So close, yet so far away. The Dallas Cowboys fail to seize control over the NFC East this past weekend, falling to the New England Patriots, 13-9.
There’s the saying, “when it rains, it pours” and for the Cowboys, it was literally and figuratively true. The wet, windy, cold conditions weren’t ideal for either club but the Patriots adjusted, while the Cowboys struggled to make the adjustments. Early in the game, the Patriots took a 10-0 lead. A blocked punt by Matthew Slater set up the only touchdown during game, a 10-yard dart from Tom Brady to the rookie, N’Keal Harry. In the second quarter, Stephon Gilmore, dove to intercept Dak Prescott, which set up a 44-yard field goal by Nick Folk.
The Cowboys, on the other hand, couldn’t make the right play at the right time to keep drivings going, tie the game, or take the lead. Ezekiel Elliott had it going early but his carries were limited in the second half. Elliott finished with 21 carries for 86 yards.
Dak Prescott played as well as any quarterback would play during the wet, cold conditions. He missed a few a throws here and there, threw one interception, but still made some good throws by taking what the defense gave him. He finished 19 for 33 for 212 yards.
Late in the fourth quarter, a skeptical tripping call on Dallas’ center, Travis Frederick, negated a 3rd-and-1 conversion by Elliott. On fourth and 11, Prescott threw his best pass of the night to Cooper, who dove for the catch. As Cooper stretched out the ball slipped threw his arms hitting the grass before Cooper could complete the catch process. The Patriots weathered a rainy day to secure the victory.
Here’s this week’s stock report.
Stock Down: Amari Cooper
Anytime the opposing cornerback catches more passes than you, it’s a tough day on the field. Cooper was completely neutralized. Two targets, no catches, and one really really huge drop. Normally, Cooper is great at creating separation, but he couldn’t shake Gilmore.
Gilmore is a great corner, but some of this is likely Cooper’s lingering knee injury and his cautiousness to further aggravating the knee injury during Sunday’s weather conditions. One bad cut up the field or a slip could result in a Torn ACL.
The other part is Gilmore took pride in being physical against the finesse Cooper. Cooper didn’t adjust to Gilmore’s hands-on approach. There’s no better corner right now as good as Gilmore taking the opposing team’s best receiver out of the game.
Stock Down: Jason Garrett
The Cowboys’ loss is on Coach Garrett. He has to own this one. It’s the attention to details that’s the four-point difference in Sunday’s evening game. Check the box score, the meaningful statistics are practically even.
First downs were 17-16 in favor of Patriots. Dallas tallied seven penalties, just one more than the Patriots. The time of possession was split about 30 minutes for each team. Both offenses ran 12 drives. In the Red Zone, Dallas was 0-2 while the Patriots were 1-3. Lastly, third down efficiency favored the Patriots. They were 3-14. The Cowboys were 2-13.
So why is Coach Garrett’s stock down?He coaches well enough to remain close in big games, but never actually well enough to win the game.
At what point does he will his team to a big win against a premiere franchise? This year the Cowboys have repeatedly fell short, despite having a talented roster.
Garret’s decision not to go for it on 4th-and-7 in the fourth quarter has been overly criticized. A field goal kept them close at 13-9. Hypothetically, let’s say the Patriots received the ball and then marched down field but settled for a field goal. The score is then 16-9. Regardless, it’s still a touch down game. The other criticisms are fair, so lets start.
Special teams were a disaster, indicative of poor situational coaching by the coaching staff. Owner Jerry Jones echoed the sentiment post game. The block punt was a great play by a great special teams player, Slater. No need to place blame at Garrett’s feet; however, fumbles on punt and kickoff returns are momentum killers. Despite Dallas recovering the fumbles, it felt as if the Cowboys remained in scramble mode on special teams and never quite received favorable field position.
There were also six third downs with three or less yards to convert the first down and Dallas couldn’t capitalize. That’s questionable coaching. Elliott was effective in the first half but only carried the ball six times in the second half. The conditions were ideal for a hard-noise bruising back like Elliott to dominate. That’s again questionable play-calling and coaching.
When the forecast reveals rainy, wet, cold, wind; Elliott and trusting the physicality of the offensive line should be the game plan. Throw out any other previous game plans. Elliott deserved 30 to 35 carries.
Stock Up: Jeff Heath
Heath played his heart out, was instinctive and made timely plays throughout the game. The veteran finished with five tackles, one pass defensed, and one quarterback hit.
Heath’s lone pass defensed came late in the fourth quarter on a third down, which forced the Patriots to punt. He also forced a drop pass on Jakobi Meyers. Meyers went deep on a seam route attempting to haul in the Brady’s pass only to be struck by Heath. Had Meyers caught the pass, it would have been a huge gain placing the Patriots in the red zone. It was a great clean up play by Heath to force another Patriots punt.
[vertical-gallery id=635089][lawrence-newsletter]