Charlotte — Cowboys quarterback Dak Prescott’s fourth-quarter fumble closed the door, but the seeds of the Cowboys season-opening loss were planted much earlier in a horrendous start for the Cowboys new-look offense.
The Panthers giving a preview of what the Cowboys will see all season - defenses geared up to stop Zeke Elliott, daring Dak Prescott to beat them.
“We’ve got to start better. We’ve to start better,” said Elliott. “That’s not Dallas Cowboys football. That’s not how we’ve ever played. And so if we want to succeed, if we want to go out there and win ballgames we can’t come out there and lay an egg in the first half."
Elliott couldn’t find traction, and Prescott and his revamped receiving core had no answers in the first 30 minutes. Penalties and negative plays only made the situation worse.
“It’s hard to move the ball in the national football league when you’re playing from first-and-15, second-and-20,” said Prescott.
"The main thing for us is to try to eliminate the penalties and stay in second and manageable, third and manageable [situations]," said receiver Allen Hurns.
The first half numbers were awful: zero third-down conversions, Prescott passing for just 46 yards, his longest first-half completion was just 11 yards.
“I was off,” said Prescott. “That’s stuff you’ve got to go back, you’ve got to look on film. I’ve got to figure out why I was off. Was I rushing it? Did I feel pressure? What were the things that were causing it? Or was it just me missing the pass."
The Cowboys failed to drive the ball into Panthers territory in the first half; hard for Cowboys fans to watch but easy to put in perspective. The last time that happened was week 17 of 2002.
So, it’s been more than 15 full seasons since the Cowboys offense played that poorly to start a game.
Prescott and his receivers had precious little time in the preseason to try and jell. And with the way they rotate in and out, building chemistry with a go-to guy may take time.
“I’m not making any excused,” said Prescott. “We’ve had a lot of time in training camp. We’ve had a lot of time this week in preparing. We had to come out and be sharp and we weren’t as sharp as we needed to be."
Change is rarely easy, the Cowboys providing more evidence with a new look passing attack that needs plenty of work. New receivers Deonte Thompson, Allen Hurns, and rookie Michael Gallup combined for just five receptions for 56 yards. But as bad as this debut went, the Cowboys are keeping a positive outlook.
“We’re very optimistic. We’re not down or anything,” said receiver Cole Beasley. “We knew this was going to be a learning experience. I mean our team is so new and this offense is so different.”
And still very much a work in progress, “we fought the fight tonight, so [I’m] excited what we can learn from this game and move forward,” said Prescott.
Which is fine but they’ve got to improve in a hurry or there could be more rainy days ahead, just like this one in Charlotte when the Cowboys anemic passing attack showed us just how far they are from being where they need to be.
