Photo Courtesy: Darryl Briggs
It was very heartbreaking to watch the Dallas Cowboys lose to the Atlanta Falcons. During the first half the Dallas Cowboys were dominating. They were running the ball successfully and Brandon Weeden was making some very good passes. The defense was making stops. But in the second half, it was a whole different story. After the first half, the Cowboys had a 28-17 lead, and it looked as though they’d win and be 3-0, but in the second half, the Cowboys offense and defense just disappeared and it was Atlanta doing what Dallas did the first half. After being completely shut down in the second half, the Cowboys lost 39-28. They couldn’t find an answer for Falcons receiver Julio Jones and RB Devonta Freeman. The Cowboys offense only had a total of four possessions in the second half.
Observations
Offense: With Tony Romo out with a broken collarbone, Brandon Weeden started. Jason Witten ended up playing despite having two sprained ankles and a sprained knee. Weeden had a better performance than I would have thought, as he finished for 22/26 for 232 yards with one interception and no touchdown passes. Lance Dunbar had the best performance on offense, finishing with ten catches for 100 yards. It was the great to see the running game be dominant again, at least in the first half. Joseph Randle have an explosive performance, as he finished with 14 carries for 87 yards and three touchdowns, and McFadden six carries for 35 yards and a touchdown, but in the second half, it all disappeared. Having only four ball possessions in the second half, the Cowboys failed to add more points to the board. Terrance Williams finished this game without making a catch, which is very frustrating for the Cowboys offense, so the offense needs to practice harder to be ready for the Saints defense, who is coached under former Cowboys DC Rob Ryan.
Defense: Well, this was a very bad day for Rod Marinelli’s defense. After a solid first half, they all of a sudden began to get sloppy, and couldn’t stop the Atlanta offense. The worst part is that they failed to force turnovers, and they only got one sack. They were without Randy Gregory, Greg Hardy, Rolando McClain, Jeremy Mincey, and Orlando Scandrick, but there’s no room for excuses. This Sunday will be the last game that the defense will be without Hardy and McClain, but they’ll have to practice extra hard to be ready for the Saints. Although Drew Brees may not play, they’ll have to practice very hard because they cannot afford to have another terrible performance.
Special Teams: Dan Bailey didn’t get a chance to attempt a field goal, so he’s still at 4/4 in the season. Chris Jones made some very good punts, so there’s nothing about him or Bailey to worry about. Punt returning is still a big problem. Lucky Whitehead needs to take over the punt return duties.
The Dallas Cowboys will be in New Orleans this Sunday. The Saints are 0-3, but that doesn’t mean anything. This week the Cowboys must practice even harder to be ready. They need to win this week. They want to have some momentum going in to their bout against the defending Super Bowl Champions at home.
