The NFL is unpredictable. You can hardly do anything right for the first three quarters, but suddenly everything seems to fall into place. That was the case with the Dallas Cowboys against the Baltimore Ravens. Baltimore dominated Dallas on both sides of the ball and went into the fourth quarter with a 28-6 lead. Dallas launched a furious comeback, recovered an onside kick and scored 19 unanswered points with a chance to get the ball back for a game-winning drive at the end of regulation. Unfortunately, Baltimore sealed the win late with two crucial first downs as time ran out. This loss is disappointing for the Cowboys, as they slipped to 1-2 earlier in the season. Despite the thrilling finish, Dallas’ mistakes throughout most of the game dug them into a hole they could not climb out of. This is where things went wrong for the Cowboys.
Self-inflicted errors
Forget that the Cowboys only accepted six penalties for 44 yards. That doesn’t diminish the impact the penalties had on the game. Earlier in the game, Dallas was given numerous penalties on its first drive. It wasn’t the start anyone had hoped for when they got the ball after winning the first coin toss. This was an ominous foreshadowing.
Instead of moving in the right direction, the Cowboys took steps backwards. Several penalties negated potential points. After a pass reception by CeeDee Lamb at the Baltimore 9-yard line, Tyler Smith committed a holding penalty that pushed the Cowboys back 10 yards. The penalty changed the momentum of the team’s plays, and on the ensuing play, Lamb fumbled the ball to Baltimore as the offense left the field empty-handed.
Then, as the offense was desperately searching for an answer after a touchdown pass to Rashod Bateman, a holding penalty on Tyler Guyton negated Lamb’s pass interference and brought the offense to the Ravens’ one-yard line. Without Guyton’s penalty, the Cowboys could have scored a touchdown and narrowed the deficit at halftime, but instead Dallas settled for a long field goal by Brandon Aubrey. Lamb’s turnover and the team penalties robbed the offense of any momentum and confidence it could have had much earlier in the game.
Don’t stop the run
The Cowboys’ defensive formula is out. Do you want to neutralize Micah Parsons and prevent him from taking control of the game? Beat him and the defensive line with the running game. They don’t like to say that a defense is one-dimensional and can only pressure the passer, but with performances like Sunday, what are you supposed to think?
Dallas couldn’t contain the rushing attack against the New Orleans Saints last week, struggling to make runs and break blocks. This week, their problem was setting the edges and playing with good eye discipline. Lamar Jackson didn’t necessarily need to win the game from the pocket, throwing just 15 passes. Once the run game was firmly established, it led to the defense being drawn in by play-action passes, and the Ravens’ misdirection led to the defense losing leverage and receivers being completely free in the secondary. The Cowboys missed over 10 tackles.
Baltimore rushed for 274 yards on 45 attempts (6.1 yards per game) and converted 16 first downs in the running game compared to two for Dallas. Dallas’ offense and defense are among the five worst units when it comes to stopping the run and running the ball. Last week, we thought the Cowboys’ run defense was prone to allowing big gains. However, allowing so many yards inside and out and a stellar performance from Derrick Henry (151 rushing yards) may have shown that the run defense is much worse than anyone could have imagined.
Lack of explosive moves
Even though Dallas came out on top at the end, they were so far behind and couldn’t sustain their offense because they couldn’t produce explosive plays. We know the running game wouldn’t provide that spark and hasn’t all season. The Cowboys’ running backs have barely one run of 10 yards or more, so the burden falls on Prescott and the receivers to make big gains.
Several factors have weighed on the offense against the Ravens. First, the offensive line has struggled to protect Prescott. Cooper Beebe and Tyler Guyton are rookies, so there is a learning curve and they need time to adjust to the NFL. Guyton’s protection issues are that he forces Prescott out of the pocket, forces him to throw prematurely, and limits vertical attack. Veteran Terence Steele has also struggled with similar issues. Nnamdi Madubuike has troubled Steele with his strength and technique, forcing Prescott out of the pocket and forcing him out of the pocket prematurely.
Although Prescott had few chances to throw the ball long against a Ravens defense with a history of losing yards, there were a few opportunities. Prescott threw long to Cooks and Tolbert, but the receivers couldn’t make the play. The lack of a vertical threat early in the game narrowed the offense’s spacing. Almost every throw by Prescott in the first three quarters was hard-fought. The offense was tied up until it was too little, too late.
