's not the worst QB in the NFL.

With a strong supporting cast, I think Dak Prescott is a very capable QB. Does that make him special? No. Does that make him a bad player? No.

Now granted, this has been a bad year for him and that needs to change. He's taking longer to make the throw, his poise isn't nearly as good as in 2016 and his in-pocket awareness needs improvement. Against the Redskins, we might've seen one of the worst plays in his career.

With Michael Gallup breaking open deep, Prescott doesn't make the throw and instead tries to roll out of the pocket. First off, there is simply no excuse in not making that pass. He didn't even have to "throw him open." He just had to take the shot. But he didn't.

Then, he fumbles the ball and Washington takes it in for six. Yikes.

We know he can be better, we've seen him playing way better football than he is right now. Even if the OL isn't performing as well or his receivers are dropping balls (because they are), he must step up. It's okay if he doesn't put up elite performances, but come on.

Despite the scoreboard, Cowboys defense is legit.

Before we end this Takeaway Tuesday, let's say goodbye with a positive note. The Cowboys' defense is very, very good. The Redskins' first TD came early in the game after a rare bad punt from Chris Jones that gave Alex Smith and company a very good spot to start the offensive drive.

In a disastrous opening performance, the Cowboys let them march the ball into the end zone and give them the early seven-point lead. After that, Dallas only allowed six points on defense. Note that the Redskins' second touchdown came from Prescott's fumble mentioned above.

Sean Lee was great in his comeback to the field. The defensive line also put a nice game and the secondary made sure to exploit a banged up receiving core. At least we have our defense to feel good about.

When it comes to trading for wide receivers, the Dallas Cowboys don't exactly have the best track record. That is why I wasn't all that happy to hear the Cowboy sent their 2019 first-round draft pick to the Oakland Raiders in exchange for Amari Cooper, especially knowing how a couple of trades just like this have worked out in the past.

Giving up a first-round draft pick is a tough pill to swallow, especially after we saw the New England Patriots acquire Josh Gordon for just a fifth rounder. Talk about a slap in the face. I personally believe Gordon is a better WR than Cooper, but that's a discussion for another time. What I want to talk about today is history hopefully not repeating itself for the Cowboys.

Unfortunately, the Amari Cooper trade looks a lot like a couple of wide receiver trades the Dallas Cowboys have made in the past. Yes, I'm talking about the acquisitions of Roy Williams and Joey Galloway, arguably the worst two trades in Cowboys history.

Dallas Cowboys WR Roy Williams

You may have forgotten, but the Dallas Cowboys sent to first-round draft picks to the Seattle Seahawks in a trade to acquire Joey Galloway back in 2000. He spent three whole seasons and part of a fourth in Dallas and never really lived up to the expectations he brought with him from the Seahawks. His most productive season with the Cowboys was in 2002 where he caught 61 passes for 908 yards and six touchdowns, hardly worth two first round draft picks.

The Dallas Cowboys didn't learn their lesson from the Joey Galloway trade and decided to throw caution to the wind once again when they acquired Roy Williams in 2008 from the Detroit Lions. Williams only spent three seasons in Dallas and like Galloway, didn't live up to the 1st, 3rd, and 6th round draft picks traded away to acquire him.

I really don't know how all of you feel about history repeating itself, but the Amari Cooper trade just has way too many similarities to the acquisitions of Roy Williams and Joey Galloway for me to have too much hope of it being successful. I guess we could take a little solace in the fact the Cowboys just gave up one draft pick if that helps any.

Amari Cooper has about a year and a half with the Dallas Cowboys to prove the organization doesn't have some kind of curse when it comes to trading for wide receivers. He becomes a free agent in 2020 unless an extension is worked out before hand. It's not a lot of time to prove oneself, especially since he's joining a new team with a new QB, but that's the situation he finds himself in now.

History repeating itself with the Cowboys acquisition of Amari Cooper?

The Dallas Cowboys are recovering from a disappointing loss to the Washington Redskins, but that hasn't stopped them from being aggressive to try to salvage a 3-4 season. It looks like the Dallas Cowboys are going all-in on Dak Prescott for 2018 and 2019 to see if they can return him to his 2016 form. It's being reported by Josina Anderson that the Dallas Cowboys are set to acquire former first round pick and Oakland Raiders Wide Receiver Amari Cooper.

ig: josinaanderson on Twitter

Breaking: A source tells me that WR Amari Cooper will be traded to the Dallas #Cowboys.

Amari Cooper has been the subject of a lot of trade discussion over the last week and a half and it looks like he's going to be coming to Dallas to help solidify their wide receiver group. Adam Schefter from ESPN is reporting that the compensation the Dallas Cowboys are sending for Cooper is a first round pick.

Adam Schefter on Twitter

Cowboys traded a first-round pick to Raiders for WR Amari Cooper, per source.

That's way more than I was wanting to spend to get him in here, but Cooper is just 24 years old. He's playing in his fourth NFL season and has averaged  After posting 1,000 yard seasons in each of his first two years in the NFL, Cooper fell back down to earth in 2017 with only 680 yards on 48 catches. He did have seven touchdowns last year and did that in only 14 games.

In 2018, he's averaging 4.4 receptions per game for 56 yards and has one touchdown on the season. On a Oakland Raiders offense that is struggling, Cooper is second in targets, third in receptions, yards, and touchdowns. It's bold move for a player that has had his fair share of drops in his career, though he seems to have gotten better in that area.

Despite a pretty good game from the wide receiver trio of Cole Beasley, Michael Gallup, and Allen Hurns, it looks like the Dallas Cowboys are dissatisfied. Over the last few years teams like the Los Angeles Rams and the Philadelphia Eagles have taken chances on acquiring players via trade and it's worked out well for them. The Dallas Cowboys are certainly taking a big risk, but Amari Cooper has the talent worth taking a chance on.

With the Cowboys heading into the bye week and in need of an offensive spark, if they were going to try to salvage their season, they needed to make a move. It can be debated that the price was too high, but Cooper instantly makes this offense better.