The Dallas Cowboys’ offense got off to such a rough start against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers that fans immediately asked on social media whether Dak Prescott’s hand was hurt. After Thursday’s loss, the Cowboys quarterback was asked directly about it.

The concern traces back to the Cowboys’ Week 4 win over the Houston Texans, when Prescott’s hand was bandaged after the game. At the time, Prescott said the injury wasn’t anything serious. He explained that his hand had been stepped on, that he needed a bandage, and that he wasn’t worried about it.

After Dallas fell to Tampa Bay, his hand was once again a topic of conversation. But this time, the Cowboys quarterback left no room for interpretation. 

“There is absolutely nothing wrong with my hand,” Prescott said postgame.

That was to be expected. Prescott wasn’t even on the injury report leading into the game. He didn’t even wear a bandage over his hand today. Then what happened?

Todd Bowles won the blitz battle

To be fair, the Cowboys quarterback and the entire passing game were a little off, especially early in the game. Things settled down in the second half. For the most part, however, Dallas simply lost the battle against Buccaneers coach Todd Bowles in the blitz department.

Bowles is known as one of the most aggressive blitzing coaches in the NFL, and he brought the heat early and often. Per Sumer Sports, the Bucs blitzed on 43% of Prescott’s dropbacks and they generated a 40% pressure rate overall. The Cowboys struggled to pick up the blitz in pass protection.

According to the Prime Vision broadcast, the Cowboys had four untouched blitzers affect Prescott in the first half alone. That was the main problem.

It wasn’t necessarily that the Buccaneers were beating blocks. It was that Dallas wasn’t even picking them up. Something was severely wrong with the game plan and the way the Cowboys schemed their protections, and Bowles took advantage of it.

If you ask me, Cowboys head coach Brian Schottenheimer and his staff looked outclassed from a coaching perspective on this one. And the Cowboys had to pay for it.

Turnovers told the real story

Prescott was simply inaccurate at times as well, and Dallas left plenty of opportunities on the table. And yet, the passing woes hit their lowest point late in the game, when the Cowboys did have good opportunities and open players. Execution was the issue.

For starters, wide receiver Ryan Flournoy failed to haul in a slant pass. The ball hit him in the hands, was tipped, and resulted in interception No. 1. Later, on what could have been the game-winning drive, something similar happened with tight end Jake Ferguson. He failed to secure the catch, and the Buccaneers picked off the ball.

As much as we should complain about the Cowboys defense, and as underwhelmed as we are by the way Dallas handled the blitz, it’s difficult not to think about the fact that the Cowboys turned the ball over three times against Tampa Bay. Two of those turnovers came on accurate passes.

The other was a special teams fumble by KaVontae Turpin. That one stung. He is on the roster because of his return skills. He’s a role player on offense, but he’s on the team because of special teams.

He cannot cost the team in that spot. He just can’t.

And on Thursday, he cost the Cowboys in a very big spot. 

For now, you should know, straight from Prescott himself, that nothing is wrong with his hand. The Cowboys had plenty of other issues on Thursday. His hand was not one of them.