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Decoding Schotty Week 6 - Offensive Failures
The Offense had been rolling right along, but this one fizzled late and it cost them.
Bob Sturm
Oct 14, 2025
Here we go. Our objectives for today:
OVERALL OFFENSIVE EVALUATION
The reason we want to offer an individual evaluation of the two sides of the ball for the Cowboys is very simple and obvious. We don’t want to get tunnel vision about what matters because there are always issues on both sides of the ball that affect the other. If the defense is failing the team right now (it is), then how do we evaluate the offense?
Well, I think we have to hold them to a standard – as we expect the coaches to – that factors in such things as trying to take things off their plate and handle it offensively. For instance, in this failure on Sunday in Carolina, anyone in their right mind knew that the game on Sunday would require the fourth quarter to be won by the Cowboys offense in terms of time of possession and plays run. If the Cowboys were to own those two categories, this game was going to be won. They were up 24-20 when the Quarter began and now simply needed to nurse this home offensively. They would have to methodically run out the clock with some ground and pound and make Carolina defend the final 15 minutes.
Instead, the offense ran 13 plays and had the ball for slightly more than 5 minutes. They would gain two first downs and run for zero. Carolina, meanwhile, were the team to drag the Cowboys defense out into the deep water and the tired Cowboys simply were left to drown. They did. Carolina had the ball for 9:49 and ran 23 plays. They gained eight 1st downs, and, of course, out-scored the Cowboys in the final quarter, 10-3.
You may want to blame the defense entirely and tomorrow, they will get their moment on the stand. But, today, we look at how the stronger side of the team could have helped the weaker side. Sometimes, you have to drag them along and the offense did not help the cause much at all as the game went along. For that reason, I would suggest the offense can and should wear a great deal of blame. Sometimes complimentary football does no such thing.
The Running Game was absolutely brutal.
This is where we will start.
The offense has been wonderful this year because the running game has existed. Below, as we look at the game-by-game production, you will see that the Dallas rushing offense tumbled on Sunday in Charlotte. To the Panthers credit, they were not impressed with the Cowboys being the 8th-ranked run offense in the league. Look at the red box:
The Cowboys were the 8th-ranked offense. Now they tumbled to 15th in one game. Now, there are two sides to this story that are important.
First, Carolina is a top-tier rush defense and that might be one of the league’s well-kept secrets. I know that I was caught off-guard, but I will also confess that my Carolina Panthers attention span is pretty low these days. I assume Dallas knew, but when I ran the entire NFL this season to see how many games where one side rushed for less than 40 yards in a game, here were my results:
There were only two games and they were the last two games that Carolina has played! This is what we would call an Ejiro Evero-heater. Evero is the young and talented defensive coordinator for the Panthers who I am absolutely tabbing as a big name in the future coaching searches in the NFL. His work on Sunday is so impressive given what he has to work with and we already saw him as part of the Rams Super Bowl winning staff, then the Broncos in 2022, and now he is rapidly improving the Panthers defense. So, let’s give him credit.
But, from a Cowboys standpoint, if you run for 40 yards or less, you are likely losing. You cannot get dominated at the line of scrimmage like that and survive in most cases.
In fact, as we go back 20 years, it has only happened 13 times to Dallas. They are 3-10 when it happens and we might even ask how they won three times while having no running game at all.
You can definitely see when Dallas let their offensive line die, right? 2010-2013 were some dark times and eight of the 13 games where Dallas could not run for 40 yards were right in that brutal period of time when Dallas decided to use nearly all of their future first-round picks on OL – a trend that continues to this day.
Beyond that, I cannot see any obvious patterns, but let’s just conclude that a 23% win percentage overall tells us that running that poorly will get you beaten – even if you have zero turnovers.
OK, I think it is time for a cut-up. Josh edited together 63 seconds of Javonte Williams runs and this will give you the idea. The best run for Javonte was a 6-yarder, but it was incredibly tough sledding in this one. Dallas was scouted and the Panthers were waiting on them. I recommend the slow-motion feature in the bottom right corner of the video:
The carnage is incredible. I think Carolina was determined to whip their man and get into the backfield and Dallas had not seen that type of resistance all season long. That is this league and if you watched this video carefully, I think you walk away seeing how nobody is going to lay down for you in the NFL. They will be ready to meet the challenge – especially in their house – and if you are a football nerd who wants to learn the league and read this type of material, you probably join me in being very impressed with Carolina’s front and their commitment to playing every down like it was personal.
Dallas tried its normal tricks, but they simply lost up front. Yes, they need to be better, but also, there are two sides to every story. The Panthers have now made two consecutive opponents look like little boys at the line of scrimmage.
Here is the weekly data box:
Look at all the red. Those are failing grades in all of those categories.
Again, this loss felt like a defensive loss on Sunday, but the more I look at it, the offense was simply not good enough across the board.
The 292 yards of total offense is unacceptable. Fifteen 1st downs? You leave your defense on the field when you do that. You have to protect your defense. We know this.
Now, look at the success rates. The Cowboys called 19 run plays and were successful on just 2 of them. 11%??? Anything less than 40% is bad. 11%?
Also, first down was a disaster which is partly redundant, 29% handcuffs you on second down.
Above is the drive chart and to be fair, it was mostly good stuff until the 4th Quarter. They were right on pace until they were beaten late. Close, but not close enough to 30 points.
The Offensive Line’s overall performance.
Sunday saw the return of Tyler Smith and Tyler Guyton to the OL so we all assumed that the sledding would get easier. Still missing are Cooper Beebe and Tyler Booker, but it felt like TJ Bass and Brock Hoffman have been doing fine.
Well, the pass protection was decent enough, but as you have seen, the run blocking was rough across the board. Everyone had some bad reps, but this was a particularly tough day for Guyton and Hoffman up front. Also, Jake Ferguson doesn’t help much in this capacity and I suppose that was already obvious given how much they use the other two TEs to try to help the run game.
Again, we don’t want to overreact to the last game we see, but this was very much the opposite of the Green Bay and New York Jets games. Those were stout defenses, too, so perhaps this is a stylistic issue with Carolina’s front, but it is worth noting how badly the battle up front went.
Here is the NEXT GEN chart for Javonte Williams. We are looking for green lines and we found almost none on Sunday.
Additionally, it really didn’t seem to matter the personnel groupings for the running game. Look at those success rates! Gross.
So, now that we have established that the run game and the battle of the line of scrimmage was going poorly, let’s spend some time on QB1 and the passing game.
DAK PRESCOTT NEXT GEN CHART VS PANTHERS
Overall, Carolina wants to keep everything in front of them and rally to the ball. No big plays and as you can see, Dallas did not find much vertically.
But, good news. They have a ridiculous weapon who is playing his best football.
George Pickens is a superstar
Pickens went off – again – on Sunday. After a pretty quiet Week 1, he has absolutely been a stud for five straight games and already has a career-high with 6 touchdowns in 6 games.
Just look at this route chart. The green line here signifies “after the catch.”
Pickens is simply a pleasure and we will look at his absurd abilities below in the film study.
PERSONNEL GROUPINGS - ALL PLAYS
5.5 per play is not good enough, but that is what happens when you cannot run the ball at all. The QB/WR combo is still pretty great, but yes, CeeDee Lamb’s imminent return has great appeal.
FILM STUDY
OK, lots of film today. I wanted to really look at the late game failure, but let’s look at some good stuff first:
1Q - 7:50 - 3-6-DAL 31 - D.Prescott pass left to G.Pickens pushed ob at DAL 43 for 12 yards
Early 3rd down and the Panthers bring pressure and then play man coverage behind it. Cowboys are in 2x2 and with Pickens in the left slot, they know that this should be easy money. Pickens is always where Dak is looking against this coverage and Dallas picks up the blitz and it is pitch and catch. 3rd downs made easy.
1Q - 6:15 - 2-5-CAR 39 - D.Prescott pass short left to G.Pickens pushed ob at CAR 8 for 31 yards (C.Rozeboom). Penalty on CAR-Ja.Horn, Defensive Holding, declined.
Here is what we wanted to see. 8-Jaycee Horn locked up with Pickens on a crosser in man coverage and then Horn is looking to undercut and take it to the house. Instead, Dak throws the perfect pass and puts Pickens in space. Then the hurdle and I am not sure the Cowboys have had a twitched up WR like this since Terrell Owens. Even Dez at his peak was not jumping guys like this. Pickens is quite an athlete.
2Q - 15:00 - 4-1-CAR 3 - D.Prescott pass short right to H.Luepke for 3 yards, TOUCHDOWN.
Every team in the league runs this in the red zone because it is almost impossible to defend. 4th down, so you have to get it right, but you bring 40-Luepke across the line and 1-Tolbert picks his man “accidentally” by running a slant. It can get called as OPI, but if it doesn’t, the defense has no chance. 89-Spann Ford is also wide open in the back, but he just needs to feather a pass to Luepke and it is a touchdown. Again, I am not sure how to defend it because if you deploy too much out there, now you just run the ball. Great concept.
2Q - 7:03 - 3-5-CAR 48 - D.Prescott pass short left to G.Pickens to CAR 36 for 12 yards
This is another third down and another blitz with man coverage behind it. Dallas has to get it protected and Dak has to make a tight window throw. He makes these look easy right now, but as you can see, Pickens isn’t really that open. It all happens quickly, but Prescott is making these look like lay-ups in 2025. Good ball.
2Q - 4:44 - 4-4-CAR 30 - D.Prescott pass short left to G.Pickens to CAR 22 for 8 yards (M.Jackson). Penalty on CAR-M.Jackson, Defensive Holding, declined.
Does it get boring doing the same thing? No, because it keeps working. 2-Jackson cannot cover Pickens and it is fourth down. Of course that is where this pass is going. I have no idea if George thought he could jump that corner after the catch, but we are just going to let him cook. Some protection issues late and Dak had to get the ball out as Steele was losing. But, again, great execution.
2Q - 3:43 - 2-7-CAR 19 - D.Prescott pass deep left to J.Ferguson for 19 yards, TOUCHDOWN.
Finally, we get a zone snap here. Dak was excited because he knew exactly where he was going. Feathers one right over the zone defender and the deep safety has no chance. This is great work by all involved and to see Ferguson get vertical is important. He can’t just be a check-down option.
3Q - 2:45 - 3-2-CAR 34 - D.Prescott pass short right to G.Pickens for 34 yards, TOUCHDOWN.
Ok, a few more fun ones. 3rd and 2 and Pickens is up against 2-Jackson in a Cover 3 zone. This is obvious outside leverage and now the deep safety has to tackle Pickens. I love 7-Moehrig, but this is not his area of strength. Touchdown. Cowboys up, 24-20, and if the game ended here, everyone is pleased.
But, it would not end here.
4Q - 11:38 - 3-5-DAL 35 - D.Prescott pass deep middle to G.Pickens pushed ob at CAR 20 for 45 yards
This is 3rd and 5. This is Cover-1 against George Pickens. At this point, it has become ridiculous as Pickens continues his 2007 Terrell Owens impression. I believe this is also where Jaycee Horn demanded to cover Pickens himself the rest of the way, because none of his friends has any chance. 45 more yards.
4Q - 10:32 - 3-8-CAR 18 - D.Prescott pass short left to J.Ferguson pushed ob at CAR 8 for 10 yards
I really loved this one. 3rd and 8 and the Cowboys are faced with a real challenge. But, again, this is sorted out well with a good man-beater that frees up Ferguson for a quick 10 yards. Again, this is great offense and at this point, it sure looks like Dallas is about to go win this game.
And now…
The Late Game Failure of the Offense
It is tough to hang this game on the offense, but these last five snaps….
4Q - 9:33 - 2-9-CAR 9 - D.Prescott pass incomplete short right to G.Pickens.
This might be the offensive play of the game. Cover 0 blitz as the Panthers are done trying to cover these guys. They just now want to bring more rushers than the Cowboys can block. So, now can Dak and Pickens hook up on this opportunity? I am positive this one sticks out in the film room as a real missed chance and one that will surely be a point of emphasis on the practice field.
4Q - 9:28 - 3-9-CAR 9 - D.Prescott pass incomplete short left to J.Williams.
This is the next play and here we see the Panthers go back to Cover 4. So, yes, Cover 0 on 2nd down and Cover 4 on 3rd down are some fairly unpredictable coverages. Dak is sorting through it, but Terence Steele is losing again and Dak has to get the ball out. One more split second and Flournoy might be coming open across the middle, but Dak knows he cannot lose the field goal because they are down, 27-24. So, he checks down under pressure and it is field goal time. 2nd down was the one they want back.
And now, that horrid final drive.
4Q - 8:18 - 1-10-DAL 46 - D.Prescott pass short left to J.Williams to DAL 41 for -5 yards (T.Moehrig).
Ok, one drive to win the game. We want to move the chains and eat the clock. It is 27-27 and this game is in our hands. I love this call of the throwback screen. Just one thing missing here and that is Brock Hoffman has to get a piece of 7-Moehrig so the safety doesn’t blow up the play, but that is what he does and why we talked about him in the game preview. He is awesome at this stuff. As you can see, Hoffman has no chance to get there. Moehrig is too fast. And because of that, the timing is off and Williams is destroyed for a huge loss. Get that one block and this screen might go for a long ways. But, yeah, not close.
So, now, this 2nd and 15 is vital.
4Q - 7:39 - 2-15-DAL 41 - D.Prescott pass short left to J.Williams to DAL 34 for -7 yards (T.Wallace).
I don’t know what this is because the coach suggested this was a check-down, but to me it looks like the design with the footwork and timing. Just poor all around as this is blown up even worse than the last one. Is Ferguson supposed to get that block? Why are there almost no pass routes being run. What is this? It also isn’t protected well as Hoffman is stuck on his man and 98 is headed right at Dak’s mouth so he has to make a decision. At the most important part of the day, this is not the rep you want to see.
4Q - 6:55 - 3-22-DAL 34 - D.Prescott pass short right to H.Luepke to DAL 38 for 4 yards (C.Smith-Wade).
Now, it is 3rd and 22 and you have no chance. You are going to punt and hope the defense can make a stop. Of course, you would never get back on the field again.
So, yeah, the defense deserves plenty of blame, but this offensive performance left me really wanting more from these guys. This wasn’t nearly good enough.
Allow me to reference my conclusion from yesterday:
The Offense had been rolling right along, but this one fizzled late and it cost them.
Bob Sturm
Oct 14, 2025
Here we go. Our objectives for today:
- How the offense played a key role in this loss.
- The Running Game was absolutely brutal.
- The Offensive Line’s overall performance.
- George Pickens is a superstar WR.
- The Late Game Failure of the Offense.
- Look at plenty of All-22 film and see what we can see.
OVERALL OFFENSIVE EVALUATION
The reason we want to offer an individual evaluation of the two sides of the ball for the Cowboys is very simple and obvious. We don’t want to get tunnel vision about what matters because there are always issues on both sides of the ball that affect the other. If the defense is failing the team right now (it is), then how do we evaluate the offense?
Well, I think we have to hold them to a standard – as we expect the coaches to – that factors in such things as trying to take things off their plate and handle it offensively. For instance, in this failure on Sunday in Carolina, anyone in their right mind knew that the game on Sunday would require the fourth quarter to be won by the Cowboys offense in terms of time of possession and plays run. If the Cowboys were to own those two categories, this game was going to be won. They were up 24-20 when the Quarter began and now simply needed to nurse this home offensively. They would have to methodically run out the clock with some ground and pound and make Carolina defend the final 15 minutes.
Instead, the offense ran 13 plays and had the ball for slightly more than 5 minutes. They would gain two first downs and run for zero. Carolina, meanwhile, were the team to drag the Cowboys defense out into the deep water and the tired Cowboys simply were left to drown. They did. Carolina had the ball for 9:49 and ran 23 plays. They gained eight 1st downs, and, of course, out-scored the Cowboys in the final quarter, 10-3.
You may want to blame the defense entirely and tomorrow, they will get their moment on the stand. But, today, we look at how the stronger side of the team could have helped the weaker side. Sometimes, you have to drag them along and the offense did not help the cause much at all as the game went along. For that reason, I would suggest the offense can and should wear a great deal of blame. Sometimes complimentary football does no such thing.
The Running Game was absolutely brutal.
This is where we will start.
The offense has been wonderful this year because the running game has existed. Below, as we look at the game-by-game production, you will see that the Dallas rushing offense tumbled on Sunday in Charlotte. To the Panthers credit, they were not impressed with the Cowboys being the 8th-ranked run offense in the league. Look at the red box:
The Cowboys were the 8th-ranked offense. Now they tumbled to 15th in one game. Now, there are two sides to this story that are important.
First, Carolina is a top-tier rush defense and that might be one of the league’s well-kept secrets. I know that I was caught off-guard, but I will also confess that my Carolina Panthers attention span is pretty low these days. I assume Dallas knew, but when I ran the entire NFL this season to see how many games where one side rushed for less than 40 yards in a game, here were my results:
There were only two games and they were the last two games that Carolina has played! This is what we would call an Ejiro Evero-heater. Evero is the young and talented defensive coordinator for the Panthers who I am absolutely tabbing as a big name in the future coaching searches in the NFL. His work on Sunday is so impressive given what he has to work with and we already saw him as part of the Rams Super Bowl winning staff, then the Broncos in 2022, and now he is rapidly improving the Panthers defense. So, let’s give him credit.
But, from a Cowboys standpoint, if you run for 40 yards or less, you are likely losing. You cannot get dominated at the line of scrimmage like that and survive in most cases.
In fact, as we go back 20 years, it has only happened 13 times to Dallas. They are 3-10 when it happens and we might even ask how they won three times while having no running game at all.
You can definitely see when Dallas let their offensive line die, right? 2010-2013 were some dark times and eight of the 13 games where Dallas could not run for 40 yards were right in that brutal period of time when Dallas decided to use nearly all of their future first-round picks on OL – a trend that continues to this day.
Beyond that, I cannot see any obvious patterns, but let’s just conclude that a 23% win percentage overall tells us that running that poorly will get you beaten – even if you have zero turnovers.
OK, I think it is time for a cut-up. Josh edited together 63 seconds of Javonte Williams runs and this will give you the idea. The best run for Javonte was a 6-yarder, but it was incredibly tough sledding in this one. Dallas was scouted and the Panthers were waiting on them. I recommend the slow-motion feature in the bottom right corner of the video:
The carnage is incredible. I think Carolina was determined to whip their man and get into the backfield and Dallas had not seen that type of resistance all season long. That is this league and if you watched this video carefully, I think you walk away seeing how nobody is going to lay down for you in the NFL. They will be ready to meet the challenge – especially in their house – and if you are a football nerd who wants to learn the league and read this type of material, you probably join me in being very impressed with Carolina’s front and their commitment to playing every down like it was personal.
Dallas tried its normal tricks, but they simply lost up front. Yes, they need to be better, but also, there are two sides to every story. The Panthers have now made two consecutive opponents look like little boys at the line of scrimmage.
Here is the weekly data box:
Look at all the red. Those are failing grades in all of those categories.
Again, this loss felt like a defensive loss on Sunday, but the more I look at it, the offense was simply not good enough across the board.
The 292 yards of total offense is unacceptable. Fifteen 1st downs? You leave your defense on the field when you do that. You have to protect your defense. We know this.
Now, look at the success rates. The Cowboys called 19 run plays and were successful on just 2 of them. 11%??? Anything less than 40% is bad. 11%?
Also, first down was a disaster which is partly redundant, 29% handcuffs you on second down.
Above is the drive chart and to be fair, it was mostly good stuff until the 4th Quarter. They were right on pace until they were beaten late. Close, but not close enough to 30 points.
The Offensive Line’s overall performance.
Sunday saw the return of Tyler Smith and Tyler Guyton to the OL so we all assumed that the sledding would get easier. Still missing are Cooper Beebe and Tyler Booker, but it felt like TJ Bass and Brock Hoffman have been doing fine.
Well, the pass protection was decent enough, but as you have seen, the run blocking was rough across the board. Everyone had some bad reps, but this was a particularly tough day for Guyton and Hoffman up front. Also, Jake Ferguson doesn’t help much in this capacity and I suppose that was already obvious given how much they use the other two TEs to try to help the run game.
Again, we don’t want to overreact to the last game we see, but this was very much the opposite of the Green Bay and New York Jets games. Those were stout defenses, too, so perhaps this is a stylistic issue with Carolina’s front, but it is worth noting how badly the battle up front went.
Here is the NEXT GEN chart for Javonte Williams. We are looking for green lines and we found almost none on Sunday.
Additionally, it really didn’t seem to matter the personnel groupings for the running game. Look at those success rates! Gross.
So, now that we have established that the run game and the battle of the line of scrimmage was going poorly, let’s spend some time on QB1 and the passing game.
DAK PRESCOTT NEXT GEN CHART VS PANTHERS
Overall, Carolina wants to keep everything in front of them and rally to the ball. No big plays and as you can see, Dallas did not find much vertically.
But, good news. They have a ridiculous weapon who is playing his best football.
George Pickens is a superstar
Pickens went off – again – on Sunday. After a pretty quiet Week 1, he has absolutely been a stud for five straight games and already has a career-high with 6 touchdowns in 6 games.
Just look at this route chart. The green line here signifies “after the catch.”
Pickens is simply a pleasure and we will look at his absurd abilities below in the film study.
PERSONNEL GROUPINGS - ALL PLAYS
5.5 per play is not good enough, but that is what happens when you cannot run the ball at all. The QB/WR combo is still pretty great, but yes, CeeDee Lamb’s imminent return has great appeal.
FILM STUDY
OK, lots of film today. I wanted to really look at the late game failure, but let’s look at some good stuff first:
1Q - 7:50 - 3-6-DAL 31 - D.Prescott pass left to G.Pickens pushed ob at DAL 43 for 12 yards
Early 3rd down and the Panthers bring pressure and then play man coverage behind it. Cowboys are in 2x2 and with Pickens in the left slot, they know that this should be easy money. Pickens is always where Dak is looking against this coverage and Dallas picks up the blitz and it is pitch and catch. 3rd downs made easy.
1Q - 6:15 - 2-5-CAR 39 - D.Prescott pass short left to G.Pickens pushed ob at CAR 8 for 31 yards (C.Rozeboom). Penalty on CAR-Ja.Horn, Defensive Holding, declined.
Here is what we wanted to see. 8-Jaycee Horn locked up with Pickens on a crosser in man coverage and then Horn is looking to undercut and take it to the house. Instead, Dak throws the perfect pass and puts Pickens in space. Then the hurdle and I am not sure the Cowboys have had a twitched up WR like this since Terrell Owens. Even Dez at his peak was not jumping guys like this. Pickens is quite an athlete.
2Q - 15:00 - 4-1-CAR 3 - D.Prescott pass short right to H.Luepke for 3 yards, TOUCHDOWN.
Every team in the league runs this in the red zone because it is almost impossible to defend. 4th down, so you have to get it right, but you bring 40-Luepke across the line and 1-Tolbert picks his man “accidentally” by running a slant. It can get called as OPI, but if it doesn’t, the defense has no chance. 89-Spann Ford is also wide open in the back, but he just needs to feather a pass to Luepke and it is a touchdown. Again, I am not sure how to defend it because if you deploy too much out there, now you just run the ball. Great concept.
2Q - 7:03 - 3-5-CAR 48 - D.Prescott pass short left to G.Pickens to CAR 36 for 12 yards
This is another third down and another blitz with man coverage behind it. Dallas has to get it protected and Dak has to make a tight window throw. He makes these look easy right now, but as you can see, Pickens isn’t really that open. It all happens quickly, but Prescott is making these look like lay-ups in 2025. Good ball.
2Q - 4:44 - 4-4-CAR 30 - D.Prescott pass short left to G.Pickens to CAR 22 for 8 yards (M.Jackson). Penalty on CAR-M.Jackson, Defensive Holding, declined.
Does it get boring doing the same thing? No, because it keeps working. 2-Jackson cannot cover Pickens and it is fourth down. Of course that is where this pass is going. I have no idea if George thought he could jump that corner after the catch, but we are just going to let him cook. Some protection issues late and Dak had to get the ball out as Steele was losing. But, again, great execution.
2Q - 3:43 - 2-7-CAR 19 - D.Prescott pass deep left to J.Ferguson for 19 yards, TOUCHDOWN.
Finally, we get a zone snap here. Dak was excited because he knew exactly where he was going. Feathers one right over the zone defender and the deep safety has no chance. This is great work by all involved and to see Ferguson get vertical is important. He can’t just be a check-down option.
3Q - 2:45 - 3-2-CAR 34 - D.Prescott pass short right to G.Pickens for 34 yards, TOUCHDOWN.
Ok, a few more fun ones. 3rd and 2 and Pickens is up against 2-Jackson in a Cover 3 zone. This is obvious outside leverage and now the deep safety has to tackle Pickens. I love 7-Moehrig, but this is not his area of strength. Touchdown. Cowboys up, 24-20, and if the game ended here, everyone is pleased.
But, it would not end here.
4Q - 11:38 - 3-5-DAL 35 - D.Prescott pass deep middle to G.Pickens pushed ob at CAR 20 for 45 yards
This is 3rd and 5. This is Cover-1 against George Pickens. At this point, it has become ridiculous as Pickens continues his 2007 Terrell Owens impression. I believe this is also where Jaycee Horn demanded to cover Pickens himself the rest of the way, because none of his friends has any chance. 45 more yards.
4Q - 10:32 - 3-8-CAR 18 - D.Prescott pass short left to J.Ferguson pushed ob at CAR 8 for 10 yards
I really loved this one. 3rd and 8 and the Cowboys are faced with a real challenge. But, again, this is sorted out well with a good man-beater that frees up Ferguson for a quick 10 yards. Again, this is great offense and at this point, it sure looks like Dallas is about to go win this game.
And now…
The Late Game Failure of the Offense
It is tough to hang this game on the offense, but these last five snaps….
4Q - 9:33 - 2-9-CAR 9 - D.Prescott pass incomplete short right to G.Pickens.
This might be the offensive play of the game. Cover 0 blitz as the Panthers are done trying to cover these guys. They just now want to bring more rushers than the Cowboys can block. So, now can Dak and Pickens hook up on this opportunity? I am positive this one sticks out in the film room as a real missed chance and one that will surely be a point of emphasis on the practice field.
4Q - 9:28 - 3-9-CAR 9 - D.Prescott pass incomplete short left to J.Williams.
This is the next play and here we see the Panthers go back to Cover 4. So, yes, Cover 0 on 2nd down and Cover 4 on 3rd down are some fairly unpredictable coverages. Dak is sorting through it, but Terence Steele is losing again and Dak has to get the ball out. One more split second and Flournoy might be coming open across the middle, but Dak knows he cannot lose the field goal because they are down, 27-24. So, he checks down under pressure and it is field goal time. 2nd down was the one they want back.
And now, that horrid final drive.
4Q - 8:18 - 1-10-DAL 46 - D.Prescott pass short left to J.Williams to DAL 41 for -5 yards (T.Moehrig).
Ok, one drive to win the game. We want to move the chains and eat the clock. It is 27-27 and this game is in our hands. I love this call of the throwback screen. Just one thing missing here and that is Brock Hoffman has to get a piece of 7-Moehrig so the safety doesn’t blow up the play, but that is what he does and why we talked about him in the game preview. He is awesome at this stuff. As you can see, Hoffman has no chance to get there. Moehrig is too fast. And because of that, the timing is off and Williams is destroyed for a huge loss. Get that one block and this screen might go for a long ways. But, yeah, not close.
So, now, this 2nd and 15 is vital.
4Q - 7:39 - 2-15-DAL 41 - D.Prescott pass short left to J.Williams to DAL 34 for -7 yards (T.Wallace).
I don’t know what this is because the coach suggested this was a check-down, but to me it looks like the design with the footwork and timing. Just poor all around as this is blown up even worse than the last one. Is Ferguson supposed to get that block? Why are there almost no pass routes being run. What is this? It also isn’t protected well as Hoffman is stuck on his man and 98 is headed right at Dak’s mouth so he has to make a decision. At the most important part of the day, this is not the rep you want to see.
4Q - 6:55 - 3-22-DAL 34 - D.Prescott pass short right to H.Luepke to DAL 38 for 4 yards (C.Smith-Wade).
Now, it is 3rd and 22 and you have no chance. You are going to punt and hope the defense can make a stop. Of course, you would never get back on the field again.
So, yeah, the defense deserves plenty of blame, but this offensive performance left me really wanting more from these guys. This wasn’t nearly good enough.
Allow me to reference my conclusion from yesterday:
They did not. And that is why the offense should not come close to skating for this loss.
