Dallas Cowboys offense takes large step back without Dak Prescott
The Dallas Cowboys played host to the Arizona Cardinals on Monday Night Football. It was supposed to be an intriguing matchup between Dak Prescott and Kyler Murray. Instead, it turned out to be a lopsided win with Prescott not suited up. Murray and the Cardinals largely had their way with the Cowboys defense, especially after […]
The Dallas Cowboys played host to the Arizona Cardinals on Monday Night Football. It was supposed to be an intriguing matchup between Dak Prescott and Kyler Murray. Instead, it turned out to be a lopsided win with Prescott not suited up.
Murray and the Cardinals largely had their way with the Cowboys defense, especially after the first quarter. The 2019 Offensive Rookie of the Year only completed nine passes on the night, but he accounted for three touchdowns and led the Cardinals to 38 points.
Andy Dalton filled in for Prescott, and the Cowboys offense suffered mightily. To be fair, the offensive line has been decimated by injuries and Zack Martin left Monday night's game early. Still, Dalton struggled to get rid of the ball quickly, and the Cardinals made his night long.
With Prescott behind center, even with the injuries to the offensive line, the Dallas Cowboys offense was among the best in the league — ranking in the top-3 in total offense, passing offense, and scoring offense. Even when the team fell behind, there was confidence that Prescott could engineer enough scoring drives for a potential comeback.
Dalton is not Prescott and it is unfair to have expected the offense to not have missed a beat without their leader on the field. Dalton is one of the better backup signal-callers in the league, but Prescott has been performing as one of the best quarterbacks in all of football.
Below is a stat from Pro Football Focus that highlights a big difference of how explosive the Cowboys offense is with Prescott on the field versus when Dalton is throwing the football. Pretty substantial.
The Cowboys, who were consistently putting up 30 points on the scoreboard this season, managed to just score 10 against an average Cardinals defense. Seven of those points came after a 17-play drive with a little over two minutes remaining when the game was already out of reach.
Ezekiel Elliott played a big role in 14 of Arizona's points. The star running back put the ball on the turf on two different occasions against the Cardinals. That has been a bit of an issue for Elliott, who rarely fumbled during the first four seasons of his career. Turning the ball over only made Dalton's job that much more difficult.
Next week does not get any easier for this Cowboys offense. Dallas travels to play the Washington Football Team, led by defensive stars Chase Young, Montez Sweat, and company. That is not a great recipe for success when considering how banged up the Cowboys are in the trenches.
It is going to be a long season without Prescott behind center.
Featured image via Tim Heitman-USA TODAY Sports
