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By Jon Machota Oct 4, 2020
ARLINGTON, Texas, — The anger came through clearly in his voice. A 1-3 record is not how Mike McCarthy expected to start his first season as Cowboys head coach. The worst part? He’s extremely fortunate Dallas isn’t 0-4.
“I’m disappointed,” McCarthy said immediately after the Cowboys’ 49-38 loss to the Cleveland Browns Sunday at AT&T Stadium. “I think now that we have four games under our belt, we need to start games better. We need to do a better job of bringing our preparation to the performance and that starts with me. When your team performs and makes similar mistakes, four weeks is a pattern. So this pattern needs to stop. That starts with leadership. That will be the focus come tomorrow.”
According to several players, a lack of confidence was a major point of emphasis by McCarthy in the postgame locker room.
“We got to figure this thing out,” Cowboys running back Ezekiel Elliott said. “We got to figure out how to find some confidence. We got to figure out just how to come out hotter. We are coming out with no confidence at the beginning of the game, and it is showing.”
Dallas fell behind 7-0 on Sunday before rallying to take a 14-7 lead late in the first quarter. Dak Prescott, who finished with a career-high 502 passing yards and four passing touchdowns, was brilliant in the first quarter, throwing for a franchise record 174 yards and two touchdowns in the first 15 minutes. But things quickly came apart.
The Cowboys’ next two possessions ended in lost fumbles; one by Elliott and the other on a Prescott sack. The Browns scored touchdowns on both ensuing possessions, increasing their lead to 28-14. It marked the second consecutive game where the Cowboys turned the ball over on consecutive possessions. At Seattle, Prescott threw an interception late in the first half and then fumbled early in the third quarter.
Like the Seahawks game, Dallas rallied. Once again, it was not enough.
Prescott has thrown for over 450 yards in three consecutive games, setting an NFL record. He’s currently on pace to throw for an NFL record 6,760 yards and a career-high 36 touchdowns.
“I’d give all those yards back for a different record,” Prescott said. “I care about one stat, and that’s to win. When we don’t do that, no other stats matter.”
Looking back on how this season has started, the Cowboys lost a close one to the Rams, played arguably the worst first half that a Dallas team has played in the last decade before rallying to beat the Falcons, lost a shootout in Seattle and then nearly got blown out by the Browns before rallying to make it somewhat interesting in the final minutes.
Without an incredibly fortunate “watermelon” onside kick against Atlanta, the Cowboys could easily be one of the league’s five winless teams. Fortunately enough for them, they play in the NFC East, where 1-3 is good enough to be a half-game back of first-place Philadelphia.
That’s pretty stunning for a team that has set a franchise record by allowing a league-worst 146 points through their first four games. The last time the Cowboys started 1-3? It was in 2010, the year when Wade Phillips was fired midseason and Jason Garrett took over as interim head coach. Dallas started 1-7 before rallying to a 6-10 finish.
“I don’t like the pattern of the four games that we played,” McCarthy said. “The points are outrageous. The time of possession is totally lopsided. We’re minus-seven in the turnover ratio. That’s not a winning formula.”
To better dissect what happened Sunday, let’s take a look at the five biggest areas of concern.
1.) They can’t stop anyone on defense.
Can it be fixed? Maybe.
New defensive coordinator Mike Nolan is implementing a new scheme. There was talk a couple of weeks ago about simplifying things. One of the big changes from last year was becoming less predictable and more multiple. The players have seemed to struggle with the adjustment, most notably on the back end, where too many receivers have been running wide open. That wasn’t as much of a problem Sunday because the Browns really didn’t need to throw. They were too busy destroying the Cowboys on the ground for 307 yards on 40 carries. That’s especially alarming for two reasons: 1.) Everyone knew that’s what Cleveland came into the game wanting to do. 2.) Star running back Nick Chubb exited with a knee injury after only six carries. Basically, the Browns ran with whoever they wanted — and got almost eight yards per carry.
“It’s not my job to worry about scheme or worry about where the next man is going,” said Cowboys defensive end DeMarcus Lawrence, among the few Cowboys who seemed to hold up OK against the run. “I already have a hard enough job myself. It’s all about just attacking, and I don’t feel like we are doing that at all as a unit.”
So for as much as many want to blame the new coaching staff, a lack of defensive talent also deserves its share. Middle linebacker Leighton Vander Esch and reserve linebacker Sean Lee are on injured reserve. Former Pro Bowl defensive tackle Gerald McCoy was lost to a quad injury before the season started. Not to say they would’ve made a huge difference, but it’s clear that Dallas’ defensive personnel hasn’t held their own through four games. Don’t look for any major moves to bolster the roster.
The greatest hope might come with the return of edge rusher Randy Gregory in two weeks. But let’s be honest: There hasn’t been much reason to feel optimistic about this defensive group suddenly turning things around.
“We got to hold ourselves to a higher standard,” Lawrence said. “We got to play together as one. And I don’t feel like we are holding ourselves accountable, including myself. So, I call the shit soft, and we will get better from it.”
Added linebacker Joe Thomas: “It’s a long road, long season. We’ve just got to nip our problems in the bud right now to get this shit rolling, and that’s how we’re going forward.”
(Photo: Tim Heitman-USA TODAY Sports)
2.) Takeaways on defense.
Can it be fixed? Highly unlikely.
This franchise hasn’t had a defense take the ball away consistently since 2014. Through four games, Dallas has two takeaways. One came on a Chidobe Awuzie interception that should’ve been flagged because Aldon Smith illegally hit Rams quarterback Jared Goff in the head. The other was rookie cornerback Trevon Diggs’ forced fumble that went through the back of the end zone after Seattle wide receiver D.K. Metcalf burned the Cowboys’ secondary.
No question Dallas has to do a better job taking care of the ball on offense to get the turnover ratio where McCarthy wants it, but they also need help from the defense to steal a few possessions and give the offense an occasional short field to work with. I’m not sure we can count on that happening too often this season.
3.) Coaching.
Can it be fixed? Yes.
This team hasn’t looked well-coached since Week 1. The argument can be made that they didn’t have the typical offseason because of COVID-19. But the Browns’ new coaching staff had the same limitations, and it doesn’t seem to have been much of an issue.
The Cowboys have several veteran coaches with a proven track record. They should be able to get this squad turned around to where at least there aren’t as many blown assignments, careless turnovers or sloppy tackling. It is interesting to look back at this story from June about how head coaches who have won Super Bowls performed in their first year with a new team. Success rarely come immediately, even with coaches who have proven to be successful.
Elliott said Cowboys practices were “crisp” last week, adding, “It probably was our best week of practice.”
Prescott mentioned the coaches when asked what gives him confidence that things can get turned around.
“The men that we have on this team and the coaches,” he said. “We’ve got great leaders, and that starts with Coach McCarthy. He’s one of those coaches that it hurts when you lose a game like this. It hurts that you let him down. You’re more hurt that you disappoint him, and you’d rather him be mad at you. He comes in each and every day and leads the right way, and we have to be better executing on the field for him and the rest of the coaches. Just taking and translating what we do throughout the week onto the game field on Sunday.
“Each and every man on this team and the resiliency of this team together will show as we keep moving forward this season.”
4.) Offensive line play.
Can it be fixed? Maybe.
Tyron Smith returning at left tackle after missing the last two games with neck stingers is obviously a good sign. But losing La’el Collins to season-ending hip surgery is a major blow. The right tackle position will now be in the hands of Brandon Knight and Terence Steele. Will they become better with experience? Probably. But will that be enough to give Prescott consistent time in the passing game and create enough space for Elliott on the ground? That remains to be seen.
Rookie center Tyler Biadasz has filled in nicely for Joe Looney, so that is another positive sign. Right guard is the strongest position, with perennial Pro Bowler Zack Martin holding it down. Connor Williams continues to be inconsistent at left guard, but the Cowboys have shown no signs of making a change at that position. Dallas has been known for having one of the league’s best offensive lines. That’s no longer the case. But it has the potential to be good enough.
5.) Taking care of the ball on offense.
Can it be fixed? Yes.
The number of fumbles has been alarming, particularly in the two home games. It’s hard to believe that will be an issue all season. Elliott and Prescott, particularly, just have to be better in this area.
“I don’t care how we’re playing on defense or special teams; we’re minus-seven for the year,” McCarthy said of the turnover ratio. “That’s unacceptable. It will not be the identity of this football team. It can’t be. Until we all get on the same page and get that part corrected, we’re going to be in no-huddle offense for a quarter and a half.
Three of the four games, we’ve gotten behind by two scores.
“We have the ability to play wide-open, which is a real credit to our pass protection unit, our quarterback and our perimeter. But at the end of the day, we are not helping our defense if that’s the way we need to play. So, we are not complementing each other right now. It starts with stopping the run on defense, and it starts with running the football, action passing and taking care of the football. We haven’t got that done one time in our four games.”
