Humbled, angry and refocused Dallas Cowboys have their eyes back on the prize
No one ever likes to lose.
But sometimes lessons can be learned in setbacks, especially when someone has lost sight of reality.
That is the mindset of the Dallas Cowboys (6-2) heading into Sunday’s game against the Atlanta Falcons (4-4) one week after an embarrassing 30-16 setback against the Denver Broncos.
It not only snapped a six-game winning streak but it was also a humbling experience that brought the high-flying Cowboys back down to earth.
They were admittedly too cocky and overconfident.
Owner Jerry Jones called them lackadaisical. He expects a different attitude when the Cowboys show up at AT&T Stadium for the Falcons game.
“This is going to be a significant game for us,” Jones said. “But I can tell you one thing: you won’t have any overconfident people come into that stadium with the team or the coaches. We’ve had that cheese.”
Receiver Amari Cooper explained it best when he described a dropped pass in the game, his first of the season.
He said it took his eye off the ball like the Cowboys took their eye off the prize.
“It goes hand in hand with how we looked as a team,” Cooper said. “As soon as I dropped the ball, I knew exactly what happened, I took my eyes off it and that’s a great reminder for me just like it is for the team. We can’t take our eye off the prize. We just have to stay focused on everything we do at all times if we want to get to where we want to go.”
Cooper called the let down against the Falcons a needed wake up call for the Cowboys in their quest to not only make the playoffs but reach the Super Bowl for the first time in 26 years.
“It’s never good to lose,” Cooper said. “It’s a great reminder looking back on it. No matter how many games we win in a row you can still be reminded like that that you need to be consistent every week in this league. It’s hard to win in this league, everybody knows that. If you come out the way that we came out you’re bound to lose.”
Quarterback Dak Prescott said the Cowboys succumbed to human nature and got overconfident into believing they could do what they wanted and when they wanted.
They had some poor practices in the prior weeks but it hadn’t shown up on the field on game day or in the won-loss column until the humbling by the Broncos.
“When you go on a run like we were, winning a lot of games, doing it in different ways. I think maybe that snuck in unconsciously,” Prescott said.
Angry and refocused, the Cowboys have been cognizant about their approach, preparation and attention to details this week in practice.
They know they will be challenged by the Falcons, who are likely to copy the schemes of the Broncos in trying to slow down the Cowboys offense.
But the Cowboys say they were their worst enemy against the Broncos and, if they do what they are supposed to do, they won’t have the same problems against the Falcons.
Not only was Prescott rusty after a week off due to calf strain, but receivers Amari Cooper (hamstring) and CeeDee Lamb (ankle) were hobbled against the Broncos.
“It just caught us on a bad week,” Cooper said. “I’m not trying to make excuses. Shoot, I could barely run, CeeDee could barely run, and we’re starting receivers. No excuses. So, obviously, we needed to do our jobs because we decided to step on the field. But we want to invite that man-to-man coverage every week because it’s either going to be a slow death or a fast one.”
The Cowboys are healthier than they were a week ago and they are properly motivated, as last week’s message was received loud and clear.
So much so that coach Mike McCarthy took the edge off Friday in an attempt to get them to loosen up and laugh a little.
He played a game of bingo in the brotherhood team meeting with different ping pong balls displaying different messages. When a player’s number was called, he was asked to get up and talk to the team about the message on his ball.
“We don’t want to change the personality or the energy level of what we got going here,” McCarthy said. “We talk about culture and character, this is when culture is reflected in adversity. Just the way they responded, a big part of our team is the energy and the enthusiasm they bring to the table every day. We definitely don’t want to lose that.”
“I think they’ve been very accountable. So I feel confident that we’ll respond.”
This story was originally published November 12, 2021 at 3:26 PM.
