Game Recap: Cowboys complete miraculous comeback over Atlanta
The Scoop:
After a disastrous first quarter in which Dallas fumbled the football three times (not including a fourth that they recovered and a fifth where Tony Pollard was ruled down), as well as unsuccessfully faking a punt deep in their own territory, the Cowboys were able to mount one of the most improbable comebacks in recent memory.
It was a game where Dallas trailed by 20 in the first quarter, 19 at halftime, 15 with less than six minutes to play, and nine with just under two minutes. Following the contest, many analysts have debated whether the Cowboys won this game or the Falcons lost it. The simple answer is yes.
In a game that was that lopsided for so long, it takes both teams for a comeback of that magnitude. The popular statistic floating around is since the NFL started keeping track of turnovers, no team had ever lost a game in which they scored 39 points without turning the ball over and forcing three turnovers in 440 previous attempts. Now it’s 440-1.
It’s only week two, but with the NFC East collectively being 2-6, it’s better to be 1-1 than 0-2. Especially with a trip to Seattle on the schedule next. Philadelphia is decimated by injuries, Saquon Barkley is down for the season which likely dooms the Giants, and Washington is struggling to do anything consistent with the exception of their defensive line.
Every early win is critical, considering what Dallas could have returning in La’el Collins, Tyron Smith, Randy Gregory, Sean Lee, and possibly Leighton Vander Esch. Also, call me optimistic, but I do think Mike Nolan and this defense will eventually get ahead of the curve in this new system. If that happens, this early victory could be a blessing for the Cowboys’ playoff chances.
What went right:
Offensive Weapons strike again
For a second straight week, Dak Prescott and Kellen Moore looked like they couldn’t spread the ball around enough. Tony Pollard got involved early and also got some opportunities as a kick returner, although we saw less of him in the second half.
Seven different players caught at least two passes, while CeeDee Lamb and Amari Cooper each eclipsed the century mark. Dalton Shultz nearly got their himself with a breakout performance that included nine catches for 88 yards and a fourth-quarter touchdown.
Shultz had been considered a disappointment to his point as a former fourth-round pick. Still, with him being a big body over the middle that Prescott can trust, it’s not a stretch to say that the Cowboys may not see the drop off they were expecting after Jarwin went down for the season. Blake Bell also hauled in a pair of passes, including a 24-yard catch down the sideline to extend a drive.
Even while Michael Gallup continues to see the least of the targets from Dallas’ three-headed receiving monster, he manages to come up with big plays. Noah Brown also hauled in both his targets, with one that was cut in half by a blindside penalty.
At the beginning of the year, I predicted Prescott would end the season in the MVP conversation because of the combination of the weapons around him and the motivation of being in a contract year. Thus far, the weapons are holding up their end of the bargain, and it helped Prescott earn NFC Offensive Player of the Week.
I have my concerns on the other side of the ball, but if this offense keeps operating like this, the Cowboys will always have a chance to win. Just imagine what happens when the offensive line is healthy.
Greg the Leg
Lost in the blame that has been echoed across the football nation toward Atlanta’s Hands Team is the execution of a heck of an onside kick. Was there time for the Falcons to jump on it? Absolutely. However, that ball did exactly what it was designed to do.
It was hit at a slow pace to allow Dallas to get out front, and ultimately C.J. Goodson got in position to be right on top of it when it crossed the ten-yard mark. Not only did Zuerlein hit it with good pace, but it tilted appropriately to hook a right, which got it past the line to gain.
On top of that, Zuerlein nailed the 46-yard game-winner, which, let’s be honest, should have been closer. I’ll address that later. Still, in a game where emotions were on a roller-coaster path from the opening possession, he stepped up and made the kick.
Cowboys’ Grit
Say what you want about the Cowboys players, it takes focus and toughness to complete a comeback like that. One of my biggest knocks over the years is that the persona of being America’s Team, and the constant high expectations that come with it, make it impossible for Dallas to grasp that underdog mentality, which can be necessary for a team to prevail.
That added toughness and hunger to outperform the expectations is something the Cowboys have never known, but in this game, they showed some of it. Credit Dak Prescott and the rest of the captains on this team, as well as the coaching staff for making the subtle adjustments necessary to keep the offense on the move and the defense from turning into warm butter.
Luck
Let’s be honest, any comeback of that magnitude is going to involve some form of luck. How often does Julio Jones drop a touchdown like that? In fact, did Jones every look like himself? That’s just good fortune for the Cowboys.
So is Takk McKinley going down when Dallas has a pair of tackles making their second career start. You never hope or plan for a player to go down, but it absolutely played a part in this victory. How about Michael Gallup’s left elbow getting down lightly before his right, and yes, the butt cheek looked like it did too, although the live broadcast never mentioned the left elbow hitting before anything else.
Possibly the luckiest play was an entire group of Falcons’ blanking out during that onside kick. It wasn’t just one player having a brain fart. This was as many as five or six players that had their chance to grab that ball.
It wasn’t a bouncing ball. There wasn’t any concern about it being difficult to recover. It was a spinning ball creeping down the field. I don’t know what possessed those players to avoid taking the win into their own hands, literally, but it was a lucky break for Dallas.
What went wrong:
Coaching Decisions
This did not cost them a game, but Cowboys fans have to be a little worried about some of these crucial decisions, but the decision-making has been suspect, to say the least thus far. Last week, the decision to go for it on fourth down was one many questioned.
I was shocked to see them attempt a fake punt inside their own 30 in the first quarter. I was even more shocked at the play they ran, asking a punter to make a throw from 15 yards behind the line of scrimmage.
Later of the game, they choose to fake it on fourth and five with a run up the middle. Not sure what sense it makes to choose that over keeping the offense on the field. Even the decision to fake a second punt in the game was a head-scratcher.
That punt return unit got lucky that Chris Jones underthrew the ball and C.J. Goodson slipped trying to come back for it on the first one. If you don’t think that didn’t wake them up for the duration of the night to stay locked onto their keys and not bail out early, I’m not sure what will.
I will say I didn’t mind going for two early. Being able to make decisions moving forward based on knowing whether it’s a one-score game or two is a plus in my mind. It helps you understand what tempo to play with, and I thought it offered more of a momentum swing if they got it, which is something Mike McCarthy eluded to the prior week when he went for it on fourth down.
However, the play call was a bit strange to me. I have always been one to point out that Dak Prescott doesn’t have a special arm. Still, he has other attributes to his game that make him a very good quarterback in the NFL.
His ability to make plays on the move is one of those attributes. In that situation, I like getting him on the move with an option to throw it or run it himself. That’s just such a tough position to put a defense in.
Finally, I can’t be the only one that didn’t care for the way we handled the final minute and a half of the game after Lamb got us in field goal range. A 46-yard field goal is not a sure thing, especially in an emotional roller coaster of a game.
You don’t want to put the ball in jeopardy but once again, get Prescott on the move with something. If he doesn’t like what he sees, he can tuck it and run. If there is no space to run, throw it out of bounds. I get how much we are paying Greg Zuerlein, but that is putting him in a tough spot.
Defensive Line Play
We did see a few more opportunities for Jaylen Smith and Joe Thomas to shoot cleanly into the backfield, but the interior players up front are still struggling too often with handling double teams or even beating one-on-ones to force double teams.
As I said last week, this group doesn’t exactly have the personnel to succeed in this system yet, and Atlanta had some early success running the football because of it. Still, my disappointment with this unit primarily stems from the pass rush.
Matt Ryan is not a mobile guy, and there was a time in the second half where Atlanta struggled to run the ball. How is it that our pass rushers weren’t making their presence felt? Especially this group of edge rushers.
Everson Griffin got a sack late on a play where Matt Ryan gave it to him. They wanted to throw the ball to attempt to get a late third-down attempt but also not stop the clock. Ryan didn’t get what he wanted and took the sack. That’s not exactly something that draws inspiration from a unit that needs to be good for this defense.
We may need to see more blitzes. We may need to get more creative with stunts. Still, we need guys like Aldon Smith, Demarcus Lawrence, Tyrone Crawford, and Griffin to beat the guy across from them more often.
Turnovers!!!
This is in regards to both sides of the ball. First off, we can’t ignore the fumbles. Just like I mention earlier with the fake punts, after you see it once, you clean it up moving forward. Foye Oluokun made some great plays punching the ball out. But once you’ve seen it the first time, everyone on offense starts protecting the ball in traffic.
That should never happen twice in a game, let alone in the same quarter. Also, Dak Prescott can’t have a blunder like that, trying to get rid of it in that situation. What is there to gain? It’s third down, and we weren’t in field goal range.
What are the extra five or six yards going to matter if you get it off for an incomplete pass as opposed to taking the sack? The punt unit is still coming out. Prescott has to understand that in the situation he was in.
On first and second down, it’s risky but understandable. If we are just slightly in field goal range, I get it. Third down on your own end of the field in the first quarter, no sir.
However, we can’t ignore the other side of the ball either. Daryl Worley drops an easy early interception that could have helped stop that early onslaught. That was an easy takeaway. And we have to start making teams pay for mistakes the way we pay for our ours.
The other obvious one was Trevon Diggs, and that was a heartbreaker. We had momentum going in our favor, and Matt Ryan puts a gift in the air deep. I know Calvin Ridley got his hands in, but great players need to make great plays. Dallas is hoping that Diggs will be a great player.
Instead, Atlanta marches down and scores again. For many fans, including myself, it seemed like that was the final opportunity to truly take control of that game. I’m not going to leave Chidobe Awuzie out either.
The Falcons tried a double-move on him in the first half. He plays it perfectly, and yet Ryan still threw the ball. Once again, Ridley was behind him to compete for the ball, but Awuzie has position on him. The problem was he mistimed his play on the ball, and it looked like he never had a chance.
Turnovers don’t come easy, and they often take a great play on the ball. However, when a team makes a clear mistake that puts the ball in jeopardy, those have to be taken advantage of if you want to win in this league.
Where do we go from here?
Who is healthy and who can stay that way
The Cowboys are most definitely not the only team suffering through injuries, but the questions still remain on who will be ready. We still have one more week on La’el Collins. Is Tyron Smith ready to get back on the field?
Brandon Knight and Terence Steele have both looked fine most of the time, but they’ve also had help from running backs and tight ends in pass protection. Also, while Ezekiel Elliott is running the ball well, this rushing attack is not the same without those two.
What’s going on with Chidobe Awuzie and Trevon Diggs? Awuzie sounds like he will miss some time but can Diggs be back out there against Russell Wilson and that passing attack. D.K. Metcalf is an emerging star at wide receiver. And with Anthony Brown on the shelf for at least two more weeks, I’m not thrilled about being down our top three corners against him.
Dallas has other injuries, but those are going to be two players that can help immensely if they are healthy enough to go. Keeping the ball out of Wilson’s hands means running the ball more effectively and shortening the game. Smith helps there. Having some that can match up with Metcalf to keep him from making those highlight plays deep will help. Diggs should help there.
When will this defense look confident
It’s no secret that this was going to take time, but for two weeks, our defense has been playing on their heels. When do things start clicking? When can we start getting more aggressive on that side of the ball because we know everyone is on the same page?
More importantly, when are we going to force the other team to be the one’s constantly making adjustments. Against the Rams, I’m not sure Sean McVay ever changed a thing, nor did he need to.
The Falcons offense didn’t seem to need to either. I mean 39 points and no turnovers has gotten the job done the last 440 times it happened. Defensively, Atlanta may have had to adjust. But we need opposing offenses to start scratching off plays on their play chart that because it’s apparent our defense isn’t going to allow it.
Part of this could fall on the offense too. If this running game can get on track, we are capable of chewing up the clock. I’d love to see Dallas take the opening kick, march down and score. Putting the opposing team in “catch up” mode.
Some way or another, we have to make things easier on our defense, and they need to build some confidence. When that happens, we can finally start to gage what realistic expectations are for this team.
