Penalties, Blown Assignments Have Wrecked Dallas Cowboys' Red-Zone Offense

The frustration, a word coach Jason Garrett can’t stand, is evident in running back Ezekiel Elliott’s tone.

You can hear it in play-caller Scott Linehan’s voice. The same goes for Dak Prescott.

The Cowboys’ offense inside their opponents’ 20 stinks - and the players and coaching staff don’t know how to fix it.

Entering Sunday’s game against Tampa Bay at AT&T Stadium, the Cowboys rank 31st in the NFL in red zone efficiency, the result of scoring touchdowns on only 44.2 percent of their possessions inside their opponents’ 20-yard line.

It hasn’t always been that way.

In 2017, the Cowboys ranked 6th in the NFL (59.6 touchdown rate). In 2016, they were third (66.7).

We’ve been pretty good up until this year in the red zone. It’s not like it’s a new concept for us,” Linehan said Thursday. “We just aren’t doing as well as we need to so we’ve got to find solutions to that.

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“I think some of that is just based on what we give them as a plan and then demanding much better execution out of it.”

The past two years, it was easy. Hand the ball to Elliott or throw it to Dez Bryant. These days, no easy solutions exist.

“When we get down there, it’s executing, going out there and not missing out on opportunities and not taking advantage of the opportunities we’re given,” Elliott said. “I can think of a couple of touchdown drops we missed or a couple of assignments we missed and had been pressuring the quarterback and a guy was wide open that could have scored.

“We’ve just got to make sure we’re locked in, when we get down there and really understand how it important to come out of there with points.”

Since trading for Amari Cooper after a 20-17 loss to Washington in October, the Cowboys’ offense hasn’t had much trouble moving the ball. Scoring touchdowns, however, has been another issue.

Before acquiring Cooper, Dallas had six drives of 10 plays or more. In the seven games since getting Cooper, Dallas has had 19 drives of 10 plays or more.

They’re controlling the ball the way Garrett wants, which is keeping the defense rested, so it can operate at peak efficiency.

But those 19 drives have resulted in just four touchdowns. In the last four games, the Cowboys have 13 drives of 10 plays or more, but those drives have resulted in just two touchdowns.

In Sunday’s 23-0 loss to Indianapolis, the Cowboys had drives of 10, 15 and 14 plays in the first half. Those drives resulted in a blocked field goal, a fourth-down stop and a punt.

A closer looks at each of those drives provides a microcosm of what’s ailed the Cowboys’ offense all season.

The first drive was torpedoed, when Elliott lost three yards on second-and-one from the Indianapolis 27. A nuanced miscommunication, said Prescott resulted in a long incompletion on third down.

Brett Maher’s 48-yard field goal attempt was low and the Colts blocked it.

The second drive ended when Jamize Olawale dropped an apparent touchdown pass on a well-designed play by the much-maligned Linehan. Prescott faked a jet sweep to Elliott, who was running toward the right sideline and tried to hit Olawale in the left flat.

On fourth down, center Joe Looney was beaten off the snap and Elliott was tackled for a two-yard loss.

The third long drive of the first half ended when Noah Brown couldn’t make a juggling catch in near the goal line on third down, and Prescott held the ball too long on fourth down and was sacked, knocking the Cowboys out of field goal range.

Three longs drives and no points.

“If you break it down, it’s probably a combination of execution and maybe pressing a little bit down there,” Linehan said. “So we’ve got to coach better in those situations and play better and really be better in execution down there because we’re getting down there.

“Our big challenge as a staff and as a team offensively is having guys take up some specific roles down there and giving them the opportunities to do that, but we’ve had some opportunities that we didn’t execute very well, and that tends to put you in a position where you feel like you’re pressing a little bit. And I think they’ve just got to go play and let it loose a little more down there.”

Penalties, negative plays and missed opportunities and blown assignments are the biggest reasons for the Cowboys’ red-zone failures.

“We’re not executing the way we need to execute plays,” Prescott said. “You saw last week a couple of those were just pure miss executions from our standpoint. We have to find a way to do better regardless of what it is.

“If it’s using my running ability or giving it to Zeke more, whatever it may be, we have to find a better way to get in the end zone.”

Sunday against Tampa Bay would be a good time to start. The NFC East title depends on it.

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