Tag: 4 Downs

4 Downs: Cowboys embarrassed themselves in Week 5

From @ToddBrock24f7: There was no shortage of moments that contributed to the 42-10 blowout by the Bay, but the Cowboys did it to themselves on these 4 plays.

Week 5’s Sunday night game was supposed to be a 15-round battle between NFC heavyweights. It didn’t take long, though, to figure out which boxer looked like a champ and which boxer would playing the chump.

The 49ers’ 42-10 beatdown of the Cowboys was one of the most lopsided finals in the storied history between the two franchises and the worst loss of the Mike McCarthy era in Dallas.

There are plenty of plays that Cowboys fans will point to as the moment they knew it was over. Some would pick the very first play from scrimmage, when a face mask call against Jayron Kearse was just the first time on the night Dallas would shoot themselves in the foot. Others will undoubtedly look at Dak Prescott’s three interceptions and think here we go again.

They’re not wrong. There were a multitude of moments that contributed to an absolutely embarrassing performance by the Cowboys, the kind that will have a significant portion of even the staunchest fanbase wondering just how wrong we all were about this team’s outlook.

But in the final analysis, here are our choices for the four plays that most accurately summed up the smackdown in San Fran.

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4 Downs: The biggest turning points in Cowboys win over Patriots

From @ToddBrock24f7: Prescott and Lamb got over a mini-slump, LVE did something for the first time, and DaRon Bland showed out in the plays that made the game.

Sunday’s 38-3 shellacking of the Patriots proved cathartic for the Cowboys and their fans after the previous week’s no-show in the desert. The defense was once again at powerhouse form, the offense showed encouraging signs of what could still be coming, and the special teams added their own punctuation marks at just the right moments.

Things got off to a rocky start with an opening drive that- stop me if you’ve heard this one before- fizzled out in the red zone and forced Dallas to settle for a short field goal.

But the Cowboys were able to regroup and overcome that bugaboo- along with several others, like penalties and TD passes to wide receivers- en route to handing Bill Belichick the largest loss of his coaching career.

There were plenty of game-defining plays to choose from, but these are the four that the grumpy guy in the hoodie could be seeing in his nightmares for a while.

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4 Downs: Explosive plays blow up in Cowboys’ faces in Week 3 loss

From @ToddBrock24f7: The Cowboys uncharacteristically gave up some big plays that cost them Sunday. They did plenty of shooting themselves in the foot, too.

If you’re looking for the plays that cost Dallas their Week 3 game at Arizona, you’ll have your pick from a very long list as the previously unbeaten and top-ranked Cowboys looked lost for most of Sunday’s contest. Playing behind a patchworked offensive line, Dak Prescott led a largely ineffective passing game, and Micah Parsons helmed a defensive unit that played flat and uninterested in their first game without Trevon Diggs.

A staggering 13 penalties on the day gifted the Cardinals over 100 yards of field position. But the Redbirds were moving the ball quite well on their own- even without the help of the men in black and white- to the tune of 200-plus rushing yards and a total of seven explosive plays of 20 yards or more.

In a game that saw the Cardinals come in as double-digit home underdogs, it was the Cowboys who had to play catch-up, and they did right up until the game’s final minutes. What looked to be the easiest game of the first half of the Cowboys’ schedule turned out to be their first loss of 2023, an embarrassing 28-16 stumble that could very well come back to haunt them come December and January.

And when they look back at their latest debacle in the desert, these four plays will be among those that sting the most.

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4 Downs: The biggest turning points in Cowboys’ blowout of the Jets

The Cowboys beat New York with a familiar script in Week 2, here are four downs that show how the Cowboys got it done. | From @BenGrimaldi

The Dallas Cowboys beat the New York Jets 30-10 in the home opener to improve to 2-0 for the first time in the Mike McCarthy era. In victory, the Cowboys followed a familiar script; get ahead early, then go hunting with an opportunistic defense.

This was easy to see coming for the Dallas defense. Playing against a quarterback who has a knack for giving the ball away, as soon as the Cowboys got up double-digits, the floodgates opened, leading to the rout.

Dak Prescott paced the offense with another efficient game where the new Texas Coast Offense was on display. Without wide receiver Brandin Cooks, there was more small ball than anticipated, but the Cowboys still managed to put up 382 yards of total offense and 30 points, despite playing most of the fourth quarter on cruise control.

Here are the four downs that made the difference for the Cowboys in the Week 2 win.

4 Downs: Can the Browns build momentum after win vs. Bengals?

The Browns are heading into the bye week on a high note. What can we take away from their beatdown win over the Bengals?

Entering the bye week, the Cleveland Browns have an opportunity to get healthy as a handful of starters missed their Monday Night Football matchup against the Cincinnati Bengals. Even without key players, the Browns came away with a massive 32-13 beatdown of their division rivals.

They now sit with a record of 3-5 on the season (and 2-1 in the division), with the Miami Dolphins, Buffalo Bills, and Tampa Bay Buccaneers left on their schedule before their starting quarterback returns from suspension.

As we do every week, we bring our 4 Downs article to bring to the top four key aspects of the matchup. What can the Browns take from this game to ride into the bye week before they travel to Miami to take on the Dolphins?

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4 Downs: Making sense of the Bears’ disheartening loss vs. Commanders

We’re breaking down the Bears’ loss to the Commanders and what it means looking ahead.

The Chicago Bears were defeated by the Washington Commanders, 12-7, on Sunday, falling to 2-4 ahead of a Week 7 prime-time matchup against the New England Patriots.

This is about as disappointing of a loss as you can get. The Bears were held scoreless in the red zone and scored just seven points against a bad Commanders team. And, for the third straight game, a fumble cost Chicago a chance at victory.

We’re breaking down the Bears’ loss to the Commanders and what it means looking ahead.

4 Downs: Making sense of the Bears’ divisional loss vs. Vikings

We’re breaking down the Bears’ loss to the Vikings and what it means looking ahead.

The Chicago Bears were defeated by the Minnesota Vikings, 29-22, on Sunday, falling to 2-3 ahead of a Week 6 prime-time matchup against the Washington Commanders.

Following a brutal first-half showing by both the offense and defense, the Bears overcame an 18-point deficit to take a 22-21 fourth-quarter lead. Unfortunately, another fumble cost Chicago a chance at victory.

But, in many ways, this loss feels like a win. Especially in a season where winning isn’t a priority, it’s development.

We’re breaking down the Bears’ loss to the Vikings and what it means looking ahead.

4 Downs: Making sense of the Bears’ disappointing loss vs. Giants

We’re breaking down the Bears’ loss to the Giants and what it means looking ahead.

The Chicago Bears were defeated by the New York Giants 20-12 on Sunday, falling to 2-2 ahead of a Week 5 matchup against the Minnesota Vikings.

It was a one-possession loss by Chicago, but there were a number of reasons why they fell short. The Bears offense stalled in the red zone; the defense struggled to stop the run (and stop play-action bootlegs); and the coaching staff was out-coached by Brian Daboll’s staff.

We’re breaking down the Bears’ loss to the Giants and what it means looking ahead.

4 Downs: Making sense of the Bears’ deflating loss vs. Packers

We’re breaking down the Bears’ loss to the Packers and what it means looking ahead.

The Chicago Bears were defeated 27-10 by the Green Bay Packers on Sunday Night Football, dropping them to 1-1 and extending their losing streak against Green Bay to seven games.

It was an encouraging start for Chicago, which included an efficient touchdown drive by the offense and some nice pressure by the defense on Aaron Rodgers. But things quickly went downhill, and things got ugly as the Bears were outscored 24-3 in the final three quarters.

We’re breaking down the Bears’ loss to the Packers and what it means looking ahead.