Cowboys vs. Saints: Postgame Grades, Notes and Quotes
The insult and injury continued to add up for the Dallas Cowboys as they suffered a 26-20 loss and numerous injuries in Sunday night’s game against the New Orleans Saints. The loss drops the Cowboys to 2-2 for the year, but the injuries will linger long after the sting from the score dissipates.
Already without franchise quarterback Tony Romo and All-Pro wide receiver Dez Bryant for extended stretches, the Cowboys lost running back Lance Dunbar to a knee injury—per NFL Media's Ian Rapoport, a torn ACL and MCL, which will cost him his season—Sean Lee to a concussion, Brice Butler to a hamstring injury and Andrew Gachkar to a leg injury.
With the injuries on both sides of the ball, the team needed to play mistake-free to give itself a real chance to win. However, settling for two field goals after driving inside the New Orleans red zone, missing opportunities to generate takeaways on defense and costly penalties put the Cowboys in position to lose the game.
The offense was able to put together a 91-yard touchdown drive to tie the game at 20 with 1:51 on the clock, but the defense wasn’t able to hold up—first allowing the Saints to drive 68 yards in six plays in just over a minute-and-a-half to set up a field-goal attempt to win the game.
A missed field goal bailed the Cowboys defense out and bought Dallas another chance—at least momentarily.
Then the Saints won the coin toss for overtime and took the ball. On the second play of the extra period, Saints quarterback Drew Brees took advantage of some confusion on the Cowboys defense, tossing a pass to running back C.J. Spiller on a wheel route, allowing the running back to catch-and-run for 80 yards and the game-winning touchdown.
Read on for all the Cowboys' grades, notes and quotes you need for the game.
Position Grades for the Dallas Cowboys
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Position | Grade |
QB | B+ |
RB | C- |
WR | C |
TE | B |
OL | D+ |
DL | C |
LB | C- |
DB | C+ |
Special Teams | D |
Coaching | C- |
Quarterback
Brandon Weeden did everything you can ask a backup quarterback to do in this contest. He completed 16 of 26 passes for 246 yards, threw one touchdown and did not throw an interception. Weeden struggled at times, but he was able to make a few throws in the intermediate area and was able to hit Brice Butler for a 67-yard completion early in the third quarter.
But the 31-year-old QB's best moments came late in the fourth quarter.
The Cowboys took possession at their own 9-yard line with 4:05 left in the game, and Weeden completed five passes, including a 28-yard strike to tight end Jason Witten and a 17-yard touchdown to a diving Terrance Williams in the back of the end zone. It’s difficult to ask for much more from a backup quarterback than a completion percentage of 61.5 percent and three big plays in big situations.
Running Backs
The Cowboys' leading rusher on the night was Lance Dunbar, who accumulated 45 of his 54 yards on the night on one carry early in the game. Joseph Randle carried 11 times for 26 yards and a touchdown but was taken out of the game after his carelessness with the ball at the goal line almost cost the team points.
Darren McFadden carried 10 times for 31 yards and saw extended action in the second half after Randle was benched. Christine Michael got his first carry as a Cowboy on a 3rd-and-1 situation in the second half and was hit in the backfield for a loss of one after the right side of the offensive line collapsed.
Wide Receivers
The wide receivers were much better in this game than against the Atlanta Falcons. Brice Butler, Cole Beasley and Terrance Williams all found a way to make some plays to help the offense move the ball. However, at times in the second half—specifically through the early fourth quarter—they struggled along with the rest of the team as the offense failed to move the ball.
Tight Ends
Jason Witten has been the staple of consistency as a receiver in his career, and he continued demonstrating that on Sunday night, catching four passes for 57 yards. As a blocker, however, the Cowboys needed more from Witten in the running game. James Hanna contributed a seven-yard catch to pick up a first down late in the first half, but Gavin Escobar was ineffective again, going without a catch.
Offensive Line
The trend of mediocre offensive line play has continued through the first four weeks, as the group that was expected to steady the team has been anything but consistent. Each of the five linemen struggled at one point or another, and the result was inconsistent offensive performance.
Defensive Line
The pressure was better on Drew Brees this week than in weeks past, but at the most crucial of times, the Cowboys weren’t able to generate the pressure they needed.
The story on the defensive is similar to that of the team as a whole: The missing talent at the top of the depth chart forces lower-level players into more extensive roles than they are equipped for, and as the game wears on and the snaps mount, their performance suffers.
Linebackers
Sean Lee left the game in the first half after suffering a concussion and was replaced by a rotation of Andrew Gachkar and Damien Wilson, who both played relatively well through most of the game.
However, an injury to Gachkar on the first play of overtime resulted in confusion before the snap on second down, and ultimately, Wilson trailed a wide-open C.J. Spiller on the way to the end zone for the running back's walk-off touchdown.
Defensive Backs
The Cowboys held the Saints’ best weapon, Brandin Cooks, to four catches for 25 yards, but Drew Brees targeted a total of nine different pass-catchers, making life difficult for the Cowboys secondary.
Morris Claiborne played well, but the secondary as a whole struggled with poorly timed penalties and missed opportunities highlighted by a dropped interception by Tyler Patmon on the game's first drive and an interception by Barry Church, which a defensive-holding penalty on Brandon Carr nullified.
Special Teams
Chris Jones averaged 41.8 yards per punt, allowing three returns, totaling 34 yards and putting three of his three punts inside the 20-yard line. Dan Bailey kicked off six times and put five balls out of the back of the end zone.
The return game wasn’t a factor, but two of the biggest plays in the game happened on special teams. First, Lance Dunbar brought a kickoff return out of the end zone and wound up being tackled at the 9-yard line. He stayed down with a knee injury that will keep him out for the season.
Then after the Cowboys defense was able to force a three-and-out, the punt return team was called for having too many men on the field, putting New Orleans in position for a field goal that would tie the game.
Coaching
There are significant questions ask regarding the offensive play-calling, specifically in the red-zone area, where the Cowboys called the same fade route to Terrance Williams—which didn’t put him in position to do what he does best. When you consider that and the penalty on the punt team, there were some situations where the coaching staff impacted the game in a negative way.
Important Note No. 1: More Injuries
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The serious injuries continued to mount for the Cowboys, as they lost Lance Dunbar for the season with a knee injury and lost Sean Lee for an undetermined amount of time with a concussion.
Lee will have to clear multiple steps of the NFL’s concussion protocol before getting back on the field to practice or take part in a game. There are cases of players returning to practice by Friday and playing the next Sunday and other cases of players missing a month or more before being able to return to their baseline state.
Important Note No. 2: The Lack of Top-End Talent
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When training camp started and through the first couple of preseason games, if asked to name the top 10 players on the Cowboys roster, it is likely you would have heard some combination of the following names:
- Tony Romo
- Dez Bryant
- Tyron Smith
- Zack Martin
- Jason Witten
- Sean Lee
- Rolando McClain
- Greg Hardy
- Orlando Scandrick
- Tyrone Crawford
The Cowboys finished Sunday’s game without six of the 10 players listed here, as only Smith, Martin, Witten and Crawford made it through. This is after starting the game without five of the 10.
The result of missing this many top-line players is increased snaps for role players, who are capable of playing at a high level for limited snaps but will be exposed if asked to play too much. This is exactly the trend we’ve seen over the past two weeks and one that should slowly reverse itself as Bryant, Hardy, McClain, Lee and eventually Romo work their way back into the lineup.
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Quote No. 1: Jason Garrett on Joseph Randle’s Ball Security
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Head coach Jason Garrett told reporters after the Week 4 contest:
"Obviously it worked out that we scored the touchdown there and he got in before the ball came out, but that’s something we discussed with him, with our running backs about how we want to handle that situation… It’s a dangerous play when we extend the ball like that. It worked out for us tonight, but we don’t want to do that in that situation.
"
Garrett and the rest of the staff’s frustration with Randle following the play could be seen on the sideline, but it was also exhibited on the field as Randle was effectively shut down in the second half. It will be interesting to see how the situation at running back unfolds if Randle falls out of grace with the coaches.
Quote No. 2: Tyrone Crawford on the State of the Team
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"Physically? A little beat up. Mentally? Tore up. Because we shoulda won that game," Tyrone Crawford told Scout.com's Mike Fisher.
The Cowboys have reinforcements coming on defense, as Rolando McClain and Greg Hardy will bring a skill level and physical presence that have been missing the last two weeks. But the true test will be on the coaching staff, as this team looks toward a matchup with the undefeated New England Patriots followed by a bye week.
Jason Garrett’s teams have responded almost shockingly well to adversity in the past, and the Cowboys will need to do so again if they hope to salvage their Super Bowl aspirations in 2015.
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