Jerry Jones is Right, Dallas Cowboys Are Wrong: 'Seeing Red' in Major Problem

The Dallas Cowboys confirmed the fears of owner Jerry Jones on Sunday when the red zone offense sputtered to a halt, resulting in a Week 3 loss.

Dallas Cowboys owner Jerry Jones talks about his team … a lot. It turns out his recent comments about the Cowboys were spot-on.

Dallas drew the attention of the football world for its blistering display of complementary football through the season’s first two weeks. They had scored 70 points to their opponents’ 10, led in most major defensive statistics, and—oh, the offense was humming, too.

Quarterback Dak Prescott was nearly perfect against the New York Jets in Week 2, helping ice the defense’s cake in a 30-10 win. However, the offense is yet to click in the red zone, to the ire of the league’s most prolific owner.

“I don’t think we’re satisfied at all with what we did in the red zone,” Jones said on 105.3 The Fan’s “Shan and RJ.” “If you want to look at anything about the game Sunday, that’s where we need to get better.”

They did not.

The Cowboys went one-for-five on scoring touchdowns in the red zone, setting up two chip shot field goals. The other two failures, a turnover on downs and a costly interception, sealed their fate. Dallas would sustain its first loss of the season to an inferior Arizona Cardinals team, 28-16.

“We’ve got to do better, as a team, as a unit, myself,” said Prescott after the loss. “I got to make some throws, maybe use my feet more … We didn’t convert in the red zone. That’s the story of this game.”

© Joe Camporeale, USA TODAY

Credit to Prescott for taking accountability, but that doesn’t put points up on the scoreboard. His first clunker of the year (36th percentile expected points added per play) will get overblown, as they so frequently do. Still, swift improvement in the red zone if necessary if the Cowboys are going to truly compete for a Super Bowl.

Yes, the offensive line was riddled with injuries. Maybe it was variance, regression, or good ol' not playing to one’s potential. But at some point a month’s worth of red zone struggles becomes a legitimate reason for concern. Will it get that far?

Perhaps this is what Dallas will have to live with for parting ways with former offensive coordinator Kellen Moore. This offense didn’t have any problems scoring touchdowns in the red zone in either of the past two seasons.

The first quarter of the NFL season can resemble, at times, extended preseason play. The Cowboys are still figuring out how to get this offense firing on all cylinders, and that’s okay. With high-level players at quarterback, running back, and receiver, though, there’s mounting pressure to put up more points.

In all likelihood, this defense won’t return to its historic start without cornerback Trevon Diggs. It’s on the offense to pick up the slack and put up the points they’re supposed to. A Week 4 contest against an esteemed New England Patriots defense won’t make it easy on them.