The Dallas Cowboys’ soul-crushing loss to the Baltimore Ravens in Week 3 drummed up a lot of discourse, from whether defensive coordinator Christian Parker should be on the hot seat for the defense’s continued struggles to whether Dak Prescott needs to start ignoring play calls from head coach Brian Schottenheimer.
It’s the Dallas Cowboys, so there is always an overreaction and “sky is falling” feel to a loss, but Sunday’s letdown in Rio felt different. It was a winnable game that the Cowboys just blew because of a series of inexcusable mistakes.
Now, with a road trip to Houston in Week 4, the Cowboys have to dig deep to rebound, and it will also be a big test for the relationship between Prescott and Schottenheimer.
After the game, Prescott openly expressed frustration with the team’s play-calling and game plan down the final stretch of the game. So in Week 4, it’s important to show that frustration will not get in the way of the bigger goal, which is to get back in the win column.
Luckily, Schottenheimer knows the competitive nature and mindset of his players, and he’s ready to get back to work this week as the team prepares to take down the Houston Texans.
One of the main causes of the post-game discourse was a third-down call where Schottenheimer admitted he coached Prescott to throw the ball away if the first read wasn’t open. That raised questions about whether Schottenheimer trusted his quarterback, and Schottenheimer put those to rest on Tuesday afternoon.
“I trust Dak. [The third down play at the end] has nothing to do with trust. It has to do with everything that was going on … I trust Dak Prescott completely,” Schottenheimer said.
“It was the word that I chose, which I’m not going to give away, the words that we say have meaning. And when I said the word, it put him into a mindset that he doesn’t play with. He doesn’t play the game that way. That’s what I would change.”
Schottenheimer has been taking responsibility for the mistakes down the stretch, and he’s hoping that Prescott can see that. Luckily, he has a veteran quarterback who knows that the mistakes can happen, and the two can move forward in Week 4.
“Man, I hope so. He’s thrown interceptions before, and I still trust him. So, if I make a mistake, I hope he trusts me, because I’ve made a lot of really good decisions, too,” he said.
A miscommunication is understandable, but it is unfortunate that it came in such a key moment in the game. That led to a whirlwind of mistakes that ultimately cost Dallas the game. The Cowboys settled for a field goal, kicked the following kickoff out of the back of the end zone, and then gave up a massive game to set up a game-winning field goal.
All of that happened in just seven seconds.
Luckily, the team has this week of preparation to correct those steps and work toward regrouping and putting their best foot forward at NRG Stadium in Week 4. Prescott and Schottenheimer have to come out and have the offense firing on all cylinders, to show that last week was just a minor blip in this season’ ultimate goal.
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