Down by just four points early in the second half, the Dallas Cowboys made a risky move with a fake punt from their own 38-yard line.
This decision shifted the chances for the Cowboys to make a comeback for the rest of the game. Less than three minutes later, the Atlanta Falcons capitalized on the opportunity, scoring after getting the ball on the Cowboys’ side of the field thanks to one of Kirk Cousins’ three touchdown passes.
Suddenly, the Cowboys were trailing by two scores in their 27-21 loss, raising serious doubts about their ability to turn the season around.
Dallas, now 3-5, has lost three games in a row for the first time since a four-game losing streak in 2020. Running back Ezekiel Elliott did not travel with the team to Atlanta, and two other key players, quarterback Dak Prescott and wide receiver DeeDee Lamb, left the game due to injuries.
Adding to the team’s frustrations, they committed nine penalties for 55 yards, which worried coach Mike McCarthy.
“We need to win a game,” McCarthy said. “I know what everybody wants to talk about long term. We have five losses and so we clearly understand where that puts us as far as what it will take. We’ve got to get to winning.
We’re making too many self-inflicted wounds, and some were pre-snap penalties that are totally unacceptable.”
It’s easy to see the failed fake punt as yet another mistake made by the team. Punter Bryan Anger’s pass was incomplete because C.J. Godwin slipped on the fourth-and-2 attempt. The call was surprising given the close score — the Falcons were ahead 14-10 — and the field position.
“The fake punt was a matchup we felt strong about going into the game,” McCarthy said, adding, “That’s when they got the two-score lead.”
McCarthy confirmed that the decision to keep Elliott in Dallas “clearly was a team discipline situation. We’ll pick up Monday and see where we are.” Prescott expressed his hope that the team can support Elliott during this time.
“Definitely a difficult situation, me personally being as close as I am with him, wanting to help,” Prescott said. “I think if anything it will be good. Obviously it was a mutual decision for him not to take this trip.
As he would say, just getting himself together. I’d like to just, you know, rally around him and be the teammates and the brothers that we are and good will come from it.”
Prescott’s main concern now is finding out more about the hamstring injury that caused him to sit out the fourth quarter. He mentioned that he “felt a pull, something I’ve never felt.” An MRI is scheduled for Monday to check how serious the injury is.
“It was a tough deal to walk on it,” Prescott said. “I know how much we needed this one. I wanted to just get out there and compete, get out there and fight.”
He added that “it’ll take a lot for me to not be out there” in next Sunday’s home game against Philadelphia. Lamb left the game with a right shoulder injury but managed to return late in the game.
