Anyone who watched the Dallas Cowboys lose on a last-second field goal to the Baltimore Ravens is wondering the same thing: Why did Dak Prescott launch the football out of bounds on 3rd-and-goal from the five-yard line on Dallas' second-to-last play of regulation?
You might also be wondering why Brian Schottenheimer told Brandon Aubrey to kick the ball out of bounds with seven seconds left in regulation, but the Cowboys had the game in the palm of their hand before that.
After the game, Schottenheimer informed reporters that Prescott was told to throw the ball away. He acknowledged that he "overcoached" Prescott.
Let's try to make sense of a decision that, even after sleeping on it, is still hard to fathom.
Getting to the bottom of Dak Prescott's throwaway
- The (potential) pre-snap logic
- Terence Steele's injury forced the Cowboys to use their last timeout
- Schottenheimer coached not to lose
- Should Prescott have overruled Schottenheimer?
- The final verdict
The (potential) pre-snap logic
On 3rd-and-goal, with Dallas trailing 28-31, Prescott overthrew Pickens by at least a foot as he took the snap from Cooper Beebe.
I'm guessing it had to do with what he saw at the snap. With no timeouts, there was probably a certain look that dictated an immediate throwaway. If so, the decision was essentially made before the route even had a chance to develop.
That's unfortunate because you can see on replay that Pickens won his route against Ravens cornerback Nate Wiggins. He was open at the front pylon -- similar to his fourth-quarter touchdown against Green Bay last season -- and likely would've had an easy score here.
However, Prescott had already released the ball by the time Pickens turned around. That leads me to believe that Dallas was only going for the TD if the corner didn't have leverage. Pickens won, but not early enough, given how quickly Prescott had to decide whether to give him a chance or discard the pass.
Terence Steele's injury forced the Cowboys to use their last timeout
But why did Dak have to make a split-second decision?
That's easy. Schottenheimer did not want to risk a sack or a turnover. He wanted to at least tie the ballgame and give his offense another chance to win it in overtime.
A failed goal-line fade to George Pickens on 1st-and-goal from the two was followed by a Luke Schoonmaker false start that moved the offense back five yards.
On the next play, Prescott stepped up in the pocket to avoid a sack and gained two yards, setting up 3rd-and-goal from the five. Unfortunately, Terence Steele was hurt on the play, so Schottenheimer burned his last timeout with 14 seconds left. Had Steele not been injured, the Cowboys could have let a couple more seconds tick off the clock before using their third stoppage.
Steele's injury threw a wrench into the sequence, but Dallas had more than enough time to take one last shot at the end zone.
Schottenheimer coached not to lose
Sure, things had gone backwards after a (questionable) defensive pass interference penalty set up the Cowboys with 1st-and-goal from the two, but why take your foot off the gas, Schotty? There's no way Dallas should have lost that game after that DPI. They had to win.
Playing for overtime means Schottenheimer was content to send his defense back onto the field. That's certifiably insane.
The unit was already without Malik Hooker, DeMarvion Overshown, P.J. Locke, and Cobie Durant and it lost Jalen Thompson and Shavon Revel to respective hamstring and knee injuries in the second half. The Cowboys were down to safeties five and six and cornerbacks five and six. Here's a look at the depth chart they would have played with in OT:
- CB: DaRon Bland, Ameer Speed
- NCB: Caleb Downs
- CB: Caelen Carson, Reddy Steward
- S: Markquese Bell
- S: Alijah Clark
Jim Nantz and J.J. Watt said it repeatedly during the game: Dallas was running out of bodies in the secondary. And yet, Schottenheimer, once again struggling to get a feel for the game, was content to give Baltimore another possession rather than try to win the game from the five-yard line with a QB at the peak of his powers and two receivers whom Baltimore had no answer for.
Should Prescott have overruled Schottenheimer?
Everything is easier to say in hindsight, but it's fair to wonder if Prescott should have overruled Schottenheimer and gone for the jugular.
"I probably should've just sat on it a little bit longer. Sank on my back foot and just put it on that front pylon. Definitely should have." Prescott said.
Prescott has complete command of the offense and is as good as any quarterback before the snap when it comes to identifying blitzes, diagnosing coverages, and audibling out of plays that would play right into a defense’s hands. He did it on several occasions against the Ravens.
Prescott was visibly annoyed after the play. It's impossible to say whether he disagreed with the play call or was mad at himself for not giving the play enough time to develop. Maybe it's a combination of the two.
In hindsight, Prescott may wish he had gone rogue, trusted Pickens to win his matchup, and given him a chance to make the game-winning play. Schotty clearly got in his head.
But that shouldn't obscure the bigger picture. Prescott did enough to leave Rio with a win. Scoring 31 points should have been enough to get the job done.
The final verdict
To be clear, this is not as black and white as Schottenheimer telling Prescott to heave the ball out of the end zone no matter what.
Prescott was probably instructed that if his initial read wasn't there within a certain amount of time, he needed to get the ball out of his hands and avoid a sack. The Cowboys didn't have a timeout, so taking a sack likely would have left them without enough time to scramble the field-goal unit onto the field.
Maybe Prescott got a little antsy. He was nearly sacked on the previous play, and nothing was open when he dropped back. Could he have sunk on his back foot and given Pickens a chance? In hindsight, yes.
But, it seems that Schottenheimer's main focus was to avoid disaster rather than trust his preternaturally-gifted offense to find pay dirt from five yards away.
Disaster unfolded anyway, as Schottenheimer lost the plot and instructed Brandon Aubrey to send the ensuing kickoff through the back of the end zone, leaving the Ravens with literally just enough time to kick the game-winning field goal.
Final verdict? There's no sense to be made of Prescott's throwaway.
Coach to win the game.
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