Well, well, well Dallas Cowboys fans and faithful. Where do you start? The top is a good place to begin. When you say the “top” here though, what’s that really mean? Well, it would be coaching on Thursday. There is a trend that’s revealing itself and that’s a Mike McCarthy and Kellen Moore thing.
Since the arrival of Dak Prescott and Ezekiel Elliott in 2016, the Cowboys have been built on the run. This season, you can see it but at times, you wouldn’t know it.
Here’s the point there. In the Cowboys’ seven wins this season, they have over 20 rushing attempts.
That’s in every single win. In their losses, they have 20 or less.
That’s in every single defeat. The message seems pretty clear there and that’s one that screams “run the danged ball”, right?
Right. That’s the first thing.
If the Cowboys aren’t going to commit to doing the thing that has made them what they have become under Prescott and Zeke, what’s the point of it all? What’s the point of investing in that front?
What’s the point in paying Zeke? What’s the point of grabbing and having another dynamic guy like Tony Pollard, if combined, they’ll have 20 or fewer attempts on the ground?
It just doesn’t make sense. What does though, again, is this.
To the point of running the ball more, the Cowboys have to get back to what brought them the early success they were having this year. They’ve been better when committed to pounding the rock. It’s really that simple.
Over the course of their last few seasons and when they’ve been their best, they’ve been a team that has been feared for what they could do to opposing defenses on the ground. When they have been able to make teams submit to their will, their running game, they have been successful.
Aside from the Minnesota Vikings win, a Cooper Rush special, the Dallas Cowboys have actually been closer to approaching 40 ground attempts than they have the 20 or less than they have in most of their defeats.
That is the message right there!
The game plan has to include more of that for many reasons, most importantly it keeps your offense on the field ticking and in rhythm, and it allows your defense to not be on the field.
You know, that same defense that was accused of giving up too many big plays or penalties on Thursday. This is also the same defense that has shown you that they can be very good or even elite if all things are equal.
You also have to look at things from ease of scenario standpoint. When looking at Dak Prescott and the offense as a whole, being more diverse not only allows them to better dictate the looks that they’ll receive from the defense but also allows them to maintain a sense of suspense or mystery.
If a defense or defensive coordinator knows that the ball is going in the air more often than it isn’t, defending said offense becomes that much easier. It’s actually not complicated at all.
So, not only does running the ball well help your offense and defense operate at peak efficiency on their own accords, but it specifically allows the offense to be able to better manipulate, control, and strategize throughout the game.
You control the things you can control and that is certainly something they can control. However, there are still those things to endure that are totally out of their control too.
Here’s the thing – Dallas had a real chance to win Thursday’s game.
But…zebras.
The officiating was terrible. Plain and simple. You hate to blame the officials and never want to credit that part for losing a game. However, it must be mentioned.
The officials were putrid. You can argue semantics until the cows come home, really, you can. The fact of it all is that they made calls against the Dallas Cowboys that shouldn’t have been called, while they allowed Oakland to get away with a ton of things that should have.
Don’t give me the penalty totals, an equal amount of calls though a total disparage in the yardage, as Oakland should have had 5 more than they did. Listen, I have no problem if you are going to make a terrible call, as that’s part of the game and sports.
There is an issue when every single one of the terrible calls is going on one side with practically none on the other side.
For example, there was an instance where the Raiders safety clearly hit the Cowboys ball-handler when he was standing out of bounds. He was literally standing out of bounds, was hit, and yet no flag was thrown.
There was another occasion in the final drive and prior to the last PI, where the offensive lineman wrapped his arm around Micah Parsons neck to keep him from sacking Derek Carr.
Again, the game is subjective, and officiating is hard, we get it. However and at least, be equally terrible on both sides if that’s the way you are going to call it.
You can never escape though, without putting some of the blame on your highest-paid player. When they win, he gets the glory, so he must get some salt in defeat.
Dak Prescott has to come through more than he doesn’t. He didn’t have that fatal flaw on Thursday, finishing with no picks, no fumbles, and only one sack taken for a two-yard loss, he also just didn’t have that “it factor” to win the game in overtime.
You can blame it on several things, however, the quarterback is the face of it all. If you are Dak Prescott. — and paid like you wanted to be — in control of this offense, for this franchise, at this moment, with the hopes you have for this season, and you get the ball first in the overtime period, you have to come through there.
You just have to. Listen, he was without his two best outside options — Amari Cooper and CeeDee Lamb — who are two of the top ten players on this team, without a doubt.
Not having Cooper and Lamb hurts and will make a major difference when they can get back, but you still have to get it done if you are Dak. Here’s the beautiful thing about it all though, there is no dominant team in the NFL.
Every favorite or contender has experienced adversity and the Cowboys are no different from them. This isn’t doomsday and if you think so, sports aren’t for you.
The Cowboys have to hope that they can bounce back — more sooner than later — as they don’t want to let some of their recent bad luck become bad habits for the rest of the year. Everyone has to be better though, which means the coaches, the quarterback, and dare it to be said… the officiating too (Looking at you Rog).