After a disappointing loss to the Arizona Cardinals in Week 3, the Dallas Cowboys came back and looked more like their normal selves in a dominant 38-3 win against the New England Patriots.
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Dallas Cowboys Complementary Football Is Back
A fumble return, an interception return, three field goals, a rushing touchdown from RB Hunter Luepke, and WR CeeDee Lamb’s first touchdown catch this season made up the scores for Dallas. In HC Mike McCarthy’s words, it was “a true definition of complementary football.”
DARON BLAND PICK SIX!!!!!
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“It was a great challenge and was right on time for us, especially after our experience last week,” McCarthy said post-game. “There were defense takeaways and point generations. I thought special teams played well, and we had one big play there. On offense, I thought we moved the ball very well … I think this formula makes us a strong football team.”
Additionally, the Cowboys faked an extra point attempt after the scoop and score and scored two on the successful trick play. McCarthy said this was something they practiced and decided to give it a try when presented with the opportunity.
“I just gotta give John a lot of credit. It’s something he brought to me Tuesday night and something we saw in film,” McCarthy said. “So we repped it all week … we got the look, and just like anything in this game, the players did a great job preparing it. And it was very well executed.”
The Defense Is Back on Track
After defensive struggles last week against Arizona, McCarthy was pleased with how his defense showed up against New England.
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“The defense really set the table with the takeaways and the field position. And in Weeks 1 and 2, the performance was very similar,” McCarthy said. “I thought our defense really got back on track this week.”
New England only put up 53 rushing yards in the game.
Red-Zone Offense Continues To Struggle
One of the few areas the Cowboys did not execute well was red zone offense, which has been an ongoing issue for the team this season. While they are able to move the ball down the field, they just can’t seem to get over the hump of scoring in the red zone.
“You just gotta keep working,” McCarthy said when asked about red zone issues. “I mean, this is a good place to be when you win by a significant margin of victory, and you still feel like you have a lot of work to do. I like where we are.”
Looking ahead to the matchup against the 4-0 San Francisco 49ers next week, scoring on every possession possible will be key, and the Cowboys can’t afford to miss out on points in the red zone. McCarthy said he hopes to grow and learn from their mistakes this week in practice.
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“They came in, and we cleaned it up Monday, and it will be no different tomorrow just because we won the game,” McCarthy said. “The correction process is exactly the same. It’s important for us to take this experience and grow with it and apply it because we clearly understand who’s next.”