Tag: 2024 season week 8

Cowboys’ Prescott takes blame for interceptions in loss: ‘I’ve got to clean that up’

From @ToddBrock24f7: Dak tossed 2 more picks in Week 8. One was a bad throw caused by pressure; one was a bad decision that both the QB and head coach owned.

On a night when so many things went wrong for the Cowboys, it’s easy (maybe even “lazy,” to recycle a recent buzzword from around these parts) to pin the team’s 30-24 loss in San Francisco on the two interceptions thrown by quarterback Dak Prescott.

The league’s highest-paid player now has eight picks through seven games, a figure currently topped by only three passers. That’s one less than Prescott threw all of last season, and it puts him ahead of his career-worst 2022 pace, when he had seven picks in his first seven games en route to a league-leading 15 total.

Perhaps most troubling, though: Week 8 marked the third straight game in which Prescott has tossed multiple picks, the first time in his career he’s had a stretch that long.

Prescott was quick to take personal responsibility for the miscues.

“I don’t have to be perfect,” he said in his postgame press conference, “but I damn sure can’t be having the turnovers.”

Winning the turnover battle was a “huge, blinking light” for head coach Mike McCarthy during the team’s bye week; Dallas came into Sunday night’s contest with a minus-six differential in the category. After Prescott’s two giveaways in Santa Clara, the Cowboys are minus-eight; only the Raiders and Titans (three combined wins this season) are worse.

Good teams simply aren’t bad in that stat.

“[We] put ourselves behind in the turnover battle, and that’s on me,” Prescott said. “Can’t have that if we plan to win games, and I’ve got to clean that up, period.”

But McCarthy pointed out that the breakdown was bigger than just his passer, especially on the first-quarter deep ball attempt.

“When you look at interceptions, you can grade them, put them in buckets and categories,” McCarthy told reporters Sunday night. “The first one, he had pressure in the B-gap, hits his feet, which took him late, the safety got a jump on the ball, so he wasn’t able to get it to the back pylon.”

Prescott also hinted that the pressure from 49ers edge rusher Nick Bosa forced a bad throw in what might have otherwise been an ideal matchup downfield between speedy wideout KaVontae Turpin and San Francisco rookie cornerback Renardo Green.

“He was singled up. Obviously, the safety just got over there because I got hit as I was throwing the ball and left the ball hanging from the hit,” Prescott explained.

“That’s a potential of a big play right there. It just swings completely the other way… Thought I was going to be able to get it off with full strength on the throw. I wasn’t.”

McCarthy told media members that the Cowboys’ challenges with pass protection factored into his offensive plan as the game went on, citing “a little bit of my angst in play-calling because of [the 49ers’] ability to get pass rush with four rushers.”

San Francisco’s defense logged two sacks and two QB hits, plus numerous pressures on the night.

“A lot of conversation,” McCarthy said, “as far as our pass game was protection.”

Prescott has been sacked 18 times already this season and is under pressure on nearly one out of every four dropbacks, currently the highest rate since his rookie season.

With sketchy offensive line play and a mostly ensemble cast of third-tier receivers, Prescott was pressed once again to try to do too much as things started to slip away in the second half. That led to No. 4 forcing the ball to his only dependable target as he looked to provide a spark.

The result? A terrible decision that instead poured gasoline on a third-quarter fire that saw the 49ers go on a 21-point run.

“The second one was as boneheaded an interception as I feel like I’ve had,” Prescott claimed. “Trying to make a play. Too much confidence in myself in that moment right there. I obviously should have just thrown it away. Wish I’d have put a little more heat on it; it would have been CeeDee or out of bounds. That one hurt.”

Once again, McCarthy tried to share some of the blame for the play choice, deliberately putting his quarterback on the move to counter his O-line’s struggles.

“I called it too early,” the coach admitted. “What was it, 3rd-and-5? That’s a better 3rd-and-4-to-3rd-and-3 call. [Ed. note: It actually was 3rd-and-4.] So the leverage wasn’t there, and he’s trying to make a play. We’ve got to throw that ball away there, but I wish I had that play call back.”

Prescott similarly expressed regret over the part that his errant throws made in the team’s latest meltdown by the Bay.

“I’ve got to make throws, pressure or not. I’m capable of doing it, so I’ve got to do it,” he said.

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But he knows that it also comes down to making better decisions, even when the chips are down.

“I’ve just got to burn that ball or eat the sack and just play it play-by-play. A lot of times, big plays come from just taking something underneath, guys blocking in the secondary, and the guys going and breaking tackles. Big plays come from there, so we can’t necessarily chase them. We’ve got to stick to it, one play at a time. We’ll keep our heads up and do that.”

And so the dilemma continues for Prescott: whether to take command of the situation and play like the NFL’s first $60 million man on a squad that truly needs a hero… or just keep chipping away with the next right little decision and the next right little decision after that, trusting that something big will eventually break loose.

The reality is, the job requires both. But which moment calls for which mindset… that’s the whole key.

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Cowboys CB Trevon Diggs goes after reporter outside locker room following criticism in loss

From @ToddBrock24f7: The Cowboys CB stormed out of the locker room in full pads to confront WFAA’s Mike Leslie after a social media post criticizing his effort.

The 2024 season is turning ugly in a hurry for the Dallas Cowboys. The first eight weeks of action have already featured a rash of injuries to high-profile players, a total breakdown of the once-vaunted rushing attack, a disastrous showing for the defense under a prodigal son coordinator, open questions in the locker room about effort, the contract-year head coach getting snippy with the media in a press conference, the owner threatening the jobs of radio talk-show hosts during a live interview, and fan tours- of all things- becoming a major talking point during the bye week.

Now this.

Cornerback Trevon Diggs went after a reporter Sunday night outside the visitors locker room, just moments after the Cowboys’ 30-24 loss to San Francisco went final.

At issue was a post on X criticizing the two-time Pro Bowler’s seeming lack of effort during a third-quarter play.

On 49ers tight end George Kittle’s 43-yard catch-and-run in the opening minutes of the second half, replays show Diggs covering wide receiver Chris Conley at the moment of Kittle’s reception at the Dallas 40. Diggs’s back is turned as he follows Conley through his route for another few seconds. By the time Diggs turns his head to realize that Kittle has the ball, he is five yards further downfield from Kittle.

Diggs maintains his stride and pursuit angle, appearing to leave teammates Donovan Wilson, Eric Kendricks, and Malik Hooker – all much closer to Kittle than Diggs- to make the play.

Except they don’t. Wilson falls after barely clutching at the back of Kittle’s jersey, and Kendricks never catches up. Hooker and Diggs finally converge on Kittle as he nears the pylon, with Diggs making a last-gasp push to force him out of bounds shy of the goal line.

The 49ers would score on the next snap to re-take the lead which they never gave back. San Francisco scored 21 unanswered points in a third-quarter onslaught that demoralized the Cowboys on both offense and defense. While Dallas fought back to make the final tally close, the loss dropped their mark to 3-4 and provided very little in the way of hope for a dramatic turnaround, with four straight opponents with winning records coming down the pike.

For some, though, that one play- along Diggs’s perceived lack of urgency and avoidance of tackling- summed up what’s wrong with the Cowboys in this frustrating season.

Mike Leslie of Dallas ABC affiliate WFAA reposted video of the moment afterward, adding, “What is Trevon Diggs doing on this play?”

Diggs apparently saw the post, and very soon after hitting the locker room. Still in full pads, the former second-round draft pick stormed back out to the media gaggle at Levi’s Stadium and got in Leslie’s face about it.

“Out of that whole play, that’s what you took from that?” Diggs demands, in a clip from NBC DFW’s Newy Scruggs. “You don’t know football. You can’t do nothing that I do. You can’t go out there and do nothing. Stay in your lane, buddy. Stop playing with me, bro.”

The confrontation continued, even after Diggs turned to go back into the locker room.

“Just asking the question, Trevon,” Leslie replied. “I mean, I’m happy to have you answer the question.”

Diggs came back and re-engaged with more of the same.

“Out of that whole play, that’s what you took from that?” he barked. “That’s what you got from that? That whole play, that’s what you got from that?”

With that, Diggs fired off a few expletives and retreated to the locker room, while Leslie attempted to get clarification.

“We can talk about it more,” the reporter offered. “What were you doing then?”

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Since his rookie season of 2020, Diggs has gained a reputation as a dice-rolling defensive back who often makes the breathtaking interception, but also frequently gives up a monster play when the risk doesn’t pay off. He’s also been tabbed- perhaps unfairly- as a defender who is unwilling to tackle. In truth, Diggs has the third-most solo tackles on the entire Cowboys roster through seven games.

It’s easy to debate- after the fact- that Diggs could have taken a different pursuit angle of Kittle or that he didn’t seem to have a lot of urgency in helping to make the play. The same could be said of several Cowboys players on several occasions Sunday night.

That one play, though, didn’t cost Dallas the chance to win a game in which very few people thought they would come out on top. A six-point loss, halfway through the season, on the road, to the defending NFC champs, in the grand scheme of things, isn’t even the sort of thing that spells certain doom.

But a star player apparently searching his own name on Twitter after a hard-fought game and before he’s even out of his pads to see what people have said about him… and then marching out into the tunnel fully-dressed to angrily confront and belittle a local reporter about some online criticism?

That just might end up being the moment that really decided for sure that this 2024 Cowboys team is an unsalvageable wreck.

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Cowboys CB hopes to turn tide vs depleted 49ers receiving corps: ‘Opportunity’s going to come’

From @ToddBrock24f7: The Dallas defense is lacking in takeaways in 2024. Caelen Carson, who is coming back from injury soon, believes that will change.

Of all the things that have not lived up to expectations about the first trimester of the Cowboys’ 2024 season, a distinct lack of interceptions is among the most disappointing.

The secondary that has produced the league’s picks leader in two of the past three seasons has managed only four interceptions through their first six games this year. Add in just one fumble recovery and, coupled with the third-most giveaways in the NFL, the team’s up-and-down rollercoaster ride to a mediocre 3-3 mark perhaps isn’t all that surprising.

“We’re minus-six in the turnover ratio,” McCarthy said on Wednesday, “so that’s the huge, blinking light for us.”

The Cowboys hope they’ve got players on the way who can provide the fix.

While edge rusher Micah Parsons and cornerback DaRon Bland were among the team’s DNPs on Wednesday, rookie corner Caelen Carson participated in full and appears to be trending toward making a return this week from a shoulder injury suffered in Week 3’s loss to Baltimore.

“I’m feeling a lot better. Progressing good. Way better than a couple weeks ago,” Carson told reporters this week. “I’m trying to get back on the field as fast as I can and help my team win.”

The promising 22-year-old has made his first NFL start, and now he’s working his way back from his first NFL injury. He hopes what follows soon after will be his first NFL interception, something that’s been tough for anyone wearing the star to come by lately.

“It’s been an emphasis all year; it just hasn’t happened,” the fifth-round draft pick explained. “Ball drills, we’ve been doing that since day one. But they’re going to come. Opportunity’s going to come. I’m sure we’re going to make plays.”

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The chances have indeed been few and far between for Cowboys defenders, mainly due to the way offenses have been attacking. Opponents are throwing an average of just 28.5 passes per game versus the Cowboys; only five defenses are seeing fewer air attempts. Conversely, teams know that Mike Zimmer’s run-stop unit is still a weak spot, and they’re averaging 31.5 rushes per contest. Only three teams are getting pounded more often by the ground game.

The 49ers and quarterback Brock Purdy are near the top of the charts in passing attempts and passing yards per game, but Purdy has also thrown seven interceptions already this year, tied for second-most leaguewide.

Now they’re also reeling with injuries to some of their biggest offensive playmakers. Of their receivers, Brandon Aiyuk has been lost for the year, Deebo Samuel was hospitalized earlier in the week with pneumonia, Jauan Jennings hasn’t practiced this week with a hip injury, Chris Conley is nursing an ankle, and George Kittle is considered day-to-day with a sprained foot.

But given that superstar running back Christian McCaffrey hasn’t even had his 21-day practice window opened yet and backup Jordan Mason has been limited with a shoulder issue, the 49ers may have no choice but to lean on Purdy, asking him to air it out to a piecemealed corps of banged-up and fresh-faced pass-catchers.

Carson admitted that the Cowboys secondary would try to capitalize on a depleted 49ers offense. The timing may work in his favor as he looks to help turn Dallas’s turnover numbers around.

Cowboys fans tuning in Sunday night may end up having the same reaction to Carson’s return as McCarthy did in talking about him rejoining the team in practice this week:

“We’ll see what he can do.”

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Cowboys’ Micah Parsons: Return from injury for 49ers showdown ‘still in the air’

From @ToddBrock24f7: Parsons has missed 2 games with a high-ankle sprain. He says it’ll be up to the Cowboys training staff as to whether he returns for Week 8.

The last time they were on the football field, the Cowboys defense gave up nearly 500 yards and 47 points. If you’re measuring solely by point margin, you’d have to go back to 1988 and the final year of the Tom Landry era to find a worse defeat.

While the bye week offered Cowboys coaches a chance to take a step back and figure out what has gone so off the rails this season, it also gave several injured Cowboys defenders an extra week to heal up before the next game versus the San Francisco 49ers.

While DeMarcus Lawrence, Eric Kendricks, DaRon Bland, Marshawn Kneeland, and Caelen Carson were certainly missed versus Detroit, no one’s absence on the defensive side of the ball was felt more acutely than that of Micah Parsons.

But the 25-year-old, who sat out his first game ever because of an injury in Week 5, then missed a second straight game in last Sunday’s 38-point loss, says he’s optimistic he’ll be ready to go by the weekend.

“My hopes are always very high,” Parsons said Monday, regarding his chances to suit up at Levis’s Stadium on Sunday. “I love great challenges. I love being able to beat the odds. I’m going to put this up to my trainers and my coaching staff.”

The two-time first-team All-Pro suffered a high-ankle sprain in a late-September win over the Giants. Since then, the Defensive Player of the Year hopeful has been working hard just to get back in the lineup.

“Micah’s making progress,” head coach Mike McCarthy told reporters Monday, even confirming that Parsons had put in additional work over the bye week.

“Micah was here. He”s doing good; he was in here every day going through rehab. We had, obviously, a big group in here all week last week. Hell, there’s a lot of guys in here working extra. I’m always appreciative and impressed with that… You couldn’t tell it was a bye week, just based off the number of guys I saw in the building throughout the week.”

Monday was scheduled to be a light day for players in terms of actual drills, so the coaching staff may not get a strong indicator of Parsons’s readiness until midweek.

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“It’s still in the air,” Parsons explained. “Obviously, it’s more than just me. I have to clear it with Britt [Brown, Cowboys director of rehabilitation], the coaches, the head coach. They want to make sure — obviously because there’s so many games left — that I come back at the best result. Sometimes, it’s not always the player’s decision. It’s the people with the higher pay grade.”

Parsons admitted to media members that he wasn’t really close to playing against the Lions in Week 6, though he’s been taking it day-by-day since.

“The thing with my injury is that it’s determined person-to-person,” Parsons said.

“It’s more of just getting the sense of how I explode back. Just acceleration and things like that. That’s the biggest thing for me.”

It will also be an awfully big thing for Dallas as they face a longtime NFC nemesis and begin a brutal five-game stretch that could go a long way in deciding the season before Thanksgiving.

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