The Dallas Cowboys had the perfect opportunity to build on last week’s comeback victory in Houston. Instead, they were comprehensively outplayed at home by an 0-4 Tampa Bay team starting an undrafted rookie quarterback.
The Cowboys looked unprepared for Tampa Bay’s pressure offensively and incapable of controlling the game defensively. There haven’t been many positives, but a couple of players have still managed to stand out in tonight’s embarrassing defeat.
Winner: George Pickens
George Pickens has been one of the few Cowboys
offensive players capable of creating anything consistently. He made seven catches for 114 yards, including a 27-yard reception along with the fourth quarter touchdown, and he gave Dallas a threat further downfield while the rest of the passing game struggled.
The frustrating part is Dallas wasn’t able to get him involved enough. With Tampa Bay attacking Prescott and disrupting the timing of the offense, Pickens frequently left waiting for opportunities. When the football did reach him, though, he has looked like one of the few Dallas players capable of changing the game.
Winner: Malachi Lawrence
We’re stretching our winners in that game, but the Cowboys desperately needed somebody from their pass rush to make some plays, and rookie Malachi Lawrence answered.
Lawrence got to Jalon Daniels for an 11-yard sack during the third quarter, producing one of the few occasions where Dallas genuinely made Tampa Bay’s rookie quarterback uncomfortable. After entering the game with only 42 pass-rush snaps through four weeks despite owning the team’s best pass-rush win rate, Lawrence made another argument for receiving more playing time.
He also recorded a pass defensed when he knocked down a ball at the line of scrimmage, and one TFL. With the Cowboys struggling badly to generate sacks through the opening month, the rookie is increasingly showing why Dallas needs to find him more snaps.
Loser: Brian Schottenheimer
This was one of Brian Schottenheimer’s worst offensive performances of the young season.
Tampa Bay’s intentions were clear and Todd Bowles’ aggressive defensive style meant Dallas knew pressure and blitzes were coming. However, the Cowboys appeared completely unprepared for these tactics. Prescott has been hurried into decisions, receivers haven’t consistently had time to develop routes, and Dallas never found enough quick answers to punish Tampa Bay for sending extra defenders.
That’s where the criticism falls on Schottenheimer. Dallas entered the game averaging 31 points per game and had just produced 28 second-half points in Houston. Against Tampa Bay, the Cowboys managed only 16 points and there was 51 minutes between Dallas scoring its first touchdown of the game, to their second touchdown scored by George Pickens in the fourth quarter, simply abysmal. When the Buccaneers changed the game with pressure, Dallas never produced a convincing counterpunch, that’s down to game planning, which falls at the feet of Schottenheimer.
Loser: Dak Prescott
Dak Prescott looked nothing like the quarterback who engineered last week’s comeback.
Prescott went 24-of-42 for 316 yards with one touchdown and two interceptions. Several throws were simply inaccurate, but his response to pressure was the bigger concern. Tampa Bay sped up his internal clock and too often made Prescott hurry even before the rush actually reached him.
Some responsibility belongs to the protection and the play calling, but Prescott is the veteran quarterback being trusted to identify pressure and find the correct answer. Against a defense that entered the night with only six sacks in four games, Dallas shouldn’t have looked this uncomfortable. Tampa Bay dictated the terms, and Prescott struggled to change them.
Loser: Christian Parker
Where to even begin with this as Christian Parker couldn’t have asked for a more favourable quarterback matchup.
Tampa Bay arrived at AT&T Stadium winless, without Baker Mayfield, and with undrafted rookie Jalon Daniels making only the second start of his NFL career. Rather than forcing the rookie to carry the Buccaneers offense, Dallas allowed Tampa Bay to protect him with the running game and some extremely poor tackling, with missed tackles coming in bunches at all levels of the field all night long.
Bucky Irving exploded for 165 yards on 21 carries averaging nearly eight yards per carry, and that also included a 72-yard run. Tampa Bay controlled possession for more than twice as long as Dallas with a total of 37 minutes thanks to their ground game and Parker had no answer for it. Daniels, meanwhile, completed 19 of 25 passes and never turned the football over. Dallas entered Thursday ranked 31st against the run, and nothing about this performance suggests Parker has found an answer.
That’s the biggest indictment. Against a rookie quarterback, the plan should have been simple, stop the run and make Daniels beat you. Dallas did the exact opposite.
Instead of exposing Tampa Bay’s rookie quarterback, Parker’s defense allowed the Buccaneers to hide him behind the running game and control the football. Parker is dealing with injuries and a new scheme, but by now they should look better than they do.
