4 moments that altered Dallas Cowboys 2021 season
Rushing Offense versus the Atlanta Falcons
A rather specific moment in a list with many obvious ones, this game struck a chord with me for some reason. The Atlanta Falcons had one of the worst defenses this year so it wasn’t particularly surprising that they lost 43-3 to Dallas. Dak Prescott rebounded from the loss against Denver with a near 300-yard, 3-total touchdown game, however, the rushing attack generated 114 yards on 37 attempts giving an average of… 3.1 yards per carry.
Against the fourth worst rushing defense according to defensive DVOA!
This win was great because the Cowboys absolutely dominated through the air, on defense, and on special teams, but their inability to run the ball with players who didn’t have a torn PCL *cough Tony Pollard cough* was concerning. Connor Williams was playing and it still didn’t seem to affect the Cowboys’ ability to run block.
This game said a lot more about the Cowboys offense as the season went along because it hinted at the possibility that this team was going to be one-dimensional down the stretch, and not one-dimensional in a good way. Unsurprisingly, this game correctly predicted how the season would trend as the Cowboys struggled to play physically against teams with better, physical defensive lines.
Response to Arizona Cardinals Game
Cowboys LB Leighton Vander Esch on coach Mike McCarthy's message to players in postgame locker room after loss to Cardinals: "We got to keep battling with everybody, not just the other team. If you catch my drift."
— Michael Gehlken (@GehlkenNFL) January 3, 2022
Dallas was the most penalized team averaging 7.8 penalties per game. This was a trend in the Jason Garrett era, an era of Cowboys football that prioritized discipline and execution above all. This Cowboys team has undergone a paradigm shift of being more creative, adaptable, and aggressive, but this somehow hasn’t changed the fact that the Cowboys are league leaders in penalties.
It isn’t necessarily a coincidence that some of the most penalized football games involve the Cowboys, but it is fairly juvenile to tell your entire team that every game the referees are actively working against you and using that as adversity for your team. This mindset also doesn’t take accountability for the penalties that you commit that aren’t up for judgment.
In the last game against the 49ers, there were offside penalties that were definitely false start penalties, but the same can’t be said for offensive holding, hands to the face, and delay of game penalties that the team also committed. It also shouldn’t matter that the opposition didn’t get called for penalties, the head coach needs to manage his team and his team only.
The lack of accountability this season has been odd given how committed this team was to play a cat and mouse style of offense with an incredibly aggressive defense. In order for both of these aspects to be successful, guys need to be knowledgeable of when they are wrong and figure out ways to combat these mistakes. Not gripe about them…
Next. What is Dalton Schultz worth?. dark
I felt these four moments in Dallas’s tumultuous 2021 season were most pertinent when assessing the swift downfall of this particular team. Hopefully, the coaching staff can reflect on how the season ended and correct their mistakes for the upcoming season, because if not there won’t be much patience left with Cowboys fans and the front office in this particular group of coaches reaching the promise land of the team’s sixth Super Bowl.