The Dallas Cowboys had an opportunity to show they were for real as a playoff contending team. But instead of proving doubters wrong, the Cowboys wilted on the road, losing 44-30 to the Detroit Lions, taking a massive hit to their postseason chances in the process.
Over the last few weeks, the Cowboys have made most of the big plays in the key moments. Against the Lions on Thursday night, they did everything wrong. It was a masterclass in disaster as Brian Schottenheimer’s team wasn’t up for the challenge in Week 14.
Road Bad Graders
It shouldn’t have come as a surprise; the Cowboys have been brutally bad on the road versus good teams this season, and they are now 0-5 away from AT&T Stadium against teams with a winning record. Those five opponents have scored an average of 34.6 points per game on Dallas’ defense, with the last two offenses scoring 44 points apiece.
Nothing went right for the Cowboys in the loss, who did everything they could to give the game away. In the big moments, in the small moments, in all three phases, the Cowboys came up well short, and the coaches are just as much to blame. It wasn’t Schottenheimer’s best day, and Matt Eberflus’ defense got smoked, but the rarely talked about special teams units played a role in the loss as well.
Special Teams problems continue
Nick Sorensen’s special teams also played an important role in defeat. His return unit had three penalties on returns, while also allowing an average of 40 yards a return on kickoffs.
Every time the Cowboys got the defense back onto the field with a chance for a stop, their special teams group was giving up a long kickoff return. Giving the Lions the ball past the 40-yard line was a recipe for disaster, and Sorensen’s group was embarrassed.
Ferguson and Pickens Problems
Players the Cowboys have counted on all year contributed to the teams’ demise in Detroit. Tight end Jake Ferguson had his worst game this season, giving the ball away with a fumble that resulted in a Lions touchdown four plays later.
However, Ferguson’s biggest mistake came late in the second quarter with the Cowboys driving to get the game within one score before halftime. Wide receiver George Pickens had gotten a pass interference call to give the Cowboys the ball inside the five-yard line, but the TEs hands to the face penalty offset the calls and the offense moved back to the Lions’ 49.
It was a huge swing play that forced the Cowboys to continue to play catch-up for the rest of the game. Coupled with the fumble, it was a rough night for Ferguson, who didn’t play well when needed.
Another offensive player who came up short was WR George Pickens. The first-year Cowboy had earned rave reviews this season, but Pickens looked disinterested in this contest and cost his team in Week 14.
Pickens also got called for a questionable pass interference call that negated a big first down, but it was his lazy route running that hurt the Cowboys. On two occasions, Pickens didn’t help quarterback Dak Prescott, and the veteran WRs effort was questioned.
The first play in the second half saw Prescott throw the same slant to Pickens that had been working all season, only this time the receiver wasn’t aggressive in the route, didn’t attack the ball and allowed the cornerback to break up the pass. The tipped ball went right into linebacker Derrick Barnes’ hands for the interception, and the Lions scored two plays later to take an 18-point lead.
Later in the third quarter, Pickens jogged for a route where Prescott was forced out of the pocket and threw Pickens’ way. The pass was knocked away, but the WR made little effort on the play.
Losing is one thing, but Pickens being disengaged in a big game hurt his team’s chances in the loss.
Offensive Line Woes, Defense Inept
Unlike Pickens, at least the offensive line tried, but the tackles struggled to keep pressure off Prescott. The Lions had just four sacks in the last four games coming into this contest but had five against the Cowboys. Left tackle Nathan Thomas and right tackle Terence Steele were repeatedly beaten and it affected the offense. Prescott had been sacked just 17 times prior to this game, being taken down five times in this one tied his season high.
It was also the defenses putrid play that contributed to the loss. Eberflus’ gameplan was too passive, and the Lions burned the Dallas’ defense for 44 points. The unit was solid to start, but that was because Eberflus was blitzing to keep QB Jared Goff out of rhythm. Yet, the DC stopped sending pressure, and the Lions feasted.
And somehow, the Lions continued to get speedy WR Jameson Williams lined up on safety Markquese Bell, a matchup that always went Williams’ way. How Eberflus kept allowing that to happen is something that should be questioned.
Head Coach shoulders blame, too
Schottenheimer didn’t have his best game either. The head coach was too passive in his decisions to kick field goals instead of going for it on fourth downs, which remains one of his biggest weaknesses.
One of Schottenheimer’s worst calls came with 0:50 left in the first half with the ball on the Lions’ 37-yard line. Facing a fourth-and-four, the coach decided to kick the field goal instead of being aggressive and going for it. The Cowboys were down 11 at the time, and needed to try to get more than three points while also keeping the ball out of Detroit hands.
Kicker Brandon Aubrey made the field goal, but the Lions came right back down the field and kicked one to match it before halftime, negating the points. The Cowboys couldn’t stop the Lions on offense and the only way to win was to outscore them, but Schottenheimer played it safe. Predictably, it didn’t work.
Late in the game Schottenheimer chose to kick a field goal on 4th-and-3 while down 10 points which backfired as well. The Lions scored on a three-play drive to put the lead at two touchdowns to ice the game.
In a game where the Cowboys needed to be aggressive and play confidently on offense, Schottenheimer played scared. It’s tough to win in today’s NFL playing that way.
In every key moment, the Cowboys failed. There were too many mistakes as the Cowboys looked like a team who weren’t ready for a big road matchup. Pick any game snapshot and Dallas didn’t look like a playoff team.
It was no time to shrink, but that’s what the Cowboys did, repeatedly.
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This article originally appeared on Cowboys Wire: Game Recap: Cowboys wilt in big moments in all 3 phases in loss to Lions
Reporting by Ben Grimaldi, Cowboys Wire / Cowboys Wire
USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
