Grades for the Cowboys in Week 8 loss to 49ers
Grades for last week were rather rough for the Dallas Cowboys.
The Cowboys did what they do best: lost to the 49ers. This was a whirlwind of an experience, too, taking a halftime lead and completely throwing it away before making things close again but, ultimately, running out of time. Let’s hand out some grades after this up-and-down performance.
Quarterback
This was not the worst game of Dak Prescott’s career - far from it - but it may have been his most disappointing one. Prescott’s two picks were both the result of poor decision-making and both were catastrophic for his team. In general, Prescott was once again too risky with the ball and not accurate enough for the gambles to pay off. That’s been a recurring theme all year, and it leads to a harsh but fair grade in a game where he should’ve risen to the occasion.
Grade: F
Running backs
At least all the unwarranted hype over Dalvin Cook can die down now. After plenty of anticipation, Cook made his Cowboys debut and totaled just 12 yards on six carries. Ezekiel Elliott led the backfield after Rico Dowdle’s sudden illness, and the veteran put up 34 yards on 10 carries but once again showed why he can’t be a team’s top option at running back.
Grade: D
Pass catchers
Arguably the only bright spot in the game, the pass catchers seemed to all get back in sync in this one. CeeDee Lamb was impressive, catching 13 of his 16 targets for 146 yards and two scores. Jake Ferguson added six catches for 25 yards and Jalen Tolbert continued his run of reliable play. Keeping this group from a better grade is KaVontae Turpin, who left some plays on the field, especially a deep shot at the very end of the game that he flat out dropped.
Grade: B+
Offensive line
All things considered, the offensive line was solid enough in this one. Only one of the two sacks on the night was charged to the line, though each tackle did give up four pressures apiece. They also had their moments in run blocking, especially in the first half. It wasn’t a perfect performance, but the offensive line was definitely not the reason Dallas lost this game.
Grade: C
Run defense
It was a tale of two halves for the run defense. In the first half, Dallas actually looked solid against the run, with San Francisco averaging a paltry -0.26 EPA/rush. But in the second half, that number jumped up to an astonishing 0.47 EPA/rush with Dallas looking more like their usual selves: unable to stop the run.
Grade: D+
Pass rush
There was virtually no pass rush in this game for Dallas, which was especially troubling given how long Brock Purdy has been holding the ball this season. Just three players logged two pressures on the night, with one being linebacker DeMarvion Overshown. More than that, five of the Cowboys’ eight defensive linemen in this game posted a pass rush win rate below 5%, which is abysmal. This grade is well earned.
Grade: F
Coverage
This unit gets some grace because of how injured they are, as well as the fact they had zero pass rush to help them out. All in all, they did okay against the 49ers, and Purdy actually posted a negative completion percentage over expected (CPOE). Still, over half of Purdy’s 260 passing yards came after the catch, which is hard to chalk up to injuries, especially when it’s Trevon Diggs and Donovan Wilson getting blown by.
Grade: C
Special teams
KaVontae Turpin had several solid kick returns, and Brandon Aubrey was once again perfect on field goals and extra points despite missing practice all week with jury duty. The one blemish for this group is Aubrey drawing a penalty on his kickoff to open the second half. That gave the 49ers a short field and set them up for their first touchdown of the night.
Grade: A-
Coaching
On one hand, the coaching staff deserves credit for how well the Cowboys played in the first half. They came out with a plan and, for the most part, executed it well. More than that, they showed they were perfectly capable of beating this team. On the other hand, the coaching staff was completely unprepared for San Francisco’s second-half adjustments and it took far too long for the Cowboys to stiffen up in the second half. In the end, that earns them a solidly middle-of-the-road grade.
Grade: C
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