NewsBot
New Member
- Messages
- 111,281
- Reaction score
- 2,947
In Week 4, the New England Patriots lost 41-14 to the Kansas City Chiefs. Those white-hot Green Bay Packers scored just seven points in a double-digit loss to the Detroit Lions in Week 3. The defending Super Bowl champion Seattle Seahawks lost to the lowly St. Louis Rams in Week 7, while the defending AFC champion Denver Broncos also lost to the Rams, scoring just seven points in Week 11.
Against the NFC East-leading Philadelphia Eagles on Thanksgiving Thursday, the Dallas Cowboys played a bad game. Does it mean they're doomed? Of course not. But did we learn something from that 33-10 home loss? Absolutely.
On Thursday, we learned—or at least had it confirmed—that this Dallas team can't contend unless the offense is carrying it in a major way.
That offensive line, which truly is the bread and butter of this franchise these days, was defeated time and again by Philadelphia's stout front seven. We knew that if the Cowboys lost that battle, they'd likely lose the game. And in this case, it was an early-round knockout.
Something similar happened when the Cowboys were upset by the Washington Commanders in Week 8. Quarterback Tony Romo was sacked five times that night as a talented but young line struggled with a well-orchestrated rush from an experienced front seven.
In a loss to the Arizona Cardinals the next week, backup quarterback Brandon Weeden was pressured on a third of his dropbacks, which is also less than ideal.
Romo didn't have enough time or room to work Thursday. He was sacked four times and pressured far too often, either by blitzes or four-man rushes. That made things significantly easier on Philadelphia's defense, which had given up an NFL-high 49 completions of 20 yards or more entering Week 13.
As a result, Romo threw two interceptions for the first time since a Week 1 loss to the San Francisco 49ers, running back DeMarco Murray had his worst game of the year with just 73 yards on 20 carries and wide receiver Dez Bryant caught just four of the seven passes thrown his way.
"We didn't respond as well as we needed to when we were on offense," said Cowboys head coach Jason Garrett during his postgame press conference, which aired on NFL Network.
"For them to make stops and then have the success they had offensively," added Garrett, "we never were able to kind of keep ourselves in this game."
Could the defense have been better? Certainly, especially on the ground. The unit that was supposed to stink this season has overachieved and is now starting to be exposed.
One week after giving up 417 yards and 27 first downs to the New York Giants, it surrendered 426 yards and 26 first downs against Philly. The Eagles also converted eight of their 15 third-down attempts and scored on seven of their 11 offensive possessions.
Frankly, there's little reason to expect that talent-starved unit to be any better against the Chicago Bears in a week or against this same Philadelphia team in 17 days.
That's why the Cowboys can't afford to score just 10 points on offense. In fact, they shouldn't expect to win with anything less than 24 points, which is something they've done in seven of their eight victories this season.
Again, though, bad game. The fat lady isn't even warming up. Not to make excuses, but the Cowboys were playing on unprecedented short rest—approximately 89 hours between games—which can't be easy when you've got a 34-year-old quarterback recovering from two fractures in his back.
This offense was lights-out only four days ago, and it'll likely find its groove again. Maybe it'll happen Thursday in Chicago or the following week in a rematch with an Eagles team the Cowboys haven't been swept by since 2011.
Both of those games are on the road, but the 'Boys haven't lost away from home this season. Romo, Murray et al are good enough to recover, but with that D struggling and December looming, the margin for error is rapidly shrinking.
Brad Gagnon has covered the NFC East for Bleacher Report since 2012.
Follow @Brad_Gagnon
Read more Dallas Cowboys news on BleacherReport.com
Continue reading...