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Morning After Week 6 - GOTI Failure at Lambeau
Dallas has an offensive problem and the situation is getting dire as Cowboys fall to 2-4.
Bob Sturm3 hours ago
This one is going to be fairly straightforward today. I think there are some games where there are a number of explanations and reasons and then there are other games where you don’t have to squint to see what has happened.
This would be the latter.
The Dallas Cowboys are presently built and have been built for a while on the back of their offense. In particular, there are a few guys that we go on and on about with their ability to make difficult things look very easy. They have a QB who has been here a very long time and has done some very nice things, but remains stuck at a tier where this outcome becomes too common. They have a pair of WRs who are well-compensated as well in a way that suggests that they should never be the issue.
Yes, this team has shortcomings, but the strengths need to be the strengths on a regular basis. Sure, there might be nights where it is difficult, but, the strengths are clearly leveraged heavily because the weaknesses require it. We know all of this and have been down this road over and over again.
So, as I write you today from a kitchen table where I can literally see Lambeau Field to my left, I must tell you that we really don’t have to complicate this essay too much. The reasons for a very flat and disappointing effort from the Dallas Cowboys on Sunday Night vs the Green Bay Packers are not terribly difficult to explain.
I think the fingerprints of this ugly performance are clear. Yes, there were plenty of moments in this game where we could look at other components of this roster, but for me, this will always be about an offense that was hired and tasked with leading this team through tough settings like Sunday Night and instead, they looked like they had no answers or solutions to any of their issues. They were brutally unimpressive in the 1st half and by then were down three scores again. They did not compete at the level they need to compete and given the moment and the need to play one of your best games, this has to fall squarely on the shoulders of Brian Schottenheimer, Klayton Adams, Dak Prescott and this offense.
They failed this test badly after failing badly vs Tampa Bay and then having 10 days to get ready for this one.
The GOTI jokes are everywhere. I have not spent much time on this made up term, but since we are here and since I am pretty upset at what we sat through last night from simply wanting to see something better than a complete and utter no-show, I will make time to address the silly self-applied term this morning.
The term “GOTI” stands for “Greatest Offense There Is” and is one of those moments where the QB1 probably wishes he wasn’t so public in his goals for the new season. We often wonder why professional athletes decide to say nothing of substance when they have to talk to the media – Troy Aikman was pretty good at this when he was the QB and only after he retired did we find out he had interesting things to say. But, Dak has been vulnerable and transparent recently about his dreams of taking this team to a higher tier in this NFL and he might have made the target on his back even bigger.
You can ask the internet about the origin of GOTI and this is what it will tell you about the origin story. It stems from July 30th when Dak confirmed it in Oxnard:
Well, here is the thing about talking about that sort of thing. There will be a test and it will usually hit every Sunday throughout the season. People will hold you to that standard that you set for yourself because there are millions of people who want to see it badly. They have been waiting for the Cowboys to return to glory since they were young and it does seem like the best route to that revival. Maybe if this offense can produce 30-a-game, then everything else will be ok and doable. But, the offense must deliver on this promise.
Now, again, I don’t want to do this sort of thing very often because I’m not getting hit in the ribs by a freight train while I am trying to throw a football. It is very easy for us to ask those guys to run the “touchdown play” more often. But, after watching the Tampa Bay debacle which was brutally poor from the offense, I was positive that this game would be quite an answer from the stars on this team. They had a long rest and the response would be important against an opponent that is gettable and without its elite talent as Micah Parsons and Edgerrin Cooper are in street clothes. They even lost Javon Hargrave last week and all three players are missing a full year with major injuries although Parsons is weeks from his return. Regardless, nobody thinks of Green Bay any more than Tampa Bay as elite defenses. They are gettable.
And that is the thing about Green Bay right now. They are just as vulnerable and susceptible as Dallas is. They have a very low level of confidence and have felt their season hanging by a thread at several moments of this campaign. That is why seeing Dallas never seem to look a threat to get a result on Sunday Night is so disappointing. Nobody should think either of the bays who just beat them are better or more talented football teams. But, they are playing well enough to beat Dallas and that is why right now feels like a very rough spot for this coaching staff and its star players.
Last night was not acceptable.
Let’s discuss in greater detail.
Below is the Offensive Drive log for Dallas on Sunday and the lines show you the four quarters of the game. Essentially, they had two drives per quarter and a third one in garbage time of the final quarter when the stadium was emptying out into the night.
So, the game starts with Dallas getting the ball first and being able to set the tone, send a message, and even draw first blood. All of that good stuff you seek to start a game.
Dallas takes nice field position and moves into Green Bay territory where they face a 3rd and 4 from the Green Bay 47. A quick pass to Javonte Williams gets nothing and Schotty has a chance to show how much he believes in his offense to dictate terms on this perfect weather night in Wisconsin. Instead, he runs on the punt team. I swear I do not understand how an offensive coach can have this much talent – his entire offense is perfectly healthy and in place – and punt from opposing territory in a game like this.
Green Bay takes the punt and drives the entire field and scores a touchdown. You are now already behind and chasing the game.
Second drive for the Cowboys features a penalty on Tyler Guyton (false start) and one on Tyler Booker (ineligible man downfield) and they face a 3rd and 12. Here comes a blitz from Green Bay and what I believe is a poor throw to CeeDee Lamb that arrives at his feet. Even if he caught it he would have been short, but it is incomplete, so they punt again.
The second Green Bay drive is a momentous occasion as the Dallas defense rises up for a sack and an interception from Dee Winters. It was the Cowboys’ first interception since Week 15 of the 2025 season when Quinnen Williams got one, ending a streak of 256 opponent pass attempts without a pick. This was also their first INT of the 2026 season (after going 0-for the first five games) and ended an eight-game drought overall (the final three games of 2025 plus the first five of 2026), which was the longest such streak in franchise history when combining seasons. Oh, and one more fact, apparently Winters breaks a drought from the LBs where the last Dallas linebacker with an interception was Eric Kendricks way back in 2024 at Carolina.
Regardless, Winters thought he also had a touchdown, but apparently the back of the hand of Matthew Golden was ruled to have touched him down back at the 42. This would prove to be a massive ruling (but, likely a correct one) and Dallas would count on their offense to go get them tied in this game with a very short field and the beauty of the defense setting them up with that takeaway on a very nice play from Winters.
Here comes the mighty offense with its lofty goals and standards. On 2nd and 8 from the Green Bay 17, Dak is looking for CeeDee down the left sideline in the end zone, but Green Bay again brings a blitz and LB Zaire Franklin is untouched until he is blasting Dak’s rib cage as he throws the incomplete pass. Dak is hurting, but gets ready for a 3rd and 8.
On the next play, the game changes dramatically. This one is not a blitz, but it is deployed to look like one. If you can see the weak-side safety Evan Williams, he is trying to sell that he is rushing, but then circles back to undercut the Cowboys’ favorite route, the post to Lamb from the opposite side.
There is no question that they fooled the Cowboys badly and ambushed them here. Jonathan Gannon deserves a ton of credit for this, but the Cowboys also need to have better answers for a defense like this. The QB is definitely not expecting a backside player at the line of scrimmage to get back on a post route from the slot, but if this were baseball, we would say they were stealing signs. Evan Williams is somehow sure of this route and acts on it. Either Dallas is too predictable or they were just badly out-coached on this vital moment.
The defense finally gets a turnover and then the offense turns it right back. It is still early, but if you had to pick one play of the game that altered the outcome, it is surely this one. And for me, it reminds me a bit of Dak and CeeDee and their trip to Lambeau in 2022 where they also had a 3rd down throw in a 7-0 game and it was very similar in almost every way.
Same end zone and everything and same opportunity missed. Now, in 2022, Dallas came storming back and took a big lead before eventually having the game cave in to Aaron Rodgers and Christian Watson. This evening would be much more painful.
Green Bay would have quite a few dropped passes and perhaps three dropped touchdowns. The one down the sidelines to Matthew Golden who was well behind his man, Ameer Speed, was the most egregious. Green Bay would settle for a field goal and it was 10-0.
Again, here is the vital moment where they need GOTI to show some life. The Cowboys drive back down and if they play this correctly as we hit the 2-minute warning, they can use the rest of the clock and get a touchdown to get to halftime with a 10-7 game. If they do that, then you feel great about getting a very competitive 2nd half.
But, of course, they would not do that. 1st and 15 from Green Bay’s 28 is just the most ridiculous interception you will ever see as maybe the best WR in the industry is running the most simple route at the most simplest speed. And CeeDee Lamb just falls down. Like Daron Bland the week before, there is nothing an opponent does to cause this and there really doesn’t seem to be anyone on the other side falling down. Just Cowboys falling that will lead to catastrophic moments. This one, of course, is the first NFL interception from rookie corner Brandon Cisse and another drive ends with nothing.
And, of course, instead of 10-7 at the half, it quickly becomes 17-0 Green Bay as they go right down the field in nine plays and score on a Jordan Love QB sneak on a drive where Dallas again cannot get off the field on 3rd down repeatedly.
Green Bay went 9 for 10 on 3rd downs in the 1st half with many of them long. For the game they went 11 of 18. Dallas went 5 of 13 with their great offense. Again, Dallas lost the turnover battle (2-1), lost the explosive play battle (5-1), and scored just 13 points on 10 offensive drives.
They were lifeless coming off extra rest and a home stinker and now they feel like everything is broken. They are 2-4 and in a very bad division where we find out Jalen Hurts is done for the year, but this also feels like the 2026 Texas Rangers where they are not very good, but also not out of things.
Where do they go from here? This offense will either lead them back or it will get their coach fired in 2026. Schottenheimer is 9-13-1 in 23 games as Dallas Cowboys coach and the mountain of evidence is starting to grow that they are not receiving a coaching advantage from their current staff.
Things are bad right now and there is nothing GOTI about what we have seen recently, so we can probably put that nonsense moniker to bed. Dak Prescott was badly outplayed by Jordan Love and the Cowboys made the Packers’ job way too easy last night. I wish I could tell you where they go from here, but there is no telling. I do know this, to put that effort out there in that situation does not bode well for the optimistic side of my brain.
That was absolutely an awful showing in a very big spot.