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What's wrong with the Dallas Cowboys offense?
What's wrong with the Dallas Cowboys offense? LINK
David Moore
IRVING – A question the Cowboys often face after a win is whether they'll be overconfident heading into the next game.
That shouldn't be an issue this week.
The Cowboys' 7-6 comeback win over Washington on Sunday spoke to their character and ability to handle pressure. It did nothing to ease concerns about an offensive swoon.
The Cowboys have followed their four-game winning streak by getting stuck on seven points in back-to-back games. Do so again Thursday against Oakland, and the outcome is unlikely to tilt in their favor.
"If it's five weeks, I think that's one thing," head coach Wade Phillips said of the offensive short-circuit. "If it's two weeks ...
"I think things are correctable. We've looked hard at what we're doing. We're going to emphasize some things we think we need to work on."
So, why has an offense that scored 26 or more points in five of its first eight games gone cold? Why has it scored only twice in its last 22 possessions?
A failure to convert on third down, an inability to connect with the starting wide receivers more than 50 percent of the time, turnovers and missed field goals all factor into this low-scoring equation.
Third-down letdown: The Cowboys had 11 third downs in Sunday's game. Guess how many yards they gained in those plays?
Ten.
"We've got to do better," receiver Patrick Crayton said. "That's it, plain and simple."
The Cowboys were 3-of-11 on third down against the Commanders. They failed to convert when needing one yard and two yards. The team needed no more than eight yards on any of those snaps to gain a first down.
At least against Green Bay, when they were 3-of-12 on third down, six of those plays required 10 or more yards for a first down.
To determine a trend, the coaching staff has begun to analyze the down and distance and routes run.
"Sometimes it's the routes, sometimes it's the throws, sometimes it's the protection," Phillips said. "You may have a good play and you just didn't execute it because of certain things, and you need to keep doing that and get better at it."
Hit and miss: Quarterback Tony Romo has completed less than 50 percent of his passes to starting receivers Miles Austin and Roy Williams in the last two games.
Some have been poor throws. Some have been drops. Here is the bottom line:
Austin has caught eight of the 16 passes thrown in his direction. Williams has been a target 11 times and come away with only five receptions.
Cornerbacks have jammed Austin and Williams at the line of scrimmage and hit them with two-deep coverage. They have been unable to make the plays over the middle of the field to open this up.
Williams is under the most scrutiny. Washington safety LaRon Landry said Williams played scared. Phillips concedes Williams is frustrated but stops short of saying his confidence is shaken.
"In practice, he makes some phenomenal catches," Phillips said. "It just hasn't carried over into the games quite as much, although he's made some really good catches.
"We still think Roy's a good receiver and Tony's a good quarterback, so I think they'll work things out."
Missed opportunities: The Cowboys have five turnovers in the last two games, and two of them have come in the red zone. Nick Folk has missed two field goals.
"I'm confident in our offense," tight end Jason Witten said. "We just need to stay disciplined and make the corrections as quickly as we can."
The key here is quickly. The Cowboys play again in two days.
"I don't think it's a growing concern, but it needs to get fixed," Crayton said. "It's not a life-or-death situation."
Not yet.
Score seven points against Oakland, and it could be.
Points taken
The Cowboys' offense has struggled the last two games after putting up some strong numbers during a four-game winning streak.
Category Avg. pts Avg. yds 3rd down (Pct) FGs TO
4-game streak 30.2 408 25-of-53 (.472) 8-of-10 5
Last two 7 291.5 6-of-23 (.261) 0-of-2 5
What's wrong with the Dallas Cowboys offense? LINK
David Moore
IRVING – A question the Cowboys often face after a win is whether they'll be overconfident heading into the next game.
That shouldn't be an issue this week.
The Cowboys' 7-6 comeback win over Washington on Sunday spoke to their character and ability to handle pressure. It did nothing to ease concerns about an offensive swoon.
The Cowboys have followed their four-game winning streak by getting stuck on seven points in back-to-back games. Do so again Thursday against Oakland, and the outcome is unlikely to tilt in their favor.
"If it's five weeks, I think that's one thing," head coach Wade Phillips said of the offensive short-circuit. "If it's two weeks ...
"I think things are correctable. We've looked hard at what we're doing. We're going to emphasize some things we think we need to work on."
So, why has an offense that scored 26 or more points in five of its first eight games gone cold? Why has it scored only twice in its last 22 possessions?
A failure to convert on third down, an inability to connect with the starting wide receivers more than 50 percent of the time, turnovers and missed field goals all factor into this low-scoring equation.
Third-down letdown: The Cowboys had 11 third downs in Sunday's game. Guess how many yards they gained in those plays?
Ten.
"We've got to do better," receiver Patrick Crayton said. "That's it, plain and simple."
The Cowboys were 3-of-11 on third down against the Commanders. They failed to convert when needing one yard and two yards. The team needed no more than eight yards on any of those snaps to gain a first down.
At least against Green Bay, when they were 3-of-12 on third down, six of those plays required 10 or more yards for a first down.
To determine a trend, the coaching staff has begun to analyze the down and distance and routes run.
"Sometimes it's the routes, sometimes it's the throws, sometimes it's the protection," Phillips said. "You may have a good play and you just didn't execute it because of certain things, and you need to keep doing that and get better at it."
Hit and miss: Quarterback Tony Romo has completed less than 50 percent of his passes to starting receivers Miles Austin and Roy Williams in the last two games.
Some have been poor throws. Some have been drops. Here is the bottom line:
Austin has caught eight of the 16 passes thrown in his direction. Williams has been a target 11 times and come away with only five receptions.
Cornerbacks have jammed Austin and Williams at the line of scrimmage and hit them with two-deep coverage. They have been unable to make the plays over the middle of the field to open this up.
Williams is under the most scrutiny. Washington safety LaRon Landry said Williams played scared. Phillips concedes Williams is frustrated but stops short of saying his confidence is shaken.
"In practice, he makes some phenomenal catches," Phillips said. "It just hasn't carried over into the games quite as much, although he's made some really good catches.
"We still think Roy's a good receiver and Tony's a good quarterback, so I think they'll work things out."
Missed opportunities: The Cowboys have five turnovers in the last two games, and two of them have come in the red zone. Nick Folk has missed two field goals.
"I'm confident in our offense," tight end Jason Witten said. "We just need to stay disciplined and make the corrections as quickly as we can."
The key here is quickly. The Cowboys play again in two days.
"I don't think it's a growing concern, but it needs to get fixed," Crayton said. "It's not a life-or-death situation."
Not yet.
Score seven points against Oakland, and it could be.
Points taken
The Cowboys' offense has struggled the last two games after putting up some strong numbers during a four-game winning streak.
Category Avg. pts Avg. yds 3rd down (Pct) FGs TO
4-game streak 30.2 408 25-of-53 (.472) 8-of-10 5
Last two 7 291.5 6-of-23 (.261) 0-of-2 5