What did Dak Prescott, Ezekiel Elliott, Jason Witten say about Cowboys loss, mistakes?
There was no loss of confidence by the Cowboys following Sunday’s 12-10 loss to the New Orleans Saints.
It was their first loss of the season after rolling to a 3-0 start like a well-oiled machine.
That the Cowboys failed to score more than 10 points was a surprise after putting up at least 31 points and more than 400 yards of offense in winning their first three games by double-digit points.
But confidence in the Cowboys locker room remains high as quarterback Dak Prescott pointed to their miscues and lack of execution, while running back Ezekiel Elliott and tight end Jason Witten blamed themselves for two fumbles that thwarted potential scoring drives.
“I was expecting to win,” Prescott said. “ And knowing this offense, I wasn’t expecting to go out there and to be held to ten points. Give that team credit. Give that defense credit. Give that atmosphere credit. We never got going and we hurt ourselves because of that.
“It may surprise you. When you have all of the talent that we have and the execution we’ve been able to put on tape, the communication, there’s a lot of good things from this offense. To go out there and be held to only ten points is frustrating. I’m sure they’ll look at these stats and be proud of what they did. We just didn’t execute. We didn’t do what we needed to do to perform in the run game and in the passing game as well as we did these past few weeks. It’s a great learning experience for us and well learn a lot from it.”
The Saints surprised the Cowboys by playing more Cover 2 zone to limit big plays by Prescott to the receivers, while dominating the line of scrimmage with their defensive line to stone Elliott in the running game. Elliott rushed 18 times for 35 yards. And Prescott missed an open touchdown pass to Randall Cobb in the first quarter. Cobb also dropped a pass on third down to kill a potential scoring drive in the fourth.
“We were missing out on those big plays that we’ve had in the first few games,” Prescott said. “[Their defense] was doing various things. They had a great game plan. The chess match with their calls they were making and our shots, they had the right coverage called. If we ran the ball they were blitzing in the right places. It was a collective effort on their part, and I give them credit...This was on us. This was about our lack of execution. Regardless of the way they were doing things there were a lot of plays left out there on my part and this whole offense’s part.”
Replays appeared to show Elliott’s elbow was down before the crucial fumble in the second quarter. He took full blame for putting the ball on the turf.
“I just coughed it up,” Elliott said. “They just took it from me. It’s not acceptable. This team relies on me, just like with the fourth and one. I just can’t let the team down like that.
“It doesn’t really matter if my elbow was down or not,” Elliott added. “I’ve got to take care of the ball in that situation. The team relies on me to take care of the ball in that situation. I don’t really care if my elbow was down or not. I can’t leave any error for doubt.”
Witten also had a second-quarter fumble. It was just the ninth fumble of his 16-year career and just the sixth lost fumble.
The past reliability didn’t matter on Sunday following a 16-yard reception to convert a first down only to have it knocked out by tackler from behind.
“It was a terrible turnover on my part,” Witten said. “I have got to be better there. It is a basic fundamental play. We had an opportunity and you cannot kill drives with turnovers. Certainly, I’ve got to be better in that situation. Line one for tight ends is catching balls over the middle and securing the catch and getting first downs. You want to run after the catch, but you’ve got the hopes and dreams of the team in your hands.
“I’ve been fortunate over the years to make a lot of plays. I’m disappointed. That was a huge opportunity for our team to get a first down at midfield and have a drive. To have a turnover like that is a costly mistake. They did a good job knocking it out. That’s a mistake on my part. I’ve got to do a good job taking care of the ball high and tight, and secure it. I will learn from that and be better but that was a costly mistake on my end.”
Again, the Cowboys were frustrated by the loss and their mistakes.
But there is no loss of confidence in their offense.
They view the experience in the playoff-like atmosphere at the Superdome as a learning experience for down the road.
Said Witten: “You’ve got to be able to go into these types of environments and play well. That’s a good football team, it really is. We’ve got a good team. Everybody is accountable. Offensively we’ll stay together. Still a lot of confidence in this team.”
This story was originally published October 1, 2019 at 7:00 AM.
