Navy & Silver Linings: Finding positives in the Cowboys’ disappointing loss

I didn’t think that I’d be sitting here on Sunday evening trying to scratch for positive things to write about the Dallas Cowboys and the New Orleans Saints matchup. Yet, here I am alongside the rest of Cowboys Nation.

I’m dumbfounded by the resounding 44-19 home loss at the hands of Derek Carr and the Saints. How did New Orleans come marching in and accomplish this? Let me count the ways:

190 yards rushing

15 rushing 1st downs

5/8 on 3rd down (5/5 before Dallas forced a stop)

432 yards of offense

14.2 yards per pass

Four touchdowns in five red zone attempts

Two interceptions of Dak Prescott

Three sacks and a forced fumble

I could list more ways that the Cowboys were dominated by the road team, but this article might never end if I decided to do that.

Plus, the purpose of this article is to find positives in the Cowboys’ disappointing loss. Spoiler alert: positives were difficult to find, and none of them came from the defensive side of the ball.

Brandon Aubrey

The most reliable player on the roster for the Cowboys right now is undoubtedly K Brandon Aubrey. The former soccer player has been a revelation at the kicker position since he won the starting job in training camp last season.

Aubrey went 4/4 on the day, hitting field goals from 52, 38, 48, and 40 yards away to lead the team in scoring for the second week in a row.

Since entering the league last year, Aubrey has converted 44 of 46 field goal attempts.

Interestingly enough, both misses came from the 30-39 yard range, but he has been a perfect 13 for 13 on attempts of 50+ yards.

His range makes him a dangerous weapon, as evidenced by the 66-yard field goal he put through the uprights last week in Cleveland that was negated by a delay of game penalty.

Aubrey provided a glimmer of positivity in an otherwise terrible team loss. At least HC Mike McCarthy knows he can rely on Aubrey on a weekly basis.

Jalen Tolbert

WR Jalen Tolbert very quietly (except for one play) had the best game of his young career.

Tolbert caught all six of his targets for 82 yards, including a deep ball down the right sideline that he brought in with one hand with the defender draped all over him.

It was a great catch, and it led to a field goal early in the 3rd quarter. Unfortunately, those would be the final points scored by the Cowboys on the day.

Watching Tolbert make some plays was one of the few bright spots on an otherwise depressing afternoon.

Hopefully, Tolbert can build off this mini-breakout game and become a staple of this offense from the WR3 position to take some pressure off of CeeDee Lamb and Brandin Cooks.

Luke Schoonmaker

TE Luke Schoonmaker was thrust into action after Jake Ferguson was officially ruled OUT with a Grade 1 MCL Sprain and a bone bruise. Ferguson had hoped to be ready for the Saints after receiving great news about his knee.

Originally, the training staff feared the worst. Reports say Ferguson was in tears on the sideline, fearing the worst and that his season was over with a long road to rehabilitation ahead.

After the offensive performance on Sunday, I would expect to see Ferguson back on the field versus the Baltimore Ravens next week.

Schoonmaker put on his best Ferguson impression against the Saints, and even though he came up short, there are some positives to take from his game performance.

The second year tight end from Michigan caught all six of his targets from Dak Prescott for 43 yards.

Schoonmaker hasn’t gained the coaching staff’s trust enough to deploy him in the same way as Ferguson. The playbook was simplified a bit as far as Schoonmaker’s routes go, mainly consisting of play action.

He did have a highlight reel play when he hauled in a high Prescott pass with one hand before turning up-field and reaching the first down marker.

Should Ferguson not be ready next week, the Cowboys hope for a repeat performance from Schoonmaker.