Dallas Cowboys offense flounders in team’s 44-19 loss to New Orleans Saints
The Dallas Cowboys offense managed only one touchdown in the team’s 44-19 loss against the New Orleans Saints on Sunday in their home opener at AT&T Stadium.
The Cowboys dominated time of possession early in the game as their first two drives consisting of 27 plays and used more than 14 minutes of the clock. However the Cowboys settled for field goals on both drives due to offensive miscues.
Their first drive stalled after a holding penalty on rookie tackle Tyler Guyton and the seconddrive stopped when Prescott missed CeeDee Lamb on what could’ve been a touchdown pass. Both drives ended in field goals. And instead of being tied 14-14, the Cowboys trailed 14-6 early in the second quarter.
Offensive lineman Tyler Smith said the team had to capitalize on their scoring chances.
“I mean, I think the biggest thing was just we stay, I don’t think we stayed ahead of the sticks all the time. We have some turnovers, not many, but we have some and so just staying ahead of the stakes I think is the biggest thing for us and just, you know, using every drive effectively, like really taking advantage of every opportunity we get,” Smith said.
Meanwhile, the Saints’ offense continued to click, scoring touchdowns on each of their first half possessions.
By halftime, the Cowboys trailed 35-16. After Brandon Aubrey booted his fourth field goal of the game early in the third quarter to trim the lead to 35-19, the Cowboys were finished scoring.
The team’s wide receiver corps struggled at times during the loss.
CeeDee Lamb got off to a quick start in the first half when he had four catches for 90 yards including a sensational 65-yard touchdown, but he didn’t record a single catch after halftime.
After the game, Lamb acknowledged that there were more plays to be made between him and Prescott but praised the Saints’ performance.
“I feel like I got to be better for the team. Obviously, I left some plays out there that could have changed the game,” Lamb said. “New Orleans won the game. We played terrible. We didn’t play complimentary football and the scoreboard says it all.”
The team’s No. 2 receiver Brandin Cooks had two catches for 19 yards in the loss and has 59 total receiving yards on the season. Cooks, an 11-year NFL veteran had 657 receiving yards last season for the Cowboys which was his fewest since he was a rookie with the Saints.
Jalen Brooks had one catch for 10 yards and slipped running his route on Dak Prescott’s first interception.
Team owner Jerry Jones expressed confidence in his receivers despite the loss.
“I’m not sure what the stats were, but I saw some top catches. That was unfortunate on the first interception, which came at a bad time, but still, at the end of the day, it just looked like they offensively hit a wall, and we weren’t able to stand up to it. And so all day long, I just saw it, just a push going on out there, so we’ve got to correct that and we can,” said Jones.
Cowboys quarterback Dak Prescott threw for 293 yards with a touchdown and two interceptions in the loss. Postgame the Mississippi State Product remained even keeled after the loss.
“Now we just simply got to reset. We go to respond. We’re not going undefeated, I mean it hasn’t been done in 50 years who’s surprised? It’s about getting back to it and finding a way to respond to put the best team on the field next week,” said Prescott.
The Cowboys will face the Baltimore Ravens next on Sept. 22 at 3:20 p.m. at AT&T Stadium.
