I think the single biggest thing that killed us yesterday was that the offense was always facing a 3rd and long situation. Basically they did to us what we did to MN the week before because that was what hurt MN as well - lots of 3rd and longs and not converting them. It doesn't help that Dak was horrifically bad yesterday, hopefully he can dial it back in again.
And I totally agree. Kellen Moore didn't call a good game yesterday.
For much of the 1st half, Kellen was stuck in a pattern of passing on first down, and then running on 2nd and long after a bad 1st down play. And then of course they passed on every 3rd down. This was the pattern, and it was easy to predict after a while. So the Broncos loaded up on the play action on 1st down, taking away the easy reads. And then on 2nd down, they loaded up against the run, and the Cowboys always ran right into it.
Then, as Badger said, it set up consistent 3rd and 5+.
Yes, Dak was bad. Yes, the o-line didn't play well. No, the defense didn't play well either in long stretches of the game. But Kellen was bad too.
And don't even get me started on McCarthy. Early in the game, JUST TAKE THE POINTS. They matter so much for the psyche of not only your team, but also the opponent's. And play field position, trust your defense.
And I HATE when you need a yard on 3rd and 1 or 4th and 1 without using a FB. Hec, if ANY defender squeezes through, they have a direct, unfettered shot at the RB. If it's not a QB sneak, just use a FB (and you can put an OL at FB), so they can push the pile forward. Just bad play calling and coaching. They deserved to lose yesterday...as MM was a pompous idiot. Even if they would have got the 1st downs, especially when you're passing up points, I would have
still thought it was bad coaching. Not worth the risk...because if you don't get it, that's TWO consecutive 4th down stops, giving Denver a ton of confidence.
