With second straight loss, how good are the Cowboys?
ARLINGTON, Texas — When the Dallas Cowboys walked out of AT&T Stadium with their 31-6 win against the Miami Dolphins on Sept. 22 to improve to 3-0, the question was asked: How good is this team?
After Sunday’s 34-24 loss to the Green Bay Packers, the question remains: How good is this team?
The Cowboys (3-2) have lost two straight, and their unbeaten start looks a little more dubious considering the New York Giants, Washington Redskins and Dolphins have combined to win two games in the first five weeks of the season. The Giants own both of those victories.
The Cowboys are in first place in the NFC East because of a better division record than the Philadelphia Eagles (3-2), but the teams are trending in different directions.
Cowboys quarterback Dak Prescott threw for a career-high 463 yards on Sunday, but he was intercepted three times, tying a career high.
Amari Cooper had a career high in receiving yards with 226, but a drop on the first drive led to an interception that Green Bay turned into a touchdown and had the Cowboys playing catch-up for the rest of the game.
The Cowboys’ defense could not bottle up Green Bay’s Aaron Jones, who became the first running back to have four rushing touchdowns against Dallas in franchise history. Aaron Rodgers was not magical, as he had been at times against the Cowboys, but he didn’t need to be. The Cowboys didn’t force him to be magical.
And now there are more questions than answers about this Dallas team.
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QB breakdown: If Prescott was nearly flawless to start the season, he was incredibly imprecise on Sunday. He had three interceptions through the first four games but was intercepted three times on Sunday — and was lucky it was not five. Prescott’s first two interceptions came on play-action passes. He had a total of three interceptions on play fakes in his career entering the game. Each week shouldn’t be a measurement of what kind of contract the Cowboys should or will give Prescott, but that’s how it shapes up publicly, even if the first interception against the Packers was not his fault. Prescott can’t be so careless with the ball if the Cowboys are going to go anywhere in 2019.
Troubling trend: The Cowboys had been excellent on third down for their first three games, but their past two games have been poor in that area. In a loss at the New Orleans Saints, they converted 4 of 11 opportunities, which resulted in only nine possessions. Against the Packers, they converted 2 of 8 chances. When this offense is rolling, third down is a breeze, but in their past two games, the Cowboys have fought and scrapped against better defenses. If the Cowboys’ offense can’t stay on the field, it hurts Dallas’ defense.
Pivotal play: Cooper had his career high in yards and became the first Cowboy with multiple 200-yard receiving games, but the first drive set the tone. The Cowboys came out aggressive offensively on their first possession, throwing the ball down the field. Prescott found Cooper wide open at the Green Bay 16, but the ball bounced off the receiver and into the arms of cornerback Jaire Alexander for the interception. Had Cooper caught the ball cleanly, he could have scored or at least put the Cowboys in position to score on their opening drive.