dpf1123
DCC 4Life
- Joined
- Apr 8, 2013
- Messages
- 3,205
The Morning After Week 3 – The Agony of Defeat
A thriller in Rio ends in a painful loss for Dallas after Baltimore only needed seven seconds.
Bob Sturm2 hours ago
“We lost. I'll give it an F.”
- Brian Schottenheimer in post-game when asked to grade the performance vs the Ravens
The NFL is just the best league there is. I’m sorry, because I love other sports, but there is nothing quite as lovely as watching three consecutive games on a Sunday where you see six teams who all seem to be very strong squads battle for about 10 consecutive hours and have almost no margin between victory and defeat.
In the noon window, the Bengals and Steelers did battle in a game that went 60 minutes between two teams that think they are going to the playoffs. At night, the Broncos and Rams had a ridiculous classic that went back and forth to the final gun, where the losing team felt like it had won it and the winning team thought they had lost it on several occasions. Both of those teams also believe they will be going to the playoffs and maybe meet again in the Super Bowl.
But, between them — in Brazil, no less — the Cowboys and the Ravens squared off in what has to be considered among the greatest international games the NFL has ever put on (not that hard of a bar to clear since most of the international games seem nearly unwatchable) and threw haymakers at each other into the evening in Rio before the victory was won as the final seconds expired.
In each game, the victory was flawed and the loser did many things well. But, in each game, the losing team must accept the double whammy of reality in this league: You are already taking massive damage to your roster by engaging in these weekly battles with injuries, fatigue, and body blows that will weaken the roster badly. It is even worse to sustain that much ruin to a pristine roster and also lose a game that you cannot believe you just lost. If you are going to pay the toll, you at least have to cross over the bridge to make it worth the while.
Instead, Dallas suffered an awful defeat. One in which they offered too many shortfalls at too many different moments to enjoy all of the good things that were accomplished in Week 3. A victorious report this morning would have so many glowing things to say about some of the young players stepping into important spots and moving the organization forward. A victorious report would have plenty to say about this coaching staff doing what other staffs could not do — to win a street fight against a league heavyweight away from the Death Star.
Yet, here we are again. We know this place because it feels like a place we never leave around here. It is a defeat when it seemed they could have done better. It is yet another loss when victory seemed so close and even earned.
But, if there is one thing the NFL teaches you every Sunday, it’s that victories are only earned if you do those important things late in these games because the opponent will not stop fighting until the last play has finished.
And apparently, scoring with seven seconds left is still too much time.
The ways Brian Schottenheimer will be second-guessed about losing this one in regulation will be the official end of his honeymoon. Even those who most value vibes in today’s head coaches will have to recalculate where Schottenheimer’s ceiling is as the fanbase wanders through Year 31 in the wilderness looking for their next savior.
There are moments when Schottenheimer does look like the best coach than Dallas had had here since Parcells, but there are also times where he looks like a more comfortable version of Jason Garrett in a visor. Schotty has charm, excellent first-impressions, and could probably talk you into a time-share property, but that isn’t the job around here. The job is to maximize what he has and to turn this franchise into a winner in situations just like this one. To see the pieces on the chess board and to not get out-coached or out-witted by the rookie head coach across the field.
But, in this case, they lost a game in which they had a 1st and Goal at the 2-yard line with 23 seconds to play and four cracks to get a massive win. If they don’t, the absolute worst case scenario should be overtime. To be sitting on the cusp of a huge win and manage to lose in regulation is simply the worst case scenario all around. And it required several coaching decisions that all had to fail.
Before we detail those decisions and issues, I would like to go back to my overall reservations about what we have seen from Schottenheimer as a game manager from midway through his first year as Cowboys Head Coach in 2025. As I follow the NFL closely on a daily basis, I see that there are many ways and dispositions to be successful as the top man on game day. But, the variety of coaches reduces quickly when we talk about flawed teams who wish to punch at or above their weight. Those coaches have to demonstrate a rather consistent and flawless aggression to how they do things. They have to channel their best Jimmy Johnson or Bruce Arians where they are looking for birdies when others are careful to protect par. There is a “no risk it, no biscuit” attitude about them that doesn’t always work, but it is consistent in word and deed to the belief that “I am either going to win this game or die trying.” This then results in a conclusion that know if it doesn’t work and they ultimately get fired from the job they love, at least they went down with their best punches. At least they emptied the clip. At least they never coached scared.
In the case of Brian Schottenheimer, I am seeing too much evidence that he isn’t clear on his situation. The first time in occured to me in Denver when he played it safe against the Broncos and punted when they were down 13 already and needed to use their offense to try to “keep up”, but instead trusted the defense ended the game.
In New York in Week 1, on the very first drive of the game, they did the same thing. They punted on fourth-and-short and depended on the defense. The defense quickly collapsed under the pressure of any expectation at all.
Yesterday, again, fourth down and reasonable from midfield, you cannot punt it. Heck, 4th and 6 from the 41, I am not asking Brandon Aubrey to kick a 59-yard field goal through the third quarter. I have to understand that I have a top QB and top WRs and every team in the league fears them. I cannot be afraid of allowing them to determine our path.
And yes, on third-and-goal from the 5-yard line with the game on the line, I am never telling my QB to throw the ball into the stands unless protection has broken down and we have nothing. Unfortunately, due to a number of details including the first snap of Broderick Jones at right tackle for an injured Terence Steele and not having any timeouts left, that is what happened.
The pylon throw is there. Now, this is an obvious second-guess by looking at the tape above, but come on. That is George Pickens. One of the most imposing and physical receivers in the business. He is big and he plays big. He is going against 182-pound Nate Wiggins and I have to give Pickens the chance. 24-Malaki Starks is sitting on the slant, so we have to avoid that, but the back shoulder to the near pylon seems like a play where Pickens simply walls off Wiggins and we take our chances.
I love the call and I love the matchup. Seize the day and go get your dinner. Put the anticipation throw outside Pickens where only he can catch it and may the football gods smile upon us.
Instead, it sure sounds like the coach called his own foul from the post-game podium. I want you to pay special attention to the phrase, “because we had the points.”
Later, Prescott on the same topic:
Now, if you go back and hit the tape, Dak isn’t wrong. It does look like Wiggins is setting up outside to funnel Pickens to Starks. And if someone is outside leverage, the near pylon back-shoulder or quick-out is not an option. But, Wiggins felt George was going to try to go to the back pylon on a fade and gave up position. Pickens had it, but now Dak has already decided to listen to his coach and the ball was gone.
Should Dak have taken the moment over? I think the answer is clear. And it is made clear because all week, it will be him that is mocked and laughed at for airmailing a throw over an open Pickens. It is his reputation and legacy as it is for all the big time QBs. Yes, they all had coaches along the way, but it is up to you to “make the call right” by over-riding the directives to get your team the win because you made a play. You don’t want your 8th grade QB to go rogue, but that is why you will pay Prescott almost half a billion dollars over the course of his career. Because, he is essentially a member of the coaching staff. At 33 years old, I need him to feel like he can go be a hero, not a compliant and obedient QB1 if the coach is wanting to play for a field goal.
The point is that the play was there to be made and it wasn’t. We cannot sit here and act like the coach or the QB are blameless somehow at the other’s expense. This is their entire rodeo – together. They must share the spoils and the blame and right now, I get the impression that they both hope that they were only part of the math. But, as far as I am concerned, I need my coach to understand that my best way to win is to believe Prescott can hit a dinner plate to the outside shoulder of George Pickens at the near pylon. And then empower him to go get it. And I need my QB to know that the coach was hired to help him and sometimes you have to trust your training.
Because once the ball leaves his hand on that throw, he no longer has a role to play in the game. From here on out, Prescott, Pickens, and Lamb all go to the sideline and hope for the best.
Now, it is out of their hands completely and over to the special teams where the highest paid kicker in NFL history has launched two kickoffs out of bounds, so to be safe, they decide to run no time off the clock and just concede a touchback. We all know the benefits of squib kicks to exhaust remaining seconds, so we won’t elaborate on this too far, but yes, that is another painful game management mistake that should produce anger this morning. You only had to kill seven seconds, so the idea that 2-3 of them are gone with a squib is beyond reasonable.
And finally, the coverage on the Ravens only play from their own 35-yard line where Lamar Jackson needs about 25 yards to get the ball into remote field goal range and instead he got 27 while also getting the timeout with :01 left. There is probably only one receiver who can pull this off and that is Zay Flowers. So, whatever you do guys, don’t turn Zay Flowers loose in the deep middle at the edge of field goal range, ok?
Got it, boss.
Somehow, the Cowboys claim they are in Cover 1-Robber, even though that is not a particularly common call with time for one play. In almost every case, teams run what we consider to be “safe zones” here. Keep it in front of you and have insurance if one player slips that his guy won’t go the distance.
But, Dallas decides to play man. Why? The Ravens have two in-cuts. One is Andrews at the sticks (which of course doesn’t matter since time will expire). The deeper one is Flowers and that is the one that has to be covered.
Now, who is the robber? 14-Bell. He starts next to 11-Clark, but dives down to “rob” the in-cutter. But, why would he rob the TE when Flowers is the blinking light? I assume this is Bell reading it wrong as he reads a lot wrong as a cover safety and was only there due to injury, but this feels like a bad coaching call and a bad player read.
I cannot believe they managed to lose this game in regulation. Three straight calls and if they get any of them right, Dallas at least forces overtime. Due to the depleted secondary, I think overtime is a bad idea, but that is why I am trying to win on that 3rd and goal.
Overall, I leave this game feeling a lot better about the 2026 Cowboys in terms of the way they battled, defended, and produced. There was plenty of good out of this.
But, nobody will want to hear that due to the incredibly poor final :14 seconds in Brazil. They had this one and they let it get away. The thing that will stick with me moving forward is that I need much more from Schottenheimer in these spots against rookie head coaches. He won’t see another one for a while, but this is simply not good enough.
The coach and his staff did not do the team any favors this week and it is their job to get their decisions right enough to feel they at least broke even. That did not happen here and Dallas is now chasing back to Texas as a battered team that badly needs a win in Houston against a team with plenty of its own problems right now.
This one got away.
