FRISCO, Texas —  Two weeks in the past, the Dallas Cowboys went 2-for-6 within the pink zone with regards to turning the ones alternatives into touchdowns in a 30-10 win over the Unutilized York Jets. That end result made it conceivable to disregard the problem. 

“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 overdue, superior Professional Soccer Corridor of Repute educator John Madden mentioned.

Following a 28-16 disappointed loss on the earlier winless Arizona Cardinals in Age 3 as 11-point favorites, the Cowboys give you the chance to totally take on the problem head on and refocus. Dallas used to be 1-for-5 within the pink zone on Sunday with two grassland objectives, a screen-pass landing to extra operating again Rico Dowdle — the undrafted participant’s first occupation rating — a yield on downs and an interception. 

“Yeah, I was pissed off,” Cowboys quarterback Dak Prescott mentioned 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 transferring up and ailing the grassland on constant foundation: their 354.3 overall yards according to recreation ranks because the Eleventh-best within the NFL, and their 15 pink zone journeys are probably the most within the NFL. Simplest have six touchdowns on the ones 15 drives, a 40% pink zone landing price that connect for the fourth-lowest within the NFL. They’re 3-for-11 around the final two weeks on this branch, second-to-last in all of the league throughout Weeks 2-3, forward of handiest the Jacksonville Jaguars, who’re 1-for-5 on this span. 

“That’s [their struggling red zone offense] our focus and attention, but when you have time, you can get better,” Prescott mentioned. “… 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 educator Mike McCarthy has been training NFL soccer for 29 years and he has spent his final 17 years as a head educator. In spite of the inefficiency, he feels his squad is due given its top quantity of alternatives. 

“I think the reality of the red zone is we have to look at all the numbers,” McCarthy mentioned 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 additional particularly the place within the pink zone the struggles are going on, it will be in an segment that defensive coordinator Dan Quinn screams the “the low red zone.” The low pink zone is within the 10, and that’s the place seven of Dallas’ 9 pink zone drives that haven’t led to 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 mentioned Monday when describing the defensive standpoint at the pink 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 vital routes Dallas might incorporate on a extra common foundation ailing within the low pink zone may well be the decline course, one who the Cowboys consider broad receiver Michael Gallup (6-foot-1, 198 kilos) and 2022 2nd-Workforce All-Professional CeeDee Lamb (6-2, 200 kilos) are well-equipped to kill.

“Yeah, I definitely like the fade route,” McCarthy mentioned 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 more than likely be the primary possibility on such course, given McCarthy’s preseason comparability of Lamb to 2 of his former summit wideouts from his Packers tenure: three-time First-Workforce All-Professional receiver Davante Adams and 2014 2nd-Workforce All-Professional receiver Jordy Nelson. Like either one of the ones top-flight pass-catchers, McCarthy has moved Lamb across the formation plethora over the 24-year-old’s four-year occupation. 

CeeDee Lamb occupation offensive snap alignment

	2020	2021	2022	2023
Huge	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%

*Information in step with Professional Soccer Focal point

“Having different ways of impacting the game, I’m not necessarily a one-dimensional receiver,” Lamb mentioned 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.”

Along with Lamb and Professional Bowl operating again Tony Pollard, Prescott’s legs is also a extra integrated part in their pink zone assault. Earlier than struggling a fractured ankle on a scramble within the 2020, he totaled 220 dashing yards and 21 dashing touchdowns on 53 pink zone carries from his rookie yr in 2016 throughout the 2019 season. Since his first wholesome season again in 2021, that presence within the 20 has dwindled as he has 57 dashing yards and two dashing touchdowns on 22 carries. The ones runs may come extra into play games nearer similar the objective layout, within the low pink zone, by way of read-option handoffs with Pollard concerned or on scrambles will have to a play games get too congested and split ailing. Something is bound: the Cowboys are taking a look into all chances to show issues round. 

“I think how we want to play, there are some things with down and distance that we have taken a hard look at,” McCarthy mentioned. “How they played us was a little different, which you get this time of year. We’re taking into consideration all of those things.”