Do the Dallas Cowboys miss Tony Romo?

The Dallas Cowboys offense has been devoid of big plays to start the year. Do they miss their old gunslinging quarterback Tony Romo?

The Dallas Cowboys are 1-1 to start the year, but there have been some troubling signs on offense. Justifiably, they’ve gone against two of the top defenses in the league but there has been a lack of big plays that were once a staple of this Cowboys’ offense.

Could they team be missing a certain quarterback-turned- broadcaster?

If there’s anything we’ve learned about Dak Prescott in his early tenure as the Cowboys starting quarterback, is that he’s careful with the ball– arguably, too careful. While his interception total from last year was stunning (just four on the year), he mostly played with a lead, and heavily leaned on running back Ezekiel Elliott and the run game.

In essence, Dak has been a game manager, albeit a record-breaking one.

On Sunday against Denver, Prescott looked somewhat overmatched when having to put the

offense on his shoulders with Elliott sputtering. Granted his receivers didn’t do him any justice (Dez Bryant dropped a ball that turned into a pick, and tight end Jason Witten couldn’t reel in a would-be touchdown), but it was alarming to see the lack of downfield attempts when down by several scores.

Fox broadcaster and former Cowboy quarterback Troy Aikman suggested at one point that Dallas could be missing their old quarterback, Tony Romo, who was notorious for his big-play ability.

While it’s just the second game of the season, Prescott’s play continued a trend from last season–smart, yet conservative quarterback play. Cowboys’ head coach Jason Garrett also seemed to agree with Aikman’s notion.

"“When they play that style of defense, you have to be able to consistently attack with the passing game,” Garrett said, via the Dallas Morning News. “At different times today, I thought we were able to do that, and at other times we weren’t. We didn’t make the plays, for whatever reason. We really needed to have [consistent] success throwing the ball. We were not able to do that.”"

While Garrett has a point, it’s unfair to pin Sunday’s loss solely on Dak Prescott. He’s gotten off to arguably the best start to a career by any quarterback in the history of the NFL, and one bad game should be expected.

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However, what is evident, is the lack of big plays from the Dallas Cowboys offense with Dak Prescott at the helm. Until Dak can show defenses a consistent ability to stretch the field, it’s fair to wonder if the Cowboys do, in fact, miss the gunslinging play of Tony Romo.