Advertisement
This is member-exclusive content
icon/ui/info filled

sportsCowboys

Cowboys-Dolphins takeaways: Once again, costly mistakes hinder Dallas’ chances on the road

Despite limiting Miami’s explosive offense, the Cowboys couldn’t put away another quality opponent.

The Cowboys almost played well enough to defeat a quality opponent on the road.

Almost.

An early goal-line blunder and untimely penalties culminated in Dallas losing 22-20 to the Miami Dolphins, falling on a 29-yard field goal as time expired. The Cowboys drop to second place in the NFC East, but that can shift radically if the Philadelphia Eagles lose Monday evening at home to the New York Giants.

Dallas would control its own destiny to win the division with two games to go.

Cowboys

Be the smartest Cowboys fan. Get the latest news.

Or with:

Here are five takeaways.

Longest yard

If winning on the road is not difficult enough, the Cowboys spotted the Dolphins seven points.

Advertisement

For the third time all season, coach Mike McCarthy elected to receive the opening kickoff after winning a pregame coin toss. The Cowboys had the opportunity to play with the lead. But at the goal line, quarterback Dak Prescott and rookie fullback Hunter Luepke inexplicably botched the exchange.

Miami recovered the fumble.

Luepke converted a pair of third-and-1 carries earlier in the drive after a third-and-1 conversion the previous week. So, in that respect, the Cowboys had every reason to trust him in short yardage. The horrendous execution, however, loomed for the game’s remainder and proved insurmountable.

Advertisement

Lion vs. zebras

Micah Parsons remains frustrated with how he is officiated.

He has every reason to be.

The Cowboys’ hybrid defensive end, who found success Sunday when working off the ball at linebacker more frequently, should have drawn a holding penalty on the Dolphins’ second-to-last offensive play of the first quarter. No flag was thrown. A 19-yard catch stood.

On the Dolphins’ second-to-last offensive play of the third quarter, Parsons appeared wronged again.

Parsons struck Tua Tagovailoa hard from behind shortly after a throw and was flagged for roughing the quarterback. Miami scored its lone touchdown on the next play. Dean Blandino, the rules analyst for the Fox broadcast, said that a flag shouldn’t have been thrown.

Unfortunately for Parsons, Blandino is probably wrong.

The NFL’s rule-book language for roughing the quarterback includes the following sentence: “When in doubt about a roughness call or potentially dangerous tactic against the passer, the Referee should always call roughing the passer.” Parsons hit Tagovailoa with force. The sight of it apparently is enough in today’s NFL.

Advertisement

The Cowboys benefited from a questionable roughing the quarterback penalty against Dolphins defensive tackle Christian Wilkins earlier in the quarter.

As for the lack of holding penalties, there is no excuse.

Despite several blatant examples of him being held, Parsons has not been awarded a holding call in 38 quarters. The last instance occurred Oct. 16 in the second quarter against the Los Angeles Chargers.

Catch-22

CeeDee Lamb wanted to avoid a penalty, so he moved backward.

Advertisement

He was penalized for the movement.

When the Cowboys evaluate the reason why they are 3-5 on the road this season, costly penalties — often coming at critical times — is perhaps where the phenomenon starts. The Cowboys committed three presnap penalties on offense Sunday, including a bizarre illegal shift on Lamb in the third quarter.

It wiped out a 14-yard Dak Prescott scramble to convert a third-and-11. If the play stood, Dallas would’ve had a first-and-10 at the Dolphins’ 11-yard line. The offense didn’t convert the resulting third-and-16, leading to a 43-yard Brandon Aubrey field goal.

That was potentially four points stripped from a scoreboard already missing seven because of the Prescott-Luepke failed exchange.

Advertisement

Lamb initially aligned offside on the third down.

When he backed up to correct himself, tight end Jake Ferguson was in motion. Teams are not permitted to have multiple players in motion at once. Perhaps, an exception could be written into the rule’s language. But as it stands, Lamb could have checked his alignment earlier and avoided the scenario.

Ferguson and tight end Peyton Hendershot were flagged for false starts in the first half.

Defense, defense, defense

The Dolphins entered the game 1-3 when held to fewer than 20 points entering the fourth quarter.

Advertisement

Make it 2-3.

Dallas rebounded from its horrible evening at the Buffalo Bills one week prior, holding the NFL’s highest-scoring team to a single touchdown. Miami led 19-10 through the first three quarters and found the end zone just once on a 4-yard completion to running back Raheem Mostert in the second quarter.

Dolphins kicker Jason Sanders converted field goals of 57, 52, 54, 35 and 29 yards.

Wide receiver Jaylen Waddle caught a 50-yard pass on Miami’s opening possession. Otherwise, the explosive plays were kept to a relative minimum, just two other gains of 20-plus yards allowed. Miami averaged 3.5 yards per carry with 26 attempts for 91 yards. The Bills rushed for 266 yards.

Advertisement

And yet, the defense did not finish.

The unit had the opportunity to close out a win, taking the field at the Dolphins’ 25-yard line with a 20-19 lead and three minutes, 29 seconds remaining. Linebacker Damone Clark committed a 15-yard face-mask penalty on the very first snap. Just like that, the Dolphins were nearly at midfield. Short passes did the rest to push Miami into field-goal range.

Excellent Anger

This sort of thing often becomes lost during the course of a season.

Advertisement

But Bryan Anger is having an excellent year, and arguably his best strike came Sunday.

The punter worked in a confined space, backed up into the end zone after a three-and-out plotted the line of scrimmage at the Cowboys’ own 3-yard line. He booted a 57-yard punt out of bounds to force the Dolphins to start at their 40-yard line.

On the ensuing drive, Miami made a 54-yard field goal that, if not for Anger, would have been a less difficult try.

Beyond his punter work this season, Anger quite literally has had a hand in kicker Brandon Aubrey’s record streak. With two conversions Sunday, Aubrey has made an NFL-record 33 consecutive field goals to begin his career. Anger operates as his holder while also, at different points this season, talking Aubrey through difficult or nuanced situations to improve his comfort and readiness.

Advertisement
Related Stories
View More

Find more Cowboys coverage from The Dallas Morning News here.