Cowboys’ offense slapped after showing no punch

It can’t all be Brandon Weeden’s fault.

“The quarterback is not the only player out there and we’ve got to play better,” Cowboys owner Jerry Jones said Sunday. “We’ve really got to play better all over.”

The Cowboys’ lack of offensive firepower was never more apparent than in the 30-6 setback to the New England Patriots on Sunday at AT&T Stadium.

The Cowboys couldn’t run. They couldn’t stretch the field. They didn’t have anyone to put the slightest scare in Bill Belichick’s defense.

“We have enough weapons,” slot receiver Cole Beasley said. “We just have to execute. That’s what it comes down to and we didn’t.”

Not having Tony Romo and Dez Bryant is taking its toll. Bryant’s loss is especially pronounced, as Weeden doesn’t have a big-play threat on the outside.

Receivers Beasley, Terrance Williams, Devin Street and Lucky Whitehead weren’t able to get open downfield, forcing Weeden into dink-and-dunk passes to running backs.

Those four receivers combined for eight receptions and 80 yards. Julian Edelman had 120 yards by himself for New England.

“I could only speak for what I did today, obviously,” Beasley said. “I don’t know what the other guys did. They know how they played. I just have to focus on my job, and that’s to get open and catch the ball, and I didn’t do that enough today.”

Williams and Beasley both dismissed talk of benching Weeden in favor of backup Matt Cassel.

“We have to get better, I have to get better at making Brandon throw the ball to me with a simple pass,” Williams said. “I have to continue beating my guy and just continue to be a wide-open target because he can make the throw.”

Further compounding matters was the loss last week of Lance Dunbar, perhaps the most explosive pass-catching threat out of the backfield.

The rushing attack hasn’t provided any answers. Other than the first half against Atlanta, Joseph Randle has largely been a nonfactor.

Randle showed some burst in the second half against New England, running for 30 of his 60 yards on the Cowboys’ third-quarter field goal drive. Overall, the consistency hasn’t been there.

“We’re going to keep on doing what we do, keep on playing Cowboy football,” Randle said. “Tonight we didn’t have enough. We played against a great opponent. We’re going to keep on doing what we do.”

Darren McFadden had only five rushes for 16 yards, though he did have nine catches for 62 yards. Christine Michael, making his debut, carried the ball only once for 6 yards.

Keeping drives alive was another problem. The Cowboys were 4 for 14 on third-down conversions.

Again, the blame solely wasn’t placed at the arm of Weeden.

“It’s kind of hard when you don’t win on first and second down, and you see a guy trying to throw the ball on third-and-20, third-and-17,” Williams said. “There are not too many quarterbacks that can get that completed.”

Bryant’s possible return after this week’s bye offers some hope.

“We’re going to use him to the max, of course,” Randle said. “He’s one of our team’s leaders and we’re going to definitely use him.”

This story was originally published October 11, 2015 at 9:10 PM with the headline "Cowboys’ offense slapped after showing no punch."