The Dallas Cowboys cannot get out of their own way
Week 5 against the Green Bay Packers is the latest example of the Dallas Cowboys creating ways to lose games as they continue to be their own worst enemy.
Stop me if you have heard this before. The Dallas Cowboys are winning with less than two minutes left in the 4th quarter and Green Bay Packers quarterback Aaron Rodgers has the ball deep in Packers territory… sound familiar? As a Cowboys fan, you know exactly how this story is going to end.
The Cowboys continue to come up small in very big situations. They are constantly finding ways to lose games as Sunday’s loss demonstrated. It was just the latest display of the team’s incompetency to close out games. The game-winning drive by the Packers at the end of the 4th quarter to seal the contest was just the ending to a bad story that was unfolding all game long.
The signs of a collapse were on display all throughout Sunday’s matchup. You could see the writing on the wall as the end of the game drew closer. The costly penalties, the 16 unanswered points by the Packers after the Cowboys were leading 21-6, and Green Bay’s interception for a score in the 4th quarter were all foreshadowing to what was an inevitable ending: another Cowboys collapse.
You can debate who was at fault for the 4th quarter pick-6 that went off the hands of wide receiver Terrance Williams, but the bottom line is it happened. It happened at a time when, like most Cowboys mistakes, they can least afford it. Dallas continues to find ways to let teams back into games that they appear to be in control of.
The defense is unreliable and continue to undermine the success of the offense. This game was quarterback Dak Prescott’s best performance so far this year. But as Prescott is maturing in the NFL, one thing that probably hasn’t taken him long to learn is the Cowboys defense’s inability to hold any amount of lead he can give them.
Prescott and the Cowboys offense has scored more than 30 points in consecutive weeks and, to nobody’s surprise, they have lost both games; at home none the less.
The offense is not completely free from blame so far this season as they have had plenty of flaws as well. The offensive line has been underwhelming to say the least and have not been able to control the line of scrimmage the same way they did last year.
Prescott appears to be under more duress in the pocket and cannot appear to get on the same page as wide receiver Dez Bryant. The 4th quarter of Sunday’s game against the Packers was the first time all year you could really see the running game clicking on all cylinders.
Next: Five positive takeaways heading into the bye
The Dallas Cowboys have a lot of soul searching to do heading into their bye week and it could not come at a better time as they continue to find ways to lose games. The schedule is certainly not getting any easier from here on out as they have one of the hardest schedules in the league (tied for 10th in strength of schedule). The Cowboys need to figure out how to get out of their own way and finish out games or this will quickly turn into a year to forget.