How many of us can say that we’re disappointed, but not surprised? Against a Carolina Panthers team that was also without two of their starting offensive linemen, the Dallas Cowboys’ defense provided little to no resistance and got steamrolled. Although the defense recorded a turnover, they didn’t do much else to stop the Panthers.
It’s a shame, too, because Dak Prescott was once again terrific from the pocket and George Pickens did all he could to elevate the passing attack practically singlehandedly.
Pickens had 168 yards receiving, including some plays that are sure to go viral on social media. Meanwhile, Prescott threw for three touchdowns, zero interceptions, and a passer rating of 124.8.
Yet, it all goes to waste as the Cowboys travel back to Dallas licking their wounds after being mauled by the Panthers in a loss that ensures they remain in third place in the NFC East. Here is why the Cowboys suffered a deflating defeat on the road.
Rico Dowdle talked big and backed it up
Earlier this week, when talking to reporters, Panthers running back Rico Dowdle issued a warning to the Cowboys about knowing the type of runner he is and how they should “buckle up” for playing against their former teammate. I guess Dallas didn’t get the message. Dowdle embarrassed his former team and accounted for 239 yards from scrimmage. All the more demoralizing is how easy the yards on the ground came by.
Dowdle ran for 6.1 yards per attempt Sunday, with only his longest rush going for 15 yards. This means that Dowdle was plowing over the Cowboys on nearly every carry and keeping Carolina ahead of the chains. Yes, Dallas has injuries at linebacker, but that is no excuse.
Allowing somebody to issue a statement like Dowdle did to the media and then being able to add the exclamation point on the field should have everyone associated with that defense, including the defensive coordinator, taking a long, hard look in the mirror over the next week.
Eberflus frustrating gameplan
Let’s all understand that while Bryce Young is making strides as a young quarterback, he’s hardly proven that he’s capable of being able to consistently beat a team with his arm. Once Dallas recognized that playing in their zone defense wasn’t enough to stop the run on early downs, it should have been indicative enough that something had to change. Only occasionally did Eberflus commit more defenders in the box to stop the run.
Sure, you don’t want your secondary to get beat deep and allow explosive plays, but you have to be willing to live with that considering how much money is tied up in the secondary, especially to Trevon Diggs and DaRon Bland. This goes outside of the game against Carolina alone, but exactly why are the cornerbacks playing so far off the line of scrimmage beyond the line to gain? We saw that last week against the New York Jets and again today in Carolina.
On the most important play of the game, on 4th-and-4 with a chance to get the ball back to get the win, Bland was five yards past the line to gain and allowed a back-breaking first-down conversion to Hunter Renfrow. The personnel are not playing well, but they are being left out to dry by a coach who is hesitant to adapt at the most critical moments.
Dallas’ last offensive drive
Matt Eberflus isn’t the only coach who has to answer for puzzling decisions. First, and this may be a nitpick, but it seemed like Brian Schottenheimer committed to the run for way too long. Dallas was unabashed about running on first and second down, and Carolina wasn’t yielding an inch. The Panthers held Javonte Williams to 29 yards on 13 carries.
However, the biggest gripe with Schottenheimer’s playcalling was the final drive before Carolina got their game-winning field goal. After Dallas’ almost miraculous stop of the Panthers, the Cowboys had a prime opportunity to go ahead, starting at their 46-yard line with the game tied 27-27. Yet, Schottenheimer opted for the toss-back screen to Williams on first down, which resulted in a five-yard loss.
Then another swing pass to Williams that lost seven more yards, before giving up on third down to ultimately entrust a bad defense not to lose the game, which they promptly lost. At this point, Dak Prescott is playing arguably the best football of his career, without his starting lineman and CeeDee Lamb. Taking the approach of that type of conservative play-calling when Prescott is playing the way that he is makes no sense. Dallas needed to entrust their leader to keep attacking the Carolina defense as he had earlier in the game. A disappointing outing from the coaches, but more so disappointing from Schottenheimer on that final drive.
