The Dallas Cowboys offense is broken and other observations in a loss to the Seahawks

The Dallas Cowboys are in trouble, most notably quarterback Dak Prescott and Coach Jason Garrett.

There is no other way to say it after Sunday’s 24-13 loss to the Seattle Seahawks on an otherwise beautiful day at CenturyLink Field.

What should have been a winnable game against a desperate Seattle team that opened the season with two straight losses became a double-digit set back.

At 1-2, the season could quickly get away from the Cowboys with questions about Garrett’s job security and Prescott future as the team’s franchise quarterback surely on the docket if things don’t turn around quickly after an offseason of major changes on offense.

Prescott completed 19 of 34 passes for 168 yards with one meaningless touchdown and two interceptions to Seattle safety Earl Thomas, who added insult to the embarrassment with a bow in front of the Cowboys bench after the final pick.

Maybe if the Cowboys had made the much talked about the trade for Thomas earlier, this outcome might have been different?

But that has nothing to do with the team’s struggles on offense that are far bigger and deeper than the departure of combustible receiver Dez Bryant in the offseason.

Prescott has not passed for 200 yards all season. And the Cowboys continued to struggle on third down, converting just three of 13 chances.

A disappointed owner Jerry Jones promised that the problems will be fixed.

“I think we’ve got the players and I do think we have the talent and I think we have the coaching that can get us on the right track offensively,” Jones said when asked about his level of concern. “That’s a good question. I want to answer it that way. We will get on the right track offensively. I’ll assure you.”

Here are five thoughts from the game:

1. There is no good way to say it. Dak Prescott and the passing offense is broken. It’s not just the numbers. Yes, he passed for under 200 yards for a third straight game and the ninth time in the last 11 games dating back to last season. But the offensive line is not blocking well. Tyron Smith and Connor Williams gave up sacks. Rookie receiver Michael Gallup dropped a pass that led to an interception. Running back Ezekiel Elliott dropped a pass on third down that would have been a first down. Elliott also cost the Cowboys a touchdown when he ran out of bounds before the catch, nullifying a 31-yard touchdown pass from Prescott.

But the numbers are the numbers and something is not right with Prescott and the passing game, whether it’s design, a lack of imagination, the passer or the weapons. Or all of the above.

Prescott had four yards passing in the first quarter. He was six for 13 for 40 yards but just 23 net yards passing at halftime. The Cowboys were 1 for 7 on third down, giving them no chance to generate of offense.

Things didn’t get much better until late in the fourth quarter when the Cowboys trailed 24-6 and the time was on side of the Seahawks defense.

“I’ve got to be more accurate,” a frustrated Prescott said. “I’ve got to be more consistent at making throws. We’ve got to get open. It’s across the board. But it starts with me.”

There were no passes down the field. Prescott said he has to force the issue more. But when tight end Geoff Swaim leads the team with five catches for 47 yards and has the second most targets behind eight dump offs to Elliott then that speaks to a lack of explosion at receiver and in the passing game.

Prescott was sacked five times.

Coach Jason Garrett said “We have to do a better job in the passing game. You also have to make good decisions, throws and catches. We have not done a good enough job of that. Overall, pass efficiency and explosiveness was not there.”

2. The talk of Seattle Pro Bowl safety Earl Thomas being a trade possibility to the Cowboys won’t go away. It may get louder after Sunday’s game, unless the Cowboys feel they are so far away that giving up a premium pick for Thomas doesn’t makes sense at this point. But Thomas showed he was worth the fuss on the second drive of the game with an interception off a drop by receiver Michael Gallup. Thomas picked the ball up off the top of his shoe. And then when Jeff Heath left the game with an injured ankle and Kavon Frazier blew coverage, giving up a 52-yard touchdown pass from Russell Wilson to receiver Tyler Lockett, FOX analyst and former Cowboys quarterback Troy Aikman stated the obvious.

“The concern coming into the season for the Cowboys was safety play. How were they going to hold up? It’s why they have an interest in Earl Thomas. And ... I’m sure after this game they’re going to have even more interest than they already had.”

“I think Jerry Jones may come get him this week,” Aikman added. “But the price may have just gone up.”

Thomas capped his performance with another tipped interception in the fourth quarter, followed by a bow in front of the Cowboys bench.

Thomas said he thought it was possible that possibly was his last game in Seattle. And he was happy the way he went out if it was.

“Yeah, of course, I heard chatter, people were coming up to me and saying a trade might happen,” Thomas said. “Even pregame, a couple Cowboys coaches came up to me, I don’t know if they were playing psychological games, but they were like, ‘You ready for the trade tomorrow?’.”

“If it was, I had a damn good time. I’d go out like that if I had to,” Thomas said. “I just want to be appreciated. That’s it.”

3. Things weren’t going well for the Dallas Cowboys late in the second quarter Sunday against the Seattle Seahawks. They were down 14-3 and confusion on defense forced them to use all of their timeouts. They had given up two touchdown passes on coverage mistakes at safety and then defensive end Randy Gregory made an unconscionable mistake before the end of the half.

With the Seahawks seemingly out of field goal range following an incomplete pass on 3rd and 7 after the 44-yard line with 9 seconds left in the quarter, Gregory pushed an offensive lineman in the face in front of an official. There was trash talk after the play but Gregory made it physical and drew a 15-yard penalty. The Seahawks used the penalty to kick a 47-yard field goal on the last play of the half, making the score 17-3.

It was not the difference in the game but it was an example of the sloppiness and undisciplined play the Cowboys displayed all day on Sunday.

“You have to keep your poise regardless off what anybody did to you or said to you,” Garrett said. “You can not respond like that. That was a poor play for us.”

Gregory played Sunday after sitting out last week’s game with a concussion. He had no tackles. No sacks. No hits on the quarterback. But one punch and a 15-yard penalty.

4. Linebacker Sean Lee was sidelined late in the third quarter and the entire fourth quarter after he re-injured his hamstring.

Lee had a strong first half, leading the Cowboys with nine tackles and seemingly looking like himself again after two average games two start the season.

But Lee finished Sunday on the sideline with a baseball cap on his head. Rookie Leighton Vander Esch replaced him at weakside linebacker next to middle linebacker Jayon Smith.

Lee missed practice for much of last week with the hamstring injury and it was a game-time decision for him to even play on Sunday.

Now this time he might be out a little longer.

The Cowboys were 1-4 last year without Lee in the lineup.

Vander Esch tied Lee for the team lead in tackles with 11 for the game. But the Cowboys gave up 113 yards yards rushing, including 102 to Chris Carson. He capped a 72-yard drive in the fourth quarter with a 5-yard touchdown run.

5. The stats will credit running back Ezekiel Elliott for his first 100-yard game of the season. He had 16 carries for 127 yards and it fits the narrative of him having a breakout game in the third game of the year as has been the case his first two years in the league.

But stats don’t tell the whole truth. Elliott contributed to the loss with a dropped pass in the first half that would have been a first down, killing a drive. He ran out of bounds before catching a would-be touchdown pass from Dak Prescott. A scrambling Prescott found Elliott wide open behind the defense but he had gone out of bounds on his pass route and came back in catch the pass. The 31-yard touchdown play was called back and the Cowboys had to settle for a field goal, turning a possible 7-7 game to 7-3.

Elliott capped his uneven performance in the fourth quarter with a fumble following a 26-yard run. Elliott was running down the left sideline but slowed up to cut back to the middle, allowing safety Bradley McDougald to catch up to him and knock the ball out.

“I’m very frustrated, definitely with my individual performance,” Elliott said.”As a leader on this team I’ve got to better in those clutch moments and that’s it. I had a poor performance today. I dropped the ball. That loss is on me.”

This story was originally published September 23, 2018 at 7:13 PM.