FRISCO, Texas -- Two weeks ago, the Dallas Cowboys went 2-for-6 in the red zone in terms of turning those opportunities into touchdowns in a 30-10 win over the New York Jets. That result made it possible to overlook the issue.
"I've always said winning's the great deodorant, and conversely, when you have a bad record, everything stinks, and everything starts to unravel, and everything falls apart," the late, great Pro Football Hall of Fame coach John Madden said.
Following a 28-16 upset loss at the previous winless Arizona Cardinals in Week 3 as 11-point favorites, the Cowboys have the opportunity to fully tackle the issue head on and refocus. Dallas was 1-for-5 in the red zone on Sunday with two field goals, a screen-pass touchdown to backup running back Rico Dowdle -- the undrafted player's first career score -- a turnover on downs and an interception.
"Yeah, I was pissed off," Cowboys quarterback Dak Prescott said Thursday. "I'm always pissed off after a loss. I don't know if we can rate my different levels of pissed-off-ness. … But yeah, we're real pissed off. It [being pissed off] allows you to focus more honestly. Nobody likes to lose. Nobody likes to lose, especially in a game you expect to win. Forget the media or whatever, but nobody wants to lose. We understand how tough it is in this league. Even after a loss you reset a little bit, humbled a bit, and it allows you to focus a little bit more, and I think that's just a credit to these guys in the locker room, to these coaches blocking out the outside noise and understanding what's really important is just this day right in front of us and preparing."
The Cowboys are moving up and down the field on consistent basis: their 354.3 total yards per game ranks as the 11th-best in the NFL, and their 15 red zone trips are the most in the NFL. Only have six touchdowns on those 15 drives, a 40% red zone touchdown rate that tied for the fourth-lowest in the NFL. They are 3-for-11 across the last two weeks in this department, second-to-last in the entire league across Weeks 2-3, ahead of only the Jacksonville Jaguars, who are 1-for-5 in this span.
"That's [their struggling red zone offense] our focus and attention, but when you have time, you can get better," Prescott said. "… We know we can do that, and we know we can overcome these things, change the way we attack a little bit. Just maybe a few more plays, another little set of plays out there in practice. I'm sure we'll hit it again before the day is over, and obviously we have a few more days to go in preparation that we'll emphasize on it a little bit. Just kind of getting things that we go and went back to in training camp and are comfortable with. Then, it's simple matchups."
Cowboys head coach Mike McCarthy has been coaching NFL football for 29 years and he has spent his last 17 years as a head coach. Despite the inefficiency, he feels his squad is due given its high volume of opportunities.
"I think the reality of the red zone is we have to look at all the numbers," McCarthy said Wednesday. "I think clearly the fact that we've been down there 15 times, it's the best in the National Football League. From my experience, that's been the hard part. Clearly the stat that we're all talking about is the touchdown conversions, the efficiency. We need to clearly be better in that. The question was asked the other day about the red zone being No. 1 in the league last year [71.4% in 2022], I mean we were 4-for-6 at this point last year. Fifteen to six, I'll take that. We've actually scored more touchdowns down there. It's a blinking light. As I told the team today, we're three games in, stats clearly don't tell the story but they give you things you need to look at. We got three blinking lights as a football team: team penalties, red zone offense and run defense."
To zoom in more specifically where in the red zone the struggles are occurring, it would be in an area that defensive coordinator Dan Quinn calls the "the low red zone." The low red zone is inside the 10, and that's where seven of Dallas' nine red zone drives that haven't resulted in touchdowns this season have stalled out.
"It also depends where you're at, because the higher you are (the offense) can still throw over the top of you," Quinn said Monday when describing the defensive perspective on the red zone. "Sometimes that mid-red zone, in that space is where the runs go up in that area. … As you get closer down in the low red zone, the flat and the back line, that's the stuff you have to really defend, horizontally and not as much vertically. … You have to probably think square and strong in the run first and make sure if they are going to throw something, again, when you're high (in the red zone), you have some space if you want to double somebody or play a different coverage, you can. When you get down low, there's not a lot of gray area or time to mishit on something, so you better be pretty firm, playing run first, knowing that you're going to have to play some man-like coverages down low."
One of the routes Dallas may incorporate on a more regular basis down in the low red zone could be the fade route, one that the Cowboys believe wide receiver Michael Gallup (6-foot-1, 198 pounds) and 2022 Second-Team All-Pro CeeDee Lamb (6-2, 200 pounds) are well-equipped to execute.
"Yeah, I definitely like the fade route," McCarthy said Monday. "I think it's one of your primary routes down there. I think CeeDee and Michael are excellent body types for that with their skill sets, attention to detail and footwork. The footwork is a tad different than it was before. There is definitely some adjustment there as far as the way we have done it in the past."
Lamb would probably be the first option on such route, given McCarthy's preseason comparison of Lamb to two of his former top wideouts from his Packers tenure: three-time First-Team All-Pro receiver Davante Adams and 2014 Second-Team All-Pro receiver Jordy Nelson. Like both of those top-flight pass-catchers, McCarthy has moved Lamb around the formation plenty over the 24-year-old's four-year career.
CeeDee Lamb career offensive snap alignment
| 2020 | 2021 | 2022 | 2023 | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
Wide | 8.4% | 62.6% | 46.4% | 28.7% |
Slot | 91.2% | 36% | 52.7% | 70.7% |
Inline | 0.1% | 0% | 0.3% | 0% |
Backfield | 0.3% | 1.4% | 0.6% | 0.6% |
*Data according to Pro Football Focus
"Having different ways of impacting the game, I'm not necessarily a one-dimensional receiver," Lamb said Thursday. "I want to be anywhere, everywhere and line up on every route. I feel like the fun in that is creating matchups in favor of myself and just moving around in different areas of the field is always fun. ... It [the red zone] has definitely [been a focus]. We have to score, it's no secret. We have been 3 of 11 the last two games. Let me touch the rock. We'll get in the end zone. We have no problem getting into the red zone right? Moving the ball has been real good for us. We've been real consistent in that degree, but getting into the red zone everything kind of shut down. We have to once again do a better job of getting in the end zone, finishing our jobs and rewarding our defense."
In addition to Lamb and Pro Bowl running back Tony Pollard, Prescott's legs could also be a more incorporated element of their red zone attack. Before suffering a fractured ankle on a scramble in the 2020, he totaled 220 rushing yards and 21 rushing touchdowns on 53 red zone carries from his rookie year in 2016 through the 2019 season. Since his first healthy season back in 2021, that presence inside the 20 has dwindled as he has 57 rushing yards and two rushing touchdowns on 22 carries. Those runs could come more into play closer near the goal line, in the low red zone, via read-option handoffs with Pollard involved or on scrambles should a play get too congested and break down. One thing is certain: the Cowboys are looking into all possibilities to turn things around.
"I think how we want to play, there are some things with down and distance that we have taken a hard look at," McCarthy said. "How they played us was a little different, which you get this time of year. We're taking into consideration all of those things."