Cowboys offense kept off the scoreboard for the first time in 15 years

This wasn’t supposed to be possible anymore.

The Dallas Cowboys offense has been an effective machine for much of the past month during the team’s five-game win streak.

Against the Indianapolis Colts on Sunday, it looked all too reminiscent of early 2018, not resurgent 2018. The Cowboys were shutout for the first time since losing to the New England Patriots 12-0 on Nov 16, 2003.

For the math-deficient, that’s 15 seasons and two coaches ago.

“In general, we didn’t play with the edge that I thought we started with,” Cowboys owner and general manager Jerry Jones said. “I thought we started with the right kind of edge, the right kind of physicality. Everybody was doing their part. I thought Zeke [Elliott] was as intense as he could be actually throughout the game.”

The offense moved the ball but struggled once it was on the Colts’ side of the field. On their first possession, they moved to the Indy 30 but Brett Maher’s field goal was blocked. The Colts recovered on the Cowboys’ 44 and took a 7-0 lead eight plays later.

Dallas (8-6) never recovered. The Cowboys will now have to wait until next week for a chance to clinch the NFC East title against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers at noon Sunday at AT&T Stadium. The Bucs (5-9) lost to the Ravens on Sunday.

The Cowboys were held to 292 yards, their fewest yards since Week 5 when they were also held to 292 yards in an overtime loss in Houston. The only game the Cowboys had fewer yards the season opener against Carolina when they had 232. The last time Dallas had fewer than 19 first downs in a game was the Monday night loss to the Titans on Nov. 5.

“It’s really surprising,” said receiver Amari Cooper, who had four catches for 32 yards after compiling a career-best 217 yards on 10 catches a week ago. “It let’s us know we have to go back to the drawing board and just keep working because things like this can happen. And it’s never a good feeling. How are you going to win if you don’t score points?”

Quarterback Dak Prescott was sacked three times and now has been sacked a Cowboys-record 51 times in the 2018. Only the Texans (52) have allowed more QB sacks this season. Left guard Xavier Su’a-Filo left the game with an eye injury in the second quarter. That’s another blow to the Cowboys’ depleted offensive line which played without right guard Zack Martin for the first time in his five-year career.

“We got beat in all aspects of the game,” said Elliott, who had 87 yards on 18 carries. “I think a loss like this was very much needed. It was better for us in the grand scheme of the season. I think we need to get put in check and we needed a reality check and needed something to remind us we have a lot of ball left and we have to take everything.”

The offensive clunker is also vexing because Jason Garrett extolled the intensity of his team during practice this week.

“You have to make that hard work pay off on Sundays and we didn’t do that today,” Cooper said.