Well for 3 quarters it looked like the Helter Skelter Cowboys were going to find a way to lose to a team they should have beaten fairly easily, then they had as overwhelming a quarter as many of us have probably ever seen, outscoring the Dolts 33-0 and forcing turnovers on 4 consecutive drives. That said, coaches should be able to find plenty of stuff to be unhappy about as for three quarters its an incredibly shoddy effort on both sides of the ball, and for the first time all season our special teams even looked pretty lousy.
1) Like I said in reply to Dodger, I don't understand what Prescot sees sometimes and he's a 7th yr QB now. He made far too many bad decisions last night and numerous really BAD throws. He's healthy and throwing inside in a dome, there's really not much excuse for the inaccuracy we saw. He also missed several reads where other guys were wide open somewhere. His stat line ultimately shows ok, but he completed almost nothing downfield and had a paltry 5.7 yds per attempt, to go along with 3 or 4 balls that should have been picked off. For the life of me I cannot understand how they could target Stephen Gilmore so much in the first half when the other CB is a career backup (regular starter was out). Lamb and Gallup made Prescott look a lot better than he deserved last night.
2) 220 rushing yards and 4 tds is a good day at the office. Also ripped off numerous chunk runs. Tyron Smith is likely to practice this week and potentially could see some action next week v Houston or the following week vs Jacksonville, he's an A+ run blocker when healthy so the run game should get a big boost when he gets back at LT and Tyler Smith goes to LG.
3) 5 turnovers (with 4 in one quarter) is really nice. They are now +9 in turnover ratio (2nd in the league) along with 2nd in the league in turnovers forced with 21. Seems good, until you remember they are a combined +8 in turnover ratio and have 10 turnovers in just two games (Detroit and Indy). If not for 3 quarters of football, we'd be +1 in turnover ratio and rank near the bottom in total turnovers forced.
4) They only got 3 sacks last night against one of the most sacked and most hit QB's in the league coming in, and 2 of the 3 sacks came from all out blitzes when guys were basically unblocked. The pass rush was not good at all last night, and the Colts were missing their 2nd best OL (their starting RT). Parsons, D Law and Armstrong were pretty much invisible for most of the game and the only sack from a DL came from DT Odighizuwa.
5) On the flip side, the run defense was not horrible as it had been at times this year. J Taylor is one of the best RB's in the league and other than 1 or 2 runs they really held him in check. Perhaps some of the lack of pass rush was due to extra focus on the run game, but that part is definitely a concern.
6) Daron Bland had himself a really good game. 8 tackles and 2 picks, Damone Clark had a key forced fumble that was run back for a TD and shows some burst and range each week. They also got TE Jake Ferguson on day three. That's a helluva 3rd day haul for the front office. Bland is now tied with Diggs for team lead in ints with 3.
7) More bummer news is Anthony Brown is definitely done for the yr and special teams ace/backup CB CJ Goodwin might be gone awhile too. We are getting very thin at CB. We are about to find out if last years 2nd rd pick Kelvin Joseph is a potential long term answer or not. Last night was a mixed bag, gave up a TD and had a penalty on special teams, but did nearly have his first career pick and several solid tackles.
8) Not sure what happened on special teams last night but apparently the Colts found something on tape in our PAT/FG protection. They blocked one and nearly blocked two or three others. Maher's leg might be wearing down some. He was leading the league in touchbacks by a good margin but last night had only 2 on 10 kickoffs. We gave up nearly 30 yds per return too which is a concern.
9) Jones seems hell bent on adding OBJ no matter what, and I just don't see the need or the fit. The guy apparently is nowhere near 100% which means at the earliest, he might play in a game by the end of the month or maybe not even til January. Even if does get out there, what's he gonna be? 60%? 75% maybe? This is two AC: tears now. And while Collingsworth noted the Rams loved him in the locker room, he was definitely a cancer in NYG and Cleveland and we don't need that here.
