As difficult as it is to acknowledge, this loss shouldn’t be all too surprising. Let’s be clear; It’s not that the Dallas Cowboys aren’t very good or their record isn’t a reflection of who they are. It’s more like the laws of gravity affect the Cowboys like any other team in the NFL (just look at Buffalo).
Coming into Sunday, the Dallas Cowboys were the talk of the NFL and riding an emotional high after a dramatic win behind Cooper Rush. I won’t go as far as saying Dallas took the Denver Broncos lightly, but according to CeeDee Lamb, the Cowboys weren’t as sharp this week at practice and it showed.
There were plenty of miscues that set the offense backward. The defense was just as unimpressive. It was a day in which every unit took turns making critical errors. The result was a humbling 30-16 defeat that left fans with more questions than answers. For those that are more cheerful, here are a few questions:
Maybe there’s a bright side? What if this is what the Cowboys needed to maintain their focus? What if it was just a bad day where everything that could have gone wrong, did? At any rate, it was ugly all the same. The Cowboys were knocked off their high horse and laid flat on their backs. Once again, let’s take a closer look and trace this Murder by the Numbers.
6.5 – Yards per Carry Allowed to Javonte Williams
The oldest adage in football is to run the ball, and stop the run. The Dallas Cowboys did neither very well. While nearly seven yards per carry is a huge number on its own, it’s how Javonte Williams was able to do it.
Despite playing without their starting tackles, Denver was able to capture the edge on the Cowboys on several outside runs. Williams had two runs of over 15 yards; where he wasn’t touched until he was forced out of bounds. To make matters worse, the Cowboys didn’t limit yards after contact either. This might seem like a case of wrong place, wrong time; but entering Week 9, Williams was tied for the 3rd most broken tackles in the NFL.
The Cowboys defense appeared to be out of character. There was no worse example than when Dallas allowed Williams to escape a pile of defenders for a 30-yard gain early in the 3rd quarter. Simply put, the Cowboys didn’t play with the same urgency on defense we’ve come accustomed to seeing this year.
41:12 – Time the Ball was Possessed by the Broncos.
The title of this column (Murder by the Numbers), is a bit tongue in cheek. However, nothing spells a painful death in the NFL like watching the opponent bleed the clock the way the Broncos did. For the Dallas Cowboys, it has to be a sobering experience. Especially since they have been known to do the same to their opponents much of this season. Sans a long touchdown pass to Tim Patrick, Denver wasn’t necessarily driving the ball through the air in the passing game.
When you’re playing against Teddy Bridgewater, it’s paramount that you cover underneath zones and tackle well after the catch. That didn’t happen on Sunday. There were numerous times where Broncos ball carriers were able to turn a long down and distance into 3rd and manageable, or a first down.
The Broncos were deliberately methodical, while the Cowboys showed little resistance. Dallas allowed Denver to have three drives of 80 yards or more. All three resulted in touchdowns.
11 – Pressures allowed by Terence Steele
According to John Owning (of PFF), Terence Steele allowed 11 pressures against the Broncos. It looked as bad as that figure sounds. It’s unreasonable to place a loss on one person, but Steele’s troubles speak to an equal if not larger concern.
Before an ankle injury to Tyron Smith, Steele was penciled in as the right tackle over La’el Collins. With Smith absent, Steele was thrust into left tackle. The results weren’t pretty. Steele seemed slow coming out of his stance and was given all he could handle by rookie Jonathon Cooper. This directly impacted Dak Prescott, who seemed unlike himself. If not for Prescott’s pocket presence, bad could have looked much worse; and it would have resulted in more than two sacks.
With Smith sidelined, it’s impossible to look at Steele’s performance and not wonder about the long term. When Smith was healthy, the Cowboys’ coaching staff made the decision to start Steele over La’el Collins at right tackle. That’s still difficult to fathom.
Many have pointed out the difficulty of transitioning from right to left tackle. Perhaps there’s a growing pain for Terence Steele. Whether you’re an optimist or a cynic, there’s no denying that Terence Steele is firmly under the microscope. After all, it was one bad game. Steele has subverted the expectations for him up until Sunday, but if games like that are a sign of what’s to come, get well soon Tyron Smith.
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0 – 4th down conversions by the Dallas Cowboys
The one thing that played true to form about the Dallas Cowboys was how aggressive they were on 4th down. That’s not going to waver; That’s who the Cowboys are. Who they aren’t is an inefficient team on 3rd down. Dallas was 1 for 6 on 3rd down in the first half, which led to two 4th and short attempts.
The first came after Amari Cooper was stopped 1-yard short of the first down marker on 3rd and 6. Ezekiel Elliott was tackled short of the first down the following play.
The next attempt came after a third-down try where Prescott was flushed from the pocket, and scrambled to 2-yards short of a first down. On 4th and 2, Prescott missed a short throw to an open Cedrick Wilson. Once again the Cowboys turned the ball over on downs. This made it impossible for the offense to gain traction until Denver was winning by multiple scores.
The second half wasn’t much better. Halfway through the 3rd quarter, Dallas was down 19-0. Nearing midfield, Prescott threw a short pass to an open Amari Cooper that was dropped. A completion would have resulted in a first down. Instead, Dallas was forced to go for it on 4th down once again. Once again, they couldn’t convert.
That’s probably what’s most maddening about this game. The Cowboys’ key players couldn’t find ways to make plays. Prescott missed a few throws, Elliott couldn’t pick up a 4th down, and the Cowboys’ premier receivers dropped passes.
The keyword here is momentum. Dallas never allowed themselves to capture it, even when it has handed to them. The most symbolic example of that during this game was when Malik Turner blocked a Sam Martin punt that was mishandled by Nahshon Wright in Broncos territory. This was subsequently recovered by Denver.
It was that type of afternoon for the Cowboys. If this was a wake-up call, it felt more like a cold bucket of water to the face than a silent alarm.
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