ARLINGTON, Texas -- The Dallas Cowboys offense reaped all of the consequences of owner and general manager Jerry Jones' "all in" offseason that transformed into the "get it done with less" offseason in Sunday's 28-25 home loss against the Baltimore Ravens in Week 3.
Their run game led by veteran undrafted running back Rico Dowdle, late career Ezekiel Elliott and 2023 sixth-round pick Deuce Vaughn totaled 51 yards on 16 carries for 3.2 yards per carry. First-round rookie left tackle Tyler Guyton struggled, allowing two quarterback pressures, three quarterback hurries and a sack. Guyton also had a critical holding penalty at the end of the first half that negated a Ravens pass interference on an end zone throw to All-Pro wide receiver CeeDee Lamb that would have led to a first and goal. Instead, Dallas settled for a 51-yard field goal by All-Pro Brandon Aubrey and a 21-6 halftime deficit. Jones said he "couldn't afford Derrick Henry" despite the fact that he would have been able to do had he been quicker to re-sign quarterback Dak Prescott and Lamb.
"I don't know that today I would point at any at any position that might have made that difference out there today," Jones said postgame on Sunday. "I think overall we had a lot of areas that we can play better in. However, we did do some good things. At the end. Our offense, I thought we would have more productivity really in our offense."
Jones opted to have his WR3 option be a combo of 2022 third-round pick Jalen Tolbert and 2023 seventh-round pick Jalen Brooks. That youth and not getting Lamb re-signed to his four-year, $136 million contract earlier, which would have resulted in his presence at training camp, has led to an incredibly out-of-sync, topsy-turvy product, which was on full display in Week 3.
"I don't want to be trite, but I've never looked in the mirror about what I didn't have, a lot of corrections to make. I'm not trying to be cute, but it just doesn't work that way," Jones said. "There's a few things that looked OK at the time, but there's a lot of things that you can do better."
Six of the Cowboys' first eight drives ended in either punts (four), a lost fumble (one) and a turnover on downs (one). Field goals were the result of the other two. Dallas did score touchdowns on each of its final three possessions, but it wasn't until they were trailing 28-6 midway through the fourth quarter.
"Very frustrating, especially when you're playing a quarterback that like on that side. An offense that powerful, you just can't do it, honestly," Prescott said of Dallas' slow start. "We have to look in the mirror. Us offense first, and we have to help them. I know they're standing: they don't allow 28 points against an MVP player and an offense like that. It's a game that we have to score 30 and we know it. We didn't so it and started late. That's the biggest part of it. The penalties and some errors. I guess you can say whether it be alignment, whether it be assignment, we've got to be cleaner. We've got to lock in and be more focused on our job, take accountability in every position and grow."
Lamb, Dallas' All-Pro WR1 who signed a four-year, $136 million extension in the offseason after holding out of the team's entire offseason program, finished with 67 receiving yards and four catches on seven targets. His stat line also included a drop, and an ill-timed fumble on a catch nine yards away from the end zone early in the second quarter where a score would've led to Baltimore's lead being cut down to four, 14-10. Instead, Dallas didn't find the end zone until the fourth quarter. It appears as though Lamb is still shaking off the rust from missing training camp, something he admitted on Thursday. He didn't speak with the media postgame on Sunday.
"I think, especially in a game like today, the most important thing is to look straight in the mirror," McCarthy said when asked about Lamb's night. We put a lot into this game. We put a lot into it every week. Our practice -- sometimes your preparation is really good and you don't play as well as you would like, and there's times when your preparation is not very good and you play better than you thought. I think clearly this week our preparation was pretty much in line with the way we played. This group works hard. They do. I truly love the locker room. They've got a ton of fight, but we're going through some growing pains. So, we need to continue to grow. Get ready for this game in New York."
Dak and CeeDee 👀 pic.twitter.com/gNwDv0oonV
— Dallas Texas TV (@DallasTexasTV) September 22, 2024
Prescott declined to make much of Lamb's animated venting on the sideline on Sunday, but he did note that getting caught up on early game miscues may have cost the Cowboys a victory in Week 3.
"Reading body language, I'm not really into it. I'm just into making sure that he doesn't get down on himself," Prescott said. "The body language, whether it's good or it's bad, it's irrelevant, it's where his mind is. And so, he's going to be disappointed when you're passionate and when you expect a lot from yourself. You're going to be that way. So for me, it's about just letting him know, 'Hey, next play, wipe it clean. Who cares what happens when you have an opportunity to fix it this next play or make a better play?' If you're sitting in that, dwelling on that, your mind's not in the right place to move forward. It's about always talking, not only him, but the other guys of don't dwell. You don't have time to dwell. You look at the way that game ended, I feel like we don't dwell in different places on offense, it's a different game."
Why is there even a conversation about what being a professional wide receiver entails? Well, the collective group of Cowboys' pass-catchers today didn't look like seasoned vets up at all in the slightest on Sunday. Prescott ended up throwing into a tight window on 35.3% of passes, according to NFL Pro Insights, which is his highest rate in a game in over six seasons -- since Week 4 of the 2018 season. During Dallas' two-minute offense mode, he completed more passes to open receivers on the final two drives -- four -- than he did on the Cowboys' first eight possessions (three).
"Well, I think just like anything, you know, there's more to it," McCarthy said. "There's the coverage and just staying after the connection. I thought the pocket was a little hot early. There's probably a couple of calls I wish I had back. But yeah, I mean, it's part of the work-in-progress that I referred to. You know, I'm the one who installs the passing game, so I need to do a better job."
What does being a professional receiver mean? Going above and beyond what in preparation outside of practice, watching film, working to get extra reps with Prescott after practice. Going above and beyond.
"We just have to be more focused," Prescott said. "That's what to me on offense where we haven't been as focused as we should. Had a few mental errors that were crucial, I guess you could say, timing wise. To me, it just goes into being a professional and understanding what you have to do."
Dallas' focus now shifts to being better in their practice and preparation process ahead of short week before traveling to face the 1-2 New York Giants on the road on "Thursday Night Football." Both squads sole win came against Deshaun Watson's Cleveland Browns, and both teams are looking to improve to 2-2 and avoid the heat of a 1-3 start.
"I didn't have a great practice, I believe it was Thursday. I even told Coach [McCarthy] that I feel better when it's me," Prescott said. "I can control it. I can get over it. I'll make that change and that difference. It's also a sense of have to make sure other people are doing what they should be doing. ... We need to be ready. ... Just doing what I can to make sure guys are positive and upbeat and optimistic about their opportunity that we have every time we get on this field."
