The Dallas Cowboys provided another disappointing showing on Sunday night, losing to the Green Bay Packers, 23-13. The difficult part of this loss comes from the fact that the defense actually played okay. They struggled at times, which almost feels inevitable at this point, but they also gave their offense a fighting chance. The problem is that the Cowboys’ offense had no fight in them.
What went wrong? To get a better sense of the issues in this game, let’s take a closer look at what happened in this game.
The game started well with an eight-yard gain from Javonte Williams after Tyler Booker pushed into the second level with a great block. But a second-and-short became a third-and-long when Terence Steele completely whiffed on a block, and Williams was taken down in the backfield for a two-yard loss. This set up the first of what we would see all night, a Packers blitz getting in the face of Dak Prescott. Fortunately, Prescott read it quickly and fired a perfect pass to Ryan Flournoy to convert on third down.
It was a good conversion. Things looked promising, but little did we know that those moments faded quickly. A minimal gain bootleg and running play set them up with another 3rd-and-4. The Packers again showed blitz, only this time the defenders dropped back into coverage. Prescott panicked and quickly swung it out to Williams, who had absolutely no chance. Just like that, the Cowboys’ first drive had stalled.
After the Packers strolled 90 yards to take an early 7-0 lead, the offense needed to answer back, but what did they do instead? False start. Illegal man downfield. Right away, they are in a 1st-and-20 hole thanks to two penalties by the offensive line. After a couple of short checkdowns, the Cowboys came up short on third-and-long after facing yet another Packers blitz. The game had just started, and already we saw a big problem. The Packers’ defense had a good game plan. The Cowboys offense did not.
In an unexpected turn, the defense came up with a huge takeaway, giving the ball back to Dallas in Packers territory. This was the break the team needed. Quickly, another tackle-for-loss running play puts them in another third down, but they convert. But after a first-down run went nowhere, the offense is forced to pass, and Prescott again came under fire. A linebacker blitz shook him after Prescott took a shot to the ribs. Then, a panicked Prescott didn’t see the defender drop back into coverage to jump a pass intended for CeeDee Lamb near the goal line. A chance for a game-tying touchdown turned into no points.
After the pick, the Packers offense drove all the way down the field, however, the defense made a great goal line stand thanks to clutch defensive plays by Quinnen Williams and Malik Hooker. The Cowboys defense picked a great time to make their first stop on third down, and Green Bay had to settle for a field goal. The game was still within reason.
The Cowboys offense then put together their best drive so far with a couple of decent runs and Dak throwing on the move. The best play from this series came when Prescott evaded a pass rusher and found George Pickens downfield. Finally, something good was about to happen. But no sooner did that feeling enter our souls than did it immediately escape when Lamb slipped coming out of his break, causing a perfectly thrown ball to go into the hands of a Packers defender. Once again, a red zone opportunity turns into a whole lotta nada for the Cowboys.
The Packers offense again marched down the field with a well-executed two-minute drive finished off by a Jordan Love quarterback sneak. An entire half of football was played, and the Cowboys did not score a single point. It was 17-0, and the Packers got the ball to open the second half. The game was slipping away.
In a surprise twist, the second half started fantastically. The Cowboys defense forced a quick three-and-out, and even sent the Packers backwards thanks to a Kenny Clark sack near the goal line. After a nice return from Jonathan Mingo, the Cowboys started their first possession of the second half inside Packers territory.
The offense finally capitalized on an opportunity. It took a fourth-down conversion to Lamb, who had wisely changed his cleats, and some physical plays by Williams and Brevyn Spann-Ford, but the Cowboys punched it in, and suddenly they had life again.
The mood started to shift, but we have seen this before. In fact, we have seen this quite a lot lately. The team starts slowly, falls into despair, and then finally shows some life and starts to climb back into the game. Was the stage set for another one of these dramatic comeback attempts? Could the defense honestly make enough stops to give their offense a chance?
What happened next is hard to explain. The defense did give them a chance. The Packers never scored another touchdown. They kicked two field goals, putting them at 23 total points, but shockingly, that was more than enough to easily secure the victory for Green Bay.
What had happened to the Cowboys’ offense?
Their ensuing possessions looked eerily similar to what we saw early in the game. Can’t run the ball. Repeatedly throwing way short of the sticks. Blitz coming. Dak’s in trouble. It was a recurring nightmare.
Prescott had to take what the defense gave up, constantly pulling up short. When he did go deeper, a defender was right in the hip pocket of the receiver, ready to come away with more interceptions. The running game had completely vanished, and the Cowboys always found themselves in third-and-long situations, allowing the Packers’ defense to pin their ears back and come after Dak.
The Cowboys struggled to pick up where the Packers’ blitz was coming from as they disguised it very well. This caused us to repeatedly hear the announcer say, “Dak hit as he throws.” It felt like the Cowboys’ biggest gains came when Green Bay was tagged for roughing the passer, which happened three times. Dak was a sitting duck back there.
It was really difficult to watch. Despite having two great receivers and a talented quarterback, the offense could not come up with anything. They did score a garbage-time touchdown with 44 seconds left in the game, but they could not land the two-point conversion, basically ending the game.
The Cowboys need to figure out how to attack better in space. Based on what we have seen over the past two games, opposing defenses have picked up on tendencies and are exploiting areas that Dak and the offense are struggling with. And that is not going to end until the Cowboys offensive coaches come up with an effective counter.
It is very unfortunate that the Cowboys wasted the best performance by the defense and gave away a very winnable game. Failing to execute when it is clear they have talent is a huge indicator that the coaching staff is failing them, and now it is no longer limited to just the defensive side of the ball.
