No moral victory but Dak Prescott, Dallas Cowboys sow seeds of optimism in Week 1 loss
There are no moral victories in sports.
Results are measured in wins and losses.
You are what your record says you are.
After one game in 2021, the Dallas Cowboys are 0-1 following Thursday’s 31-29 loss to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in the 2021 NFL season kickoff.
And if you go back to last year, they are 6-11.
Add it all up and it doesn’t look good on paper.
But this is not last year and there were plenty of signs of optimism in the Week 1 loss. If the Cowboys continue in the right direction, they could make their final record in 2021 the complete opposite.
Consider, No. 1, that this was no ordinary season-opening opponent.
This was the defending Super Bowl Champion Tampa Bay Buccaneers on their own turf with their entire team back intact.
The Cowboys were an 8.5-point underdog but lost by 2 points, succumbing on a game-winning field goal drive engineered by seven-time Super Bowl Champion quarterback Tom Brady in the final moments.
And they have no one but themselves to blame.
Cowboys kicker Greg Zuerlein gave away 4 points with a missed 31-yard field goal and missed an extra point.
“If I do my job, we win that game,” Zuerlein said. “So I feel bad for the guys in there that played their (expletive) off and I didn’t hold up my end of the deal.”
It’s little wonder that quarterback Dak Prescott went up to everyone after the game, including Brady, with his head held high and promised a rematch in the playoffs.
“I told everybody we will see them again,” Prescott said. “That is the confidence I have in this group. This is a playoff team that is going to make a big push this year. We need to get better and make a step from tonight. We have a good team. I am excited about this season.”
While disappointed they came up short against the Buccaneers, the entire Cowboys organization left Tampa Bay with a sense of excitement and optimism about what lies ahead.
Of course, it all starts with Prescott and his fantastic play in what was his first game since suffering a fractured ankle last Oct. 11 against the New York Giants.
Prescott’s absence for 11 games in 2020 was the biggest reason for the team’s disappointing season.
His return after 333 days was a thing of inspirational beauty.
Prescott tossed a career-high 58 passes with 42 completions. He passed for 403 yards and three touchdowns with just one interception on a pass that should have been caught by receiver CeeDee Lamb.
He was fearless in the face of the blitz. He ran when necessary, showing no concern about the surgically-repaired ankle.
And he matched Brady throw for throw.
It was what the Cowboys expected when they signed Prescott to a four-year, $160 million contract in March.
And none of that was lost on owner Jerry Jones.
“If you want to smile about something that has a big-time, long-term relative to the season impact it’s Dak,” Jones said. “It’s one of the most phenomenal performances that I’ve seen. He hadn’t played in almost 18 months. For him to step out there, and have that kind of night is nothing but encouraging.”
Offensive coordinator Kellen Moore told the team before the start of the season that the goal was to be the No. 1 offense in the league.
The Cowboys totaled 451 yards, had just one turnover and gave up just one sack, despite playing without their best offensive lineman in guard Zack Martin, against one of the league’s top defenses in their first outing.
And receivers Amari Cooper, CeeDee Lamb and Michael Gallup lived up to their lofty expectations as one of the league’s top trios. Cooper caught 13 passes for 139 yards and two touchdowns.
Lamb had seven receptions for 104 yards but was undone by at least two drops if not three.
And Gallup had four catches for 36 in the first half before suffering an ankle injury.
“Personally, it was very disappointing, especially on my end considering I played a part in us continuing being down because of the drops I had,” Lamb said. “You live and you learn, and I’m going to be better for this team.”
Said Cooper: “We have a high-powered offense but a high-powered offense doesn’t guarantee wins. We have a lot to clean up. We can be great and come up short. I feel like that’s what (last night) was. It was a great effort, but we came up short. We want to be the best.”
The Cowboys have hopes they can achieve their goals, not just because of the offense, but because of the improvement they showed on defense.
The Cowboys recorded four turnovers, two forced fumbles and two interceptions.
A unit that gave up the second-most rushing yards in franchise history in 2020 held the Buccaneers to just 52 yards on 14 carries, allowing just 3.7 yards per carry.
Certainly, the pass rush needs improvement and the Cowboys must cover better.
But most games won’t be against Brady, who passed for 379 yards and four touchdowns, and a receiver corps with the likes of Rob Gronkowski, Antonio Brown, Mike Evans and Chris Godwin.
Jones said the difference between this year’s team and last is the upside on defense. He pointed out that the Cowboys have room to get better when defensive tackle Neville Gallimore and cornerback Kelvin Joseph return from injury and safety Malik Hooker gets more acclimated to the defense.
“That was opening night, we were playing the world champs,” Jones said “What an opportunity for a victory. Again David and Goliath. And we played well. To the ones that don’t want to acknowledge a moral victory of what I see is a defense that is going to get better. We have the athletes to get better. We have the scheme to get better. Offensively we really, in my mind, were everything we thought we could be.”
The key now is putting some substance behind the optimism with a real victory next Sunday against the Los Angeles Chargers.
