3 Mistakes the Cowboys Can't Afford to Repeat in Week 4

There's a ton of blame to go around after the Dallas Cowboys' loss in Week 3. No matter who you have your pitchfork pointed at, though, this defeat falls on everyone's shoulders.

Dallas was lackadaisical across the board facing an inferior opponent, and it cost them. However, they can use this experience to learn and get better. With that in mind, here are three mistakes they cannot repeat in Week 4.

Mistakes Cowboys Can't Repeat vs. Patriots in Week 4

1. Being Sloppy and Drawing Penalties

Week 3 was a whistle-fest for the Cowboys. While Dallas did receive a few unjust calls, the team still had some unforced errors that didn't make life any easier.

A trio of first-half penalties stick out as plays absolute killers. First there was Daron Bland's pass-inference call that gifted the Cardinals 25 yards, taking them from their 35 to Dallas' 43. That serious boost in field position helped Arizona cash in five plays later with a touchdown to take an early 9-0 lead.

One drive later, the Cowboys shot themselves in the foot again. This time it was Jourdan lewis, whose defensive holding penalty negated a stop on 3rd-and-11, providing the Cards another set of downs when they should've been punting. It only two Arizona two plays to score another touchdown as Rondale Moore scampered 45 yards to begin the second quarter.

Dallas' sloppy play burned the team to close the first half as well. On the team's last possession of the second quarter, CeeDee Lamb hauled in a nice 12-yard reception, but an offensive pass interference call on him backed the Cowboys into 1st-and-20.

Unsurprisingly, the offense struggled to convert this and was forced to punt. The Cardinals then had enough time on the clock to kick another field goal, giving Arizona a 21-10 lead and all of the momentum going into halftime.

In total, Mike McCarthy's squad was called for a whopping 13 penalties and lost 107 yards. Even if there's a couple questionable flags in there, Dallas' execution simply wasn't on point, and it allowed a less-talented team to upset them. They run the same risk if they give Bill Belichick's struggling side more chances than they deserve.