–Going into the sixth game of this still-young season, Dallas ranks 29th in the NFL in passing offense.
Cowboys fans are still missing the days when Dez Bryant and Jason Witten made big catches in key moments. But, somehow, the longer the Cowboys go without consistently making big plays in the passing game, the more the burden falls on quarterback Dak Prescott’s shoulders.
Prescott has completed 89 of 144 passes this season, good enough for 28th in the league in that category. He’s working with a new group of wide receivers, including veterans Allen Hurns, Tavon Austin and Deonte Thompson and rookie Michael Gallup. Cole Beasley, the only Dallas wide receiver on the current roster who caught a pass for the Cowboys last season, leads the team with 17 catches for 193 yards.
Questions have come up about the receivers’ ability to create space and the offensive line’s continuity with center Travis Frederick on injured reserve.
“It’s not just one group,” Hurns said. “We’ve just got to get on the same page across the board and play to the standard that we’re capable of.”
But most of the queries from the media concern Prescott and whether or not he can make quality throws in tough moments. Cowboys head coach Jason Garrett said Prescott is capable of being on target.
“When he’s in a really good position, he can be a very accurate passer,” Garrett said. “I think we’ve seen that throughout his career up to this point and I think that’s something you have to continue to work with him on.”
Garrett continued by saying there’s a small percentage of plays when a quarterback is in “really good position.”
“The numbers that we typically use are if you drop back 30 times in a game, you have four or five clean pockets,” Garrett said. “Typically, you’re moving, you’re climbing, you’re having to do something.”
In other words, Prescott has to improve in situations that are less than ideal.
–Dallas has a knack for giving home fans plenty to cheer for so far this season.
Although the Cowboys have been a punching bag on the road, they’ve been difficult to beat inside AT&T Stadium in Arlington.
Two weeks ago, Dallas tallied season highs with 26 points and 414 yards in a victory over the Lions. But the Cowboys haven’t been anywhere near that effective on offense on the road.
Dallas right guard Zack Martin and wide receiver Allen Hurns each indicated in locker-room interviews that communication and cohesiveness need to get better for the whole offense, especially on the road.
However, Martin also said there’s time for the Cowboys to raise their level.
“The season is still early,” Martin said. “We have a long way to go, a really long way to go. We know how this thing works, and it’s a long season. So you can’t dwell on the past.”
–Defensive tackle David Irving continued to be absent from the Cowboys’ headquarters in Frisco on Wednesday. Garrett said he expects Irving to be back at practice on Thursday.
Irving missed training camp while dealing with personal issues and served a four-game suspension for violating the NFL’s substance-abuse policy when the regular season began. He rejoined the team, working out at team headquarters in September, though he was unable to practice until his suspension ended.
But now that Irving is eligible to play again, he missed practice on Thursday and Friday and, subsequently, the Cowboys game at Houston on Sunday. Garrett said he is dealing with a family issue. It appears Irving’s absences are excused by the team and the organization is not running out of patience with him.
“We’re just trying to get it resolved,” Garret said. “Again, hopefully we get him back in here tomorrow and get him ready to play in the game this weekend.”
BY THE NUMBERS: 356 – The Cowboys’ average yards in two home wins this season. That’s more than 75 yards per game more than Dallas has managed in three road losses. The Cowboys rank 25th in the NFL at 307.8 total yards per game.
