DENVER (AP) — Dak Prescott spent a good chunk of the fourth quarter watching from the sideline in a game that was well out of hand.
It was just another installment in what's been an inconsistent season for the Dallas Cowboys. This time, it was the league's best offense, and not just a porous, injury-riddled defense, that was stymied.
“Surprised is a good word to use,” Prescott said of the Cowboys' struggles in a 44-24 loss to the Denver Broncos on Sunday. “Frustrated as well.”
This after a 44-22 win over Washington the week before that looked as if it might ignite the Cowboys (3-4-1). Instead, they continued their trend of being streaky. They’ve yet to win two in a row.
A sign of just how sour things went against the Broncos: Prescott was taken out with just over seven minutes remaining in favor of backup Joe Milton, who threw the only TD pass for the Cowboys. They haven't beaten Denver in 30 years.
“We want to put a streak together and talk about identity, trying to find identity,” said Prescott, who finished 19 of 31 for 188 yards and two interceptions before giving way to Milton. “It’s hard to even give you an identity until we put a couple of games together in a row.”
The defense struggled once again. The Cowboys have given up 250 points through eight games, the third-most in team history, according to ESPN Research. The only Dallas teams to allow more were in 1960 (272 points) and 2020 (266).
“We had high hopes, because we thought we could come in here and have a big win for us,” team owner Jerry Jones said. “That didn’t happen. They had everything to do with it. Got to get better.”
With the trade deadline coming up, would an acquisition help?
“If I saw a proposition for us to help this team, no matter what this score was today, then I would look at it on the merits,” said Jones, who's also Dallas' general manager.
It certainly panned out for the Cowboys in 2018, when they traded for receiver Amari Cooper. They turned a 3-4 start into a 7-2 finish that earned them a playoff berth.
“I trust and I like the guys that we have,” Prescott said. “I honestly do, and that’s not just a political answer or whatever it is.
“I just echo to those people or to the guys in locker room, forget a trade. Do more. Shut that talk up. Whether it be offense, whether it be defense, whatever position group that you guys are alluding to, step up and shut the talk up.”
Prescott had another take.
“We’ve got to find a way to be consistent, whether it’s at home, on the road, regardless. We’re too good,” said Prescott, whose team committed nine penalties for 80 yards. “We've got too many good players. We’ve got great coaches. Jadeveon (Clowney) was just saying in the locker room this roster should not be going up and down like we’re doing.
"We’ve just got to look in the mirror.”
For Prescott, it was those two interceptions — one at the end of the first half with the Cowboys on the move and another in Denver territory in the fourth quarter.
Cowboys coach Brian Schottenheimer didn't think it was all a matter of Prescott pressing.
“It was one of those deals where it was hard to get into a rhythm a little bit,” Schottenheimer said. “At the end of the day, Dak has done a great job of trying to just say, ‘Each play is its own.’”
It was a bittersweet homecoming for running back Javonte Williams, who scored a pair of touchdowns against his former team but was largely bottled up along with the rest of Dallas' offense.
“It turned out the way it did,” Williams said. “We have to execute better.”
Jones felt the same way.
“We all saw the same thing out there,” Jones said. “We’ve got a lot of work to do.”
Bo Nix guided a Broncos offense that gained 426 yards against the beleaguered Cowboys defense. Jones danced around the topic of whether he's lost any confidence in defensive coordinator Matt Eberflus.
“I’ve seen him take players and units, and they improve and get better as he coaches, and I’ve seen it more than once,” Jones said. “He’s a good coach.”
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