Cowboys left without answers after stunning loss
EAST RUTHERFORD, N.J. – Dak Prescott dropped his eyes to the carpet, sighed and shook his head.
He paced by his stall. He draped his crimson jacket around his shoulders. Two stalls over to his left, tight end Jason Witten faced a half-moon group of reporters asking about slow starts, injuries and stagnancy in the red zone.
“I don’t know what’s going on, man,” Prescott told USA TODAY Sports by his locker. “We’re out here trying to get a (expletive) win. We’ve gotta figure this out.”
That, the Cowboys do.
Just 40 or so minutes earlier Sunday evening, they had just lost their third game in a row, this one to a previously winless Jets team, 24-22. Recurring problems sank the Cowboys’ chances of winning.
They started slow. Against the Jets, Dallas fell into an early hole, scoring just six points before halftime. That brought their scoring average before intermission during the three-game skid to three points.
“I wish I could give you a better answer, but it’s just execute better on the earlier downs,” Witten said.
But even when Dallas did get in position to score, its drives often stalled. The Cowboys scored touchdowns in just two of their four trips inside the red zone and, worst yet, were one of two in goalto-go scenarios.
Tied closely to the inefficient red zone play are the slow starts.
“That’s what’s hurting us,” Prescott told reporters in a news conference. “We’re putting ourselves behind. We’re putting our defense in a tough spot and we’re not playing complimentary football. It’s as simple as that. We’ve got to start faster. We have to get points. We have to get touchdowns and allow our defense to play from (ahead).
“As long as we keep having these slow starts and getting in our own way, we’re going to struggle.”
A 16-point second half brought the Cowboys near a comeback, but the attempt failed when the Jets blitzed during
a failed two-point conversion in which Prescott barely had enough time to get off a pass to Witten.
Perhaps nothing better encapsulated Dallas’ issues than a sequence in the middle of the second quarter. The Cowboys marched to the Jets’ 6-yard line. Facing a 3rd-and-1, running back Ezekiel Elliott was stuffed for a loss of 1. Then, on 4th-and-2, offensive coordinator Kellen Moore dialed up a designed rush for Prescott to the left. He lost 2 yards and Dallas turned the ball over on downs.
On the following play, Jets receiver Robby Anderson cooked Cowboys corner Chido Awuzie with a double move. Darnold slid up the pocket and lofted a pass just out of the reach of safety Jeff Heath, who dove to the turf. Heath slowly
propped himself up onto his knees and could only watch as Anderson scampered into the end zone for a 92yard touchdown, the longest score from scrimmage in the NFL all season and the second longest in team history.
It put the score at 14-3 and gave New York a comfortable cushion that it rode throughout the game.
“That was not a good stretch for us in the ballgame,” coach Jason Garrett said. “Ultimately, we did a good job coming back in the second half and giving ourselves a chance to win the ballgame at the end, but we didn’t do enough to win it for 60 minutes.”
Even in the second half, Dallas couldn’t overcome self-inflicted errors.
A 4-yard Witten touchdown that materialized with 8:02 left in the third quarter was negated by offensive pass interference. Two plays later, the Cowboys had to settle for a field goal.
The Cowboys were, however, significantly short-handed. The team declared left tackle Tyron Smith (ankle), right tackle La’el Collins (MCL sprain) and receiver Randall Cobb (back/hip) – all of them starters – inactive before the game. Then, after star wide receiver Amari Cooper appeared to be slightly hobbled during the team’s opening series, the Cowboys kept him on the sideline and later ruled him out with a quad injury.
Though the Cowboys did rush for 129 yards, they required 34 carries to get there.
“We practice this a lot, to make sure that everyone is ready in a situation like this,” center Travis Frederick told USA TODAY Sports. “But it is difficult. Those guys are starters for a reason. Those guys did a nice job on the outside as far as I know, but we’ll go back and make sure that everyone is on the same page moving forward so that we can get better from this.”
It’s a common issue that has plagued Dallas. In victories, Elliott has averaged 5.3 yards per carry. In losses, after Elliott ran 28 times for 105 yards and a score against the Jets, he averages 3.5.
Garrett said he was “mindful” of adjusting his play calling with two backup tackles in the game.
Another issue for the Cowboys without their two starting tackles was a constant pass rush. The Jets hit Prescott eight times and sacked him once.
Yet all is not in peril. The Cowboys (3-3), despite the slump, are still in a first-place tie atop the NFC East with the Eagles. Dallas’ wounded starters are on the mend and should be nearing their respective returns.
And before it heads into its Week 8 bye, Dallas has the chance to take control of the division with a Sunday night showdown at home looming against Philadelphia.
“I don’t know if I can say it is a season-defining game, but we’re still tied for the lead in our division, so we’ve just got to go out there and get a win,” Elliott said. “Next week is a must win.”