Dallas Cowboys: Is Jason Garrett on his way out in Dallas?

The Dallas Cowboys dropped their Texas rivalry game against the Houston Texans on Sunday in puzzling fashion. Let’s take a look at another coaching blunder.

The Dallas Cowboys lost a close overtime battle against the Houston Texans on Sunday. The battle for bragging rights in the Lone Star State saw some very questionable play calls towards the end of the contest.

Scott Linehan and Jason Garrett are taking the brunt of the blame for the loss as the team was in enemy territory when they decided to punt. The decision was a curious one indeed and has no real explanation.

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This is just another incident in a string of situations were Garrett and Linehan simply have failed this team and extensively the Cowboys front office.

Fourth and one, last three minutes of overtime, Ezekiel Elliott, three Pro Bowl offensive linemen, a mobile quarterback in Dak Prescott, and a versatile speed weapon like Tavon Austin, and this team punts? It’s maddening, truly maddening.

The Dallas Cowboys are 18 for 19 on fourth down attempts during the “Dak and Zeke” era, which just makes this decision even more questionable. The defense played well all game, but never really stopped the Houston Texans from moving the football.

Sure, goal-line stands and fourth down stands occurred, but is that really the reason Garrett and Linehan did not go for it on fourth and one in Texans territory? Probably not, in fact, the Cowboys appear to have been playing for a tie.

As disheartening as it sounds, it seems to be true, because there is no other reason to punt the ball away in scoring territory. If anything, a long field goal attempt would have made more sense because then at least you have a shot to put points on the board.

A punt was just the worst kind of decision. Now I know hindsight is 20/20 but let me ask you guys something, who here thought that punting the football would lead to a Cowboys win? Most football fans saw this move as Dallas waiving the white flag.

The coaching staff must have been watching the Philadelphia Eagles and New York Giants because they seemed to feel fairly comfortable with dropping this game. Even Stephen Jones seems comfortable with mediocrity, as he attributes a lot of the lack of offensive success this season to well, growing pains.

Here is literally the opposite of a hot take, the Dallas Cowboys offense is boring, lacks creativity, and playmakers. Prescott is still developing and needs to work on his accuracy. Dak could develop into the guy the Dallas Cowboys franchise wants however during his formative years, he needs help. When Zeke is the best option in the passing game, something is wrong.

Sure some of the best runners in the NFL were the center points of their offense. Adrian Peterson (Minnesota Vikings), Barry Sanders, etc all dominated the league with their talent and skill, but none of them ever won a Super Bowl, and often it was because of their respective franchises inability to put the proper weapons around them.

This is currently happening, instead of getting a number one wide receiver to be a down the field threat or just, you know, a playmaker, the Cowboys were cheap and got a bunch of bargain guys and cut the one player who even was remotely close to that category (Dez Bryant).

So now the offense is supposed to open up because teams will be focused on stopping Zeke? Well that’s all well and good, but who is Dak throwing too? It is a vicious cycle of blame that has no end in sight until the Cowboys find a receiver who can be their DeAndre Hopkins.

Emmitt Smith had Michael Irving and to a lesser extend Deion Sanders, all good running backs need their counterpart in the passing game unless they can pull double duty (Alvin Kamara/Le’Veon Bell).

The coaching would not seem nearly as bad if the Dallas Cowboys had a halfway decent receiving corps, depth along the offensive line and tight end position. In 2016 the Cowboys were successful despite conservative coaching, now it is only adding to their litany of issues.

Somewhat like the Seattle Seahawks and Pete Carroll how if your Jason Garrett can you not trust this offensive line, and Elliott enough to get a single yard? The leading rushing in the NFL cannot convert a fourth and one?

Or did Garrett simply over think this situation or did he give up earlier on? There were a lot of conservative calls in this contest and unless you have guaranteed playmakers, conservative coaching does not help teams win football games.

The Dallas Cowboys have to loosen up the play calling and really trust their players and scheme more if they want to win close games. With the Jacksonville Jaguars next on the schedule, the Dallas Cowboys coaching staff needs to be ready to be flexible.

Next. Dallas Cowboys: Week Five three keys to victory. dark

This game is a fantastic opportunity to shut down the noise and criticism this season has already spawned. Garrett and Linehan must take advantage of this because if they don’t the Jaguars will bury Dallas and essentially any hopes of being competitive in the playoffs.

Published on 10/09/2018 at 12:00 PM
Last updated at 10/09/2018 at 11:47 AM

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