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Cowboys Morning After, Week 6 - The Must-Win Monday
Dallas needed to beat the Chargers somehow to avoid catastrophe. They did.
BOB STURM
OCT 17, 2023
Just win, baby.
At no point on Monday did anyone feel like everything has been fixed and properly put back on path. There is still much that will require addressing and improving, especially if this Cowboys team is going to find its stride in 2023.
Nobody should put their feet up and suggest things are on a wonderful path right now. That is certainly not the case.
But, this league is incredibly difficult and unforgiving with 32 teams doing whatever they can to win a game from week to week. It is often not easy and not aesthetically pleasing, especially when you are on the road and nobody is feeling very happy about the state of affairs.
And sometimes those wins tell us much more about a team than anything you can gain by destroying someone without breaking a sweat.
The Cowboys beat the Los Angeles Chargers on Monday Night, 20-17, in Inglewood, California to hit the bye week at 4-2. They did plenty of things that were frustrating and could be done better. But, the NFL is a bottom-line league and the bottom line is the 2023 season is still in play because they gutted and gritted their way to a hard-earned win that will not gain style points.
If you’ve read this space with any regularity over the years, you know I preach a consistent message: We do not apologize for wins in the NFL.
We especially do not apologize for road wins – against playoff teams that are coming off restful bye weeks as Dallas just was put through the ringer in San Francisco. For the last week, Dallas was having their manhood challenged and dealt with much speculation that they may not have the character to stick together and figure things out. Just a few days ago, the directive from this column right here was pretty clear:
Monday will tell an enormous tale. I want to see a team that believes 2023 is worth fighting for.
I just want to know that this team has championship character. Do they only have fight and resolve when things are easy and they get to play the Giants and Jets? Or do they show the heart of a champion which forces you to take a loss personally and rise up and stop the negative vibes immediately if not sooner.
Are they chomping at the bit to get off the airplane and show the world that they aren’t as soft mentally as they looked in Santa Clara? Are they taking this so personally that the Chargers are just unfortunate to have stepped into the path of a freight train? Or will they benefit because they are playing a team of front runners with weak character?
It is a wonderful chance – going into a bye week – to show us what you are made of. We look forward to your response, Cowboys.
It would be disingenuous to suggest that this team was a freight train on Monday. There were signs of a team that still has plenty of issues. But, I wanted the biggest takeaway on Monday to be whether they could make a stand in a game that would have been easy to lose and to simply refuse to cave in.
And we have to give them that much.
You see, the first five games of this 2023 season have had an average final score of 27.8 points per game. Now, some of have been easy victories and a few – the last two road games – have been humiliating. There hadn’t been any tense fourth quarters. Dallas had been running out the clock by the third hour of these games for the entirety of the season.
But, the fourth quarter is where tests are given. You either figure out a grimy way to win or you don’t. It usually rests on one play here and there where victory is won and it should never represent a perfect performance. Instead, it is about making one play more than your opponent. Maybe even on this ugly Monday in Los Angeles, it was about hoping your opponent let one more opportunity get away than you did.
Let’s recap some of those fourth quarter moments. In particular for the struggling offense, there were three different and vital third-down conversions where Dak Prescott had to figure things out and get points. To this point of the contest, the Cowboys were stuck on 10 points, had just two third-down conversions in the entire game, and had no impact whatsoever in the entire third quarter. None.
3rd and 11 from the Dallas 24 on the 1st snap of the fourth quarter is where we should start. On this play where the league converts roughly 13% of the time, the Cowboys protection broke down immediately. Prescott’s movement in the pocket saved this play from a certain sack. Joey Bosa caved in the pocket on a stunt and Morgan Fox had Dak dead to rights, until Dak was able to elude to the right flat. Here, we normally see Prescott play to the sideline with either a throw or a run and avoid doing dangerous things, like throwing back against the flow of play and over the center line where bad things happen in this league.
But, his periphery pick out of Tony Pollard at the far hash, darting north, and he hit him in stride to where Pollard was past the sticks for the difficult conversion. But, Pollard wasn’t done as he broke the tackle attempt from Michael Davis and gained 60 yards to flip the field and maybe the outcome for the remainder of the game.
A few snaps later, Prescott was able to use CeeDee Lamb and Michael Gallup to occupy the corners and slid Brandin Cooks underneath against a safety and feathers a lovely pass that hits Cooks in the corner of the end zone. Huge moment, great execution and Dallas was up 17-10.
On the next play from scrimmage, Justin Herbert missed a throw to Keenan Allen for a touchdown on a play that was hard to explain. Daron Bland was out of the play and we will simply call it a horrible miss. One you would not expect from a guy who just signed a five year, $262 million deal. It fits well in a new series we may call, “If Dak did that” to compare the league-level hell fire and brimstone that would rain down on anyone who makes that mistake if they are the QB of the Dallas Cowboys. I assume it hits different if you are the QB of the Chargers in the week to follow. By the way, that isn’t the only time he missed a wide-open Allen and you do wonder if the cumulative effects of the Cowboys pass pressure was taking its toll.
Regardless, Dallas would get their stop and force a punt with their touchdown lead intact and now under nine minutes remained.
Only problem was that chaos ensued on that punt. Jalen Tolbert was trying to give Kavontae Turpin space to field the punt, but lost his block against Ja’sir Taylor. When he lost it, Taylor pushed him into Turpin which appeared to cause a muffed punt, only Turpin never touched it. If you could stop the play and tell Tolbert that, everything would be fine, but Tolbert is trying to save a fumble that never happened by hurrying over to fight for the ball, at which point he does touch the ball while trying to recover it before Chargers long snapper Josh Harris can. Good intention allowed the Chargers to get the massive break they needed with the first turnover of the game in either direction.
It would prove costly as four plays later, Los Angeles had its first touchdown since early in the first quarter on a similar concept as Gerald Everett’s route to the near pylon would resemble what Keenan Allen had done for their opening score. The two touchdown passes from Herbert would travel a total of two yards to the exact same spot in the end zone. It was now 17-17 and Dallas was going to need a game-winning drive.
Of course, in modern Cowboys fashion, this critical moment to save the season must first start with a false start and then a sack to put them in a 3rd-and-18 hole. They needed a big moment with under six minutes to go and two defensive penalties by the Chargers in the secondary helps jump start the drive with a fresh set of downs.
But, as was the case all evening, the run game couldn’t get cooking. If you subtract the Prescott runs and the Brandin Cooks’ end around, you are left with 18 carries by the running backs for 42 yards for 2.3 yards per carry. Combine that with the five sacks and constant pressure and we can only surmise it is a good thing the entire first-choice offensive line is all back and in place.
A big time 3rd-and66 throw from Prescott to Lamb for 18 yards might have been the best throw of the night (that was actually caught – Michael Gallup did Dak no favors). This is another spot where you either move the chains or punt with 4:17 to go and Prescott again delivered when needed most.
Three plays later it is now 3rd and 9. This is fringe field goal territory and now he goes back to Cooks for a clutch conversion for 11 yards down to the 21 yard line. They are now in a spot to take the lead. On passes to the two guys who this passing attack must be built on, Lamb and Cooks, Prescott was 11-for-11 for 153 yards for 14 yards per attempt and a touchdown. That will work pretty well.
Nothing is ever easy, though, and Dallas faced one more 3rd and 10 where a wheel route to Tony Pollard is available in the end zone. The throw looked off live, but it is difficult to say whether Prescott missed or the receiver did not quite hit his landmark, but regardless, a chance was missed. It was 20-17 after Brandon Aubrey hits another kick (as he does).
So, here you go. After all the talk of having a defense that can close a game, let’s see it. On the road, season hanging in the balance, Eagles and 49ers both give you an open door, let’s see it.
First play after the two-minute warning, the Chargers have a 2nd and 2. Great spot to be in, but Micah Parsons makes the play you had been waiting for all night. The suddenness that he explodes through a double-team to smash Herbert to the ground is a singular moment of pure greatness. Just devastating stuff from Parsons who is no doubt happy to be back on the sack train for the first time since Week 3.
The defense would need a third-down stop to get this most important win and with Parsons, Osa Odighizuwa ,and Damone Clark closing down on Herbert, he couldn’t get much on a hopeful heave to Quentin Johnston. Not only is it short, but ballhawk Stephon Gilmore picks it off to save the day.
It wasn’t pretty. It certainly did not quiet Mike McCarthy’s critics and the offensive line looks to still be struggling. There were strides made and a big night by the QB was one of them, especially to get his playmakers involved more.
But, pretty wasn’t important or mandatory. Going into the bye week, all bets were off if they hit 3-3 and already seemed out of the race. This game was about survival and they had plenty of chances in the deep water to stop fighting.
They didn’t, though. They made one more play and found a gritty and gutty win where a loss was very possible. We don’t know if this is a pivotal moment in 2023, but now we get to find out.
There is much work to do, but Monday should not be undersold. That was a very big fork in the road for this team.
We further analyze tomorrow by looking at this offense.
Dallas needed to beat the Chargers somehow to avoid catastrophe. They did.
BOB STURM
OCT 17, 2023
Just win, baby.
At no point on Monday did anyone feel like everything has been fixed and properly put back on path. There is still much that will require addressing and improving, especially if this Cowboys team is going to find its stride in 2023.
Nobody should put their feet up and suggest things are on a wonderful path right now. That is certainly not the case.
But, this league is incredibly difficult and unforgiving with 32 teams doing whatever they can to win a game from week to week. It is often not easy and not aesthetically pleasing, especially when you are on the road and nobody is feeling very happy about the state of affairs.
And sometimes those wins tell us much more about a team than anything you can gain by destroying someone without breaking a sweat.
The Cowboys beat the Los Angeles Chargers on Monday Night, 20-17, in Inglewood, California to hit the bye week at 4-2. They did plenty of things that were frustrating and could be done better. But, the NFL is a bottom-line league and the bottom line is the 2023 season is still in play because they gutted and gritted their way to a hard-earned win that will not gain style points.
If you’ve read this space with any regularity over the years, you know I preach a consistent message: We do not apologize for wins in the NFL.
We especially do not apologize for road wins – against playoff teams that are coming off restful bye weeks as Dallas just was put through the ringer in San Francisco. For the last week, Dallas was having their manhood challenged and dealt with much speculation that they may not have the character to stick together and figure things out. Just a few days ago, the directive from this column right here was pretty clear:
Monday will tell an enormous tale. I want to see a team that believes 2023 is worth fighting for.
I just want to know that this team has championship character. Do they only have fight and resolve when things are easy and they get to play the Giants and Jets? Or do they show the heart of a champion which forces you to take a loss personally and rise up and stop the negative vibes immediately if not sooner.
Are they chomping at the bit to get off the airplane and show the world that they aren’t as soft mentally as they looked in Santa Clara? Are they taking this so personally that the Chargers are just unfortunate to have stepped into the path of a freight train? Or will they benefit because they are playing a team of front runners with weak character?
It is a wonderful chance – going into a bye week – to show us what you are made of. We look forward to your response, Cowboys.
It would be disingenuous to suggest that this team was a freight train on Monday. There were signs of a team that still has plenty of issues. But, I wanted the biggest takeaway on Monday to be whether they could make a stand in a game that would have been easy to lose and to simply refuse to cave in.
And we have to give them that much.
You see, the first five games of this 2023 season have had an average final score of 27.8 points per game. Now, some of have been easy victories and a few – the last two road games – have been humiliating. There hadn’t been any tense fourth quarters. Dallas had been running out the clock by the third hour of these games for the entirety of the season.
But, the fourth quarter is where tests are given. You either figure out a grimy way to win or you don’t. It usually rests on one play here and there where victory is won and it should never represent a perfect performance. Instead, it is about making one play more than your opponent. Maybe even on this ugly Monday in Los Angeles, it was about hoping your opponent let one more opportunity get away than you did.
Let’s recap some of those fourth quarter moments. In particular for the struggling offense, there were three different and vital third-down conversions where Dak Prescott had to figure things out and get points. To this point of the contest, the Cowboys were stuck on 10 points, had just two third-down conversions in the entire game, and had no impact whatsoever in the entire third quarter. None.
3rd and 11 from the Dallas 24 on the 1st snap of the fourth quarter is where we should start. On this play where the league converts roughly 13% of the time, the Cowboys protection broke down immediately. Prescott’s movement in the pocket saved this play from a certain sack. Joey Bosa caved in the pocket on a stunt and Morgan Fox had Dak dead to rights, until Dak was able to elude to the right flat. Here, we normally see Prescott play to the sideline with either a throw or a run and avoid doing dangerous things, like throwing back against the flow of play and over the center line where bad things happen in this league.
But, his periphery pick out of Tony Pollard at the far hash, darting north, and he hit him in stride to where Pollard was past the sticks for the difficult conversion. But, Pollard wasn’t done as he broke the tackle attempt from Michael Davis and gained 60 yards to flip the field and maybe the outcome for the remainder of the game.
A few snaps later, Prescott was able to use CeeDee Lamb and Michael Gallup to occupy the corners and slid Brandin Cooks underneath against a safety and feathers a lovely pass that hits Cooks in the corner of the end zone. Huge moment, great execution and Dallas was up 17-10.
On the next play from scrimmage, Justin Herbert missed a throw to Keenan Allen for a touchdown on a play that was hard to explain. Daron Bland was out of the play and we will simply call it a horrible miss. One you would not expect from a guy who just signed a five year, $262 million deal. It fits well in a new series we may call, “If Dak did that” to compare the league-level hell fire and brimstone that would rain down on anyone who makes that mistake if they are the QB of the Dallas Cowboys. I assume it hits different if you are the QB of the Chargers in the week to follow. By the way, that isn’t the only time he missed a wide-open Allen and you do wonder if the cumulative effects of the Cowboys pass pressure was taking its toll.
Regardless, Dallas would get their stop and force a punt with their touchdown lead intact and now under nine minutes remained.
Only problem was that chaos ensued on that punt. Jalen Tolbert was trying to give Kavontae Turpin space to field the punt, but lost his block against Ja’sir Taylor. When he lost it, Taylor pushed him into Turpin which appeared to cause a muffed punt, only Turpin never touched it. If you could stop the play and tell Tolbert that, everything would be fine, but Tolbert is trying to save a fumble that never happened by hurrying over to fight for the ball, at which point he does touch the ball while trying to recover it before Chargers long snapper Josh Harris can. Good intention allowed the Chargers to get the massive break they needed with the first turnover of the game in either direction.
It would prove costly as four plays later, Los Angeles had its first touchdown since early in the first quarter on a similar concept as Gerald Everett’s route to the near pylon would resemble what Keenan Allen had done for their opening score. The two touchdown passes from Herbert would travel a total of two yards to the exact same spot in the end zone. It was now 17-17 and Dallas was going to need a game-winning drive.
Of course, in modern Cowboys fashion, this critical moment to save the season must first start with a false start and then a sack to put them in a 3rd-and-18 hole. They needed a big moment with under six minutes to go and two defensive penalties by the Chargers in the secondary helps jump start the drive with a fresh set of downs.
But, as was the case all evening, the run game couldn’t get cooking. If you subtract the Prescott runs and the Brandin Cooks’ end around, you are left with 18 carries by the running backs for 42 yards for 2.3 yards per carry. Combine that with the five sacks and constant pressure and we can only surmise it is a good thing the entire first-choice offensive line is all back and in place.
A big time 3rd-and66 throw from Prescott to Lamb for 18 yards might have been the best throw of the night (that was actually caught – Michael Gallup did Dak no favors). This is another spot where you either move the chains or punt with 4:17 to go and Prescott again delivered when needed most.
Three plays later it is now 3rd and 9. This is fringe field goal territory and now he goes back to Cooks for a clutch conversion for 11 yards down to the 21 yard line. They are now in a spot to take the lead. On passes to the two guys who this passing attack must be built on, Lamb and Cooks, Prescott was 11-for-11 for 153 yards for 14 yards per attempt and a touchdown. That will work pretty well.
Nothing is ever easy, though, and Dallas faced one more 3rd and 10 where a wheel route to Tony Pollard is available in the end zone. The throw looked off live, but it is difficult to say whether Prescott missed or the receiver did not quite hit his landmark, but regardless, a chance was missed. It was 20-17 after Brandon Aubrey hits another kick (as he does).
So, here you go. After all the talk of having a defense that can close a game, let’s see it. On the road, season hanging in the balance, Eagles and 49ers both give you an open door, let’s see it.
First play after the two-minute warning, the Chargers have a 2nd and 2. Great spot to be in, but Micah Parsons makes the play you had been waiting for all night. The suddenness that he explodes through a double-team to smash Herbert to the ground is a singular moment of pure greatness. Just devastating stuff from Parsons who is no doubt happy to be back on the sack train for the first time since Week 3.
The defense would need a third-down stop to get this most important win and with Parsons, Osa Odighizuwa ,and Damone Clark closing down on Herbert, he couldn’t get much on a hopeful heave to Quentin Johnston. Not only is it short, but ballhawk Stephon Gilmore picks it off to save the day.
It wasn’t pretty. It certainly did not quiet Mike McCarthy’s critics and the offensive line looks to still be struggling. There were strides made and a big night by the QB was one of them, especially to get his playmakers involved more.
But, pretty wasn’t important or mandatory. Going into the bye week, all bets were off if they hit 3-3 and already seemed out of the race. This game was about survival and they had plenty of chances in the deep water to stop fighting.
They didn’t, though. They made one more play and found a gritty and gutty win where a loss was very possible. We don’t know if this is a pivotal moment in 2023, but now we get to find out.
There is much work to do, but Monday should not be undersold. That was a very big fork in the road for this team.
We further analyze tomorrow by looking at this offense.
