The Cowboys flopped against the Broncos in Denver on Sunday in a 42-17 loss that marked the first time that they’ve been on the wrong side of a blowout since the arrival of running back Ezekiel Elliott and quarterback Dak Prescott.
Elliott had his lowest production as a pro with eight yards on nine carries while Prescott was intercepted twice while completing 35-of-50 passes in the loss. That disparity between passes and runs was something coach Jason Garrett explained as a response to the Broncos defense, which loaded up to stop the run and left receivers in man coverage on the outside.
“When they play that style of defense, you have to be able to consistently attack with the passing game,” Garrett said, via the Dallas Morning News. “At different times today, I thought we were able to do that, and at other times we weren’t. We didn’t make the plays, for whatever reason. We really needed to have [consistent] success throwing the ball. We were not able to do that.”
Prescott agreed with the coach’s take on how things unfolded offensively.
“I feel if I would have made some of those plays on the outside, I probably would have forced them to get in a zone more than their man coverage that they were in the majority of the night,” Prescott said. “Usually, that’s when our run game hits. If I made more plays, we give ourselves a chance in that game. I just simply didn’t make the plays. There’s no excuse for it.”
The Cowboys have had enough offensive success since the start of last season that it is hard to think this outing is a harbinger of things to come when facing teams other than the Broncos. They’ll have an extra day to work through things before returning to action against the Cardinals in a Monday night game.