Dallas Cowboys are their own worst enemy: 3 things that must fixed
By Dink Kearney
Dallas Cowboys are their own worst enemy
Issue #2 Running the ball equals success. Not passing it.
After Dallas’ success of running the ball in their six victories, I believed Dallas’ coaching staff had seen the light and found their blueprint for a successful season. Man…was I wrong. As soon as “Boy Wonder” (offensive coordinator Kellen Moore) was left unsupervised, him and Dak Prescott had a field day and decided to pass the ball 46 times to tune of three touchdowns and two crucial interceptions that led to their demise.
I understand Dallas’ defense squandered a two-touchdown lead and are just as culpable as those costly interceptions. But two things can be true, too.
Yes, I blame Dak, too, because he is the quarterback and can audible out of passing plays. Of course, I know Dalton Schultz and CeeDee Lamb are to blame on both of those ill-advised passes, but if the offense runs the ball, those interceptions never happen. Period. Or pick a simpler pass play.
It makes no sense to pass the ball in the middle of the end zone with that much traffic.
During its four-game winning streak and two victories with Dak under center, Dallas found its mojo with its running game behind Ezekiel Elliott and Tony Pollard terrorizing opposing defenses. The dynamic tandem complements each other so much that you can almost predict when one of them is about to score.
Another positive is Pollard has four rushing touchdowns in the past two games while his counterpart recovers from an injury. That speaks volumes about Pollard’s ability to reach pay dirt and carry the load as the featured back.
In contrast to Dak’s 46 pass attempts, Dallas ran the ball 31 times for 159 yards and one touchdown. But here is where you scratch your head: Pollard averaged 5.2 yards per carry and rookie running back, Malik Davis, averaged 7.6 yards per carry on just five carries.
Why Dallas abandoned the run is a question only “Boy Wonder”, Coach Big Mac, and Dak can truthfully answer.
This is the second game this season where Dallas’ offense gave up on the run too early and lost (Tampa Bay was the first game). Running the ball is where Dallas has found so much success with the play action pass and where Dak has passed for touchdowns, including the Packers game. Once again, Dallas’ offensive linemen are better at run blocking than pass protection.
And because Dallas no longer has Amari Cooper and Cedrick Wilson to lean for those big plays, running the ball with play action pass opens up big opportunities for CeeDee Lamb, Michael Gallup and their rookie tight ends, Jake Ferguson and Peyton Hendershot.
Even though we have seen Dak sling the ball 40 plus times for 400 yards and a few touchdowns, we witnessed Dallas lose those games more than win them. Historically, most quarterbacks lose those games when they have 35 or more passing attempts. If the opportunity presents itself and Dak has to pass the ball 40 times, so be it because we know he can deliver.
But when Dallas’ running backs are both averaging over 5 yards a carry against the 27th rank run defense, common sense must prevail and running the ball must be the number one priority. In order for Dallas to maintain its current spot in the wildcard rankings, it must commit to running the ball because they face several teams that are susceptible to stopping the run.