DMN: 5 thoughts from the Cowboys' stunning loss to Colts

[bbgun]

INDIANAPOLIS - Nothing went right for the Cowboys on Sunday. A five-game winning streak came to an end courtesy of their worst performance of the season.

Here are my thoughts on Dallas getting dominated by the Indianapolis Colts, 23-0, at Lucas Oil Stadium.

1. The defense was awful across the board. They couldn't tackle. They got very little pressure on Andrew Luck. They didn't make any plays in the secondary. The rushing defense had to be the worst of the season. The Colts have a good offense. They came in ranked eighth in the NFL at 382 yards and just under 27 points per game. But it was stunning to see the Cowboys play so poorly in all areas. For the first time since Week 7 in Washington, the Cowboys' defense allowed points in the first quarter. They then did the same in the second, third and fourth.

2. The offense wasn't any better. For the first time since losing 12-0 to the Patriots in 2003, the Cowboys were shut out. The red zone woes continued. Dak Prescott and the passing game was brutal. There were some big plays in the running game, but the deficit got to be too much to continue to hand the ball off. There's plenty of blame to go around, but the execution was sloppy. The biggest blown opportunity came early in the second quarter when Jamize Olawale dropped what should have been an easy TD that would have tied the game 7-7. Everything was pretty much downhill after that.

3. Darius Leonard won the battle against fellow rookie linebacker Leighton Vander Esch. Leonard was all over the place Sunday, leading the Colts with 11 tackles, one tackle for loss and two passes defensed. Vander Esch didn't make a significant impact. After one fourth-down stop, Leonard even mocked Vander Esch by doing his signature wolf howl. The two were part of the Defensive Rookie of the Year conversation going into the game. It's now clear that the award will come down to Leonard and Chargers safety Derwin James.

4. Why are the Cowboys such a disaster in the red zone? As much as fans would like to blame just offensive coordinator Scott Linehan or Dak Prescott or the offensive line, it's really a combination of everything. When the protection is good, there's a bad throw or a bad route or a dropped pass. When everything else goes well, Prescott is getting immediate pressure, or there's a penalty for holding. The Cowboys are still very likely to make the playoffs, but as of right now, the red zone problems are the biggest reason to have doubts about a long postseason run.

5. Was Sunday's loss an example of where the Cowboys are headed or was it an outlier? The Colts have been rolling the last two months, but they had an embarrassing showing of their own two weeks ago against Jacksonville, falling 6-0. They've rebounded well. Indy has now won seven of its last eight. Will the Cowboys do the same? It won't take long to find out. With Washington's win and Dallas' loss on Sunday, the Cowboys will have to wait another week to have a shot at clinching their second NFC East title in three years.

 

[dbair1967]

Its not worth 5 thoughts. What we saw today was one of the worst efforts in franchise history, and the Colts are an average to slightly above average team at best.

 

[Scot]

5 thoughts

1. We suck
2. See number 1
3. See number 2
4. See number 3
5. See number 4

 

[DDdave]

What the heck was so stunning about todays loss. Once again many have been fooled and act like something has changed for the better this season. I said last week I wasn't buying into the latest win streak. 411 for everyone..........JG is still the HC. How many times has this story been repeated over the past 8 years??? LMAO.

 

[Doomsday]

What the heck was so stunning about todays loss.

It didn't stun me, I predicted it.

 

[dbair1967]

I wasn't surprised we lost, but was surprised we looked THAT bad.

For all the talk about how "red-hot" the Colts were, they just got shutout by a really bad Jacksonville team two weeks ago.

 

[Doomsday]

I wasn't surprised we lost, but was surprised we looked THAT bad.

For all the talk about how "red-hot" the Colts were, they just got shutout by a really bad Jacksonville team two weeks ago.

A game we should have taken notes on. All it was, was the Jags doing what they had seen us do against Nawlins. Attack, every play, NO soft coverages or zone, front 4 rip and the linebackers fly. Occasional blindside corner blitz, throw in the nasty Mike blitz here and there... works quite often. Make them dodge haymakers all day instead of getting comfortable and picking you apart.

 

[Dustdevil]

That blocked FG really set the tone for the rest of the day. After that, they looked like a team that knew they had TB and NY left, and they were expecting WAS and PHI to lay down and die.

If PHI or WAS somehow, someway wins this division, Garrett's gone without question. Otherwise, who knows?

I think you see a different team next week.

 

[SixisBetter]

A game we should have taken notes on. All it was, was the Jags doing what they had seen us do against Nawlins. Attack, every play, NO soft coverages or zone, front 4 rip and the linebackers fly. Occasional blindside corner blitz, throw in the nasty Mike blitz here and there... works quite often. Make them dodge haymakers all day instead of getting comfortable and picking you apart.

Exactly. After the game Tank said something to the effect of "we got punched in the mouth", similar to his own comments about the Saints.
Reich and Eberflus saw and took advantage of every weak spot. Garrett had no answers.
I watched several games with contenders over the weekend.
The Cowboys were the only team whose coaching staff kept calling the same fucking plays that didn't work.

 

[Praxit]

I wasn't surprised we lost, but was surprised we looked THAT bad.

For all the talk about how "red-hot" the Colts were, they just got shutout by a really bad Jacksonville team two weeks ago.

..yep, I agree. I knew a loss was coming within these next 3 games. But how we loss to Ind, is bothersome. Hope they get it together Sunday. The Hotboyz disappeared yesterday. It was like they forgot the game plan.

 

[dbair1967]

That blocked FG really set the tone for the rest of the day. After that, they looked like a team that knew they had TB and NY left, and they were expecting WAS and PHI to lay down and die.

If PHI or WAS somehow, someway wins this division, Garrett's gone without question. Otherwise, who knows?

I think you see a different team next week.

Garrett is gone regardless I think.

The blocked FG was definitely a letdown, but Prescott missing Hurns for what should have been a pretty simple TD right before was more of a letdown IMO. And then definitely the botched TD down on the GL (dropped TD pass, getting stuffed on 4th and 1) pretty much sealed it.

I think at one point we had 3 drives totalling 38 or 39 plays, and had zero points to show for it. After that they just gave up.

 

[lons]

Stunning loss? I'm not stunned at all. We have 1 quality win all year and we treated it like the Superbowl.

 

[Scot]

Stunning loss? I'm not stunned at all. We have 1 quality win all year and we treated it like the Superbowl.

Because that was our Super Bowl

That is good as it’s ever gonna get this season

 

[LAZARUS_LOGAN]

Reich and Eberflus saw and took advantage of every weak spot. Garrett had no answers.
I watched several games with contenders over the weekend.
The Cowboys were the only team whose coaching staff kept calling the same fucking plays that didn't work.

Reich is a ROOKIE HC...? WELL THERE YOU GO! So what does this make now? What's his record against rookie HCs?

 

[yimyammer]

What's his record against rookie HCs?

I think its 1-2 this season [Tennessee (L), Colts (L), Detroit (W)], not sure about the cumulative record

 

[Ragnar]

The Cowboys redzone offense sucks because our QB cannot go down the middle of the field. It's run plays swing passes or quick outs. By now it is no surprise that defensive coordinators are picking up on this.

This extends to the rest of the field as well. Nothing to challenge defenses down the middle, everything is sideline based. The sad part is this looks like it's by design. No way can Dallas move forward with this quarterback.

 

[dbair1967]

The Cowboys redzone offense sucks because our QB cannot go down the middle of the field. It's run plays swing passes or quick outs. By now it is no surprise that defensive coordinators are picking up on this.

This extends to the rest of the field as well. Nothing to challenge defenses down the middle, everything is sideline based. The sad part is this looks like it's by design. No way can Dallas move forward with this quarterback.

But is that a QB thing or an offensive system design thing? When you watch them they don't run a ton of routes over the middle or even in the seams.

Now sometimes coaches do that purposely because they fear the QB throwing into traffic too much, but there are some systems that just don't use the middle of the field much for whatever reason. Chan Gailey was like that when he was HC here and Aikman/Irvin and others called him out for it.

 

[icup]

why arent the tight ends beign used more



is it because they suck or because they suck ???


MY COLUMN:

 

[Ragnar]

But is that a QB thing or an offensive system design thing? When you watch them they don't run a ton of routes over the middle or even in the seams.

Now sometimes coaches do that purposely because they fear the QB throwing into traffic too much, but there are some systems that just don't use the middle of the field much for whatever reason. Chan Gailey was like that when he was HC here and Aikman/Irvin and others called him out for it.

I think it's by design. That's what bothers me. They didn't limit Romo to this. So why are they purposefully limiting Dak? I think we know why. That's why I said I don't believe Dallas sees a future with this quarterback.

I do remember that offense, just forget it was Chan Gailey's. Because he is forgettable. They used to constantly try to take advantage of m2m with sideline comebacks. Used to drive me crazy.

 

[Doomsday]

I think it's by design.

You think there's a design. A plan. How quaint.