With just under 27 seconds to play and down by 5 points, the Dallas Cowboys (5-3) had 1st and 5 from the 6-yard line. As far as strategy goes, this is the most ideal situation to be in. Here is what the Cowboys did, they went: False start penalty, lost yardage on a sack, incomplete pass, delay of game penalty, and then on 4th and 21, Dak Prescott completed a pass to CeeDee Lamb well short of the end zone, and Eagles (8-1) defenders swarmed him as time expired to seal a 28-23 win. The Cowboys snatched defeat from the jaws of victory.
It's a sequence of play that has become all too familiar for the Cowboys over the past several decades, and especially under head coach Mike McCarthy.
An otherwise admirable performance by the Cowboys for most of the game against the defending NFC Champions was marred by a lack of discipline when it mattered the most.
Dak Prescott, who regularly gets criticized for not playing his best when the lights are the brightest, played brilliantly for most of the game. He had 374 yards and 3 touchdowns, and most importantly, zero interceptions. But on a 2-point play after a touchdown that would have made it 28-25, Dak stepped out of bounds just before scoring on scramble. Had he been in-bounds, perhaps Dallas could have asserted more control in the final minutes while needing only a field goal to tie. In a game of inches, the Cowboys were a Dak Big Toe away from perhaps a different outcome.
Prescott's favorite target on the night was, once again, CeeDee Lamb who had 191 yards on 11 catches, but ultimately needed 4 more yards to bring in the win. Lamb had his 3rd straight 100-yard performance, and already has 824 yards receiving on the season.
On the other side of the ball, the Dallas defensive unit did well to keep the high flying Eagles attack locked down for the most part, but A.J. Brown and DeVonta Smith still found the end zone thanks to some brilliant throws by Eagles QB Jalen Hurts.
Coming into Sunday's game against their fierce NFC East rivals, Dallas had either been very good against bad teams, or very bad against good teams. In fact, in terms of overall record, they've really only played against one good team, the San Francisco 49ers, and they lost 42-10. Despite a +72 point differential after 8 games, the Cowboys, with 5 wins and 3 losses, are hardly a bad team, but they do have a lot to of questions to answer if they hope to make a run for the playoffs, and do something when they get there.
At the halfway point of the season, tonight's loss is hardly a death sentence. There were some positive signs of improvement that the team can build off of moving forward.
Offensively, Prescott and Lamb are leading the charge, but the players on the periphery need to step up. TE Jake Ferguson is asserting himself as a security blanket for Prescott, but the rest of the WRs combined for 4 drops on the night. Not good enough. Tony Pollard has been disappointing in his new role as the feature RB of the team, and this has affected the team's ability to establish a dangerous running attack, making the offense one-dimensional at times. Forcing opposing teams to "pick their poison" is what the best teams in the NFL do, and the Cowboys need to do better at keeping their opponents guessing.
The defensive unit has been one of the most consistent sides in the league, and despite injuries they are a huge reason the Cowboys are where they are in the league standings. If I wanted to be nit-picky, they could find ways to finish drives quicker. Despite leading the league in QB pressures, they're middle of the pack in sacks. This may be due to the fact that opposing QBs are getting rid of the ball quickly, but they are finding success against the Cowboys on a consistent basis as plays breakdown, and that should generally benefit a defense.
Nine more games to go
Much of what needs to be addressed for this team to continue improving is doable. This team is flawed, but the weaknesses aren't glaring. There is plenty of talent everywhere you look on this roster. Ultimately, this team needs to turn it up when the stakes matter the most, particularly against quality opponents at or above their level.