Dallas Cowboys staff proves old habits are hard to break

The manner in which the Dallas Cowboys lost to the Philadelphia Eagles proves once again that quarterback Dak Prescott cannot carry the team.

The Dallas Cowboys have me thinking of the number four. Running back Ezekiel Elliott and quarterback Dak Prescott are one game from completing their fourth season with the Cowboys. Elliott was drafted fourth overall in the 2016 NFL Draft.

Prescott was drafted in the fourth round. Elliott has an average of 4.4 yards per carry this season. Yet, it was Prescott who had 44 opportunities to move the offense tonight, and as a result, Dallas suffered loss number four out of their last five games.

Of the four losses, Prescott handled the ball more. Except for when the Cowboys played the New England Patriots, he handled it far more. But in the one win, the rushing game dominated Dallas’s offensive play-calling, and the Boys dominated the Los Angeles Rams.

In 14 games this season, when the offensive game plan noticeably favored Prescott’s arm over the run, the Cowboys lost. The only outlier was Week 11 against the Detroit Lions.

By contrast, when the ground game was favored or balanced with the passing game, the Cowboys won.

The Cowboys averaged 23 carries and 42 passes in their eight losses this season. They averaged 33 rushes and 32 passes in games they won. Most telling is the difference between the two contests against the Philadelphia Eagles.

In Dallas’s Week Seven 37-10 win they rushed 36 times and passed only 27. In Sunday’s 17-9 loss, they ran only 16 times (less than half the rushes in Week Seven) and threw a panicky 44 times. Clearly, a balanced offense gave the team a better chance of success this season.

For the Dak supporters who will contend that Philadelphia stuffed the run on Sunday, I’ve put together an abbreviated drive chart (see below). As it reveals, if the passing game were abandoned as quickly as the run game, the Cowboys would have only been left with defense and special teams. Yet, time and time again, the Dallas coaching staff seems determined to make their fourth-round pick from 2016 shine brighter than their first-round, fourth overall pick.

Prescott will likely be given a franchise quarterback’s salary in the offseason, and another coach will inherit his inaccuracies. Plenty of Dak supporters will believe it’s the right decision.

Those with fish memories will blame Prescott’s hurt shoulder for his lack of accuracy against Philadelphia, but his recent shoulder injury can’t answer for his lack of intensity. Opposing quarterbacks have outplayed Dak in every losing game throughout the season. See the chart below.

Only Patriots quarterback Tom Brady had a lower completion percentage than Prescott, and even he managed to earn a higher quarterback rating.

Since 2016, Prescott has been the primary focus of the Dallas offense to the detriment of the team. The Cowboys have surrounded him with a solid receiving group, two fantastic running backs, three solid tight ends, three Pro Bowl linemen, and a defense far better than former Dallas quarterback Tony Romo had.

How much will it take for the Dallas Cowboys to realize that Dak Prescott cannot and will not have the accuracy to be an elite quarterback? How many careers will stall and for how long before they start focusing on getting the most from their elite running back?