5 Takeaways from Dallas Cowboys’ Week 1 Loss

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Jae C. Hong/Associated Press

The Dallas Cowboys opened the 2020 season in the Los Angeles Rams’ new building, SoFi Stadium in Inglewood, California. The contest went down to the final drive, but the visiting team came up short.

Despite the 20-17 final score, the Cowboys and Rams accumulated a combined 802 total yards. The teams scored most of the points in the first half. At the beginning of the fourth quarter, Dallas passed on a field goal, which in hindsight went down as a costly decision on head coach Mike McCarthy’s behalf.

Nonetheless, Dallas had opportunities to hit its stride in the second half but came away with just a field goal to show for it. On top of the defeat, the Cowboys may have lost two starters for an extended period.

We’ll break down five takeaways from the Cowboys’ 20-17 loss to the Rams and what some of this means for the team going forward.

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Dallas Cowboys head coach Mike McCarthyLM Otero/Associated Press

Through former head coach Jason Garrett’s tenure, he garnered criticism for not taking enough chances with a talented offense. McCarthy went in the opposite direction and went for a fourth-down conversion at the Rams’ 11-yard line. Dallas didn’t convert on 4th-and-3.

Although in hindsight, this scenario seems like an easy decision to take the points, McCarthy had confidence in his offense that averaged 5.5 yards per play to pick up three yards. Running back Ezekiel Elliott put together a solid performance on the ground, rushing for 96 yards. Wideouts Amari Cooper, Michael Gallup and CeeDee Lamb all recorded at least 50 receiving yards.

Yet, the offense came up short in a crucial moment. Dallas went into halftime with a 14-13 lead and only scored three points in the remaining 30 minutes. The Rams defense deserves credit, but once again, the Cowboys coaching staff failed to turn potential into production.

On the bright side, the ground attack hasn’t skipped a beat without former center Travis Frederick, who retired, and right tackle La’el Collins, whom the team placed on injured reserve because of a hip injury. Lamb fit the part of a pro, reeling in five catches for 59 yards.

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Dallas Cowboys edge-rusher Aldon SmithUncredited/Associated Press

Aldon Smith hasn’t played a regular-season game since November of 2015 with the then-Oakland Raiders, but you couldn’t tell based on his performance Sunday.

Smith shot off the line of scrimmage toward the pocket on several plays. He applied pressure and disrupted the Rams’ passing attack throughout the contest, logging 11 tackles, six solo and a sack.

The referees missed Smith’s late hit to quarterback Jared Goff’s helmet in the second half. Yet, that doesn’t take away from his impressive showing after nearly five years away from the field because of multiple suspensions for off-field conduct.

The league reinstated Smith in May. Even without spring reps on the practice field and a condensed training camp, the 30-year-old looks like he’s in good shape and primed for another double-digit sack season.

Smith, DeMarcus Lawrence and Everson Griffen will pose a strong threat to quarterbacks this season. The Cowboys covered for the loss of their 2019 sack leader Robert Quinn, who signed with the Chicago Bears in free agency.

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Tyrone Crawford (left), Dontari Poe (middle) and Jaylon Smith (right)Ashley Landis/Associated Press

The Cowboys struggled against the Rams’ ground attack, giving up 153 yards. Malcolm Brown has served as a backup through five seasons, but he logged a career-high 79 rushing yards and two touchdowns in the lead role. On the flip side, Dallas’ defensive front stopped him on third down late in the fourth quarter to give the offense a chance to win the contest.

Jared Goff moved the ball with consistency, averaging 8.9 yards per completion, though cornerback Chidobe Awuzie came up with an interception in the third quarter that afforded the Cowboys a short distance to the goal. Dallas converted a 33-yard field goal on the ensuing drive.

The Cowboys allowed 422 yards and 20 points, with most of the damage done in the first half.

Typically, a defense that holds an offense to 20 points has a good chance to win the game, but the Cowboys missed or passed up on some scoring opportunities, which let the Rams off the hook Sunday.

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Dallas Cowboys linebacker Leighton Vander EschPaul Sancya/Associated Press

The defense lost one of its key components on the second level.

Cowboys linebacker Leighton Vander Esch fractured his collarbone early in the contest—an injury that will require surgery and time on injured reserve, per Michael Gehlken of the Dallas Morning News.

Vander Esch missed seven games during the previous term because of a neck injury. In January, he underwent surgery, so this is another setback with a different issue. But for a short period, the Pro Bowl linebacker looked 100 percent in the middle of the defense while logging three tackles.

Vander Esch’s absence hurts a little more with fellow linebacker Sean Lee already on injured reserve with a sports hernia.

As mentioned above, the Cowboys defense bent a little too much in the first half. Now, the coaching staff has to find a way to patch up the linebacker spot until Lee or Vander Esch returns to action.

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Dallas Cowboys tight end Dalton SchultzPaul Sancya/Associated Press

Jason Witten signed with the Las Vegas Raiders during free agency, and his departure created an opportunity for Blake Jarwin to shine at tight end.

Over the past two seasons, Jarwin had served as a solid backup, hauling in 58 passes for 672 yards and six touchdowns with a 75.3 percent catch rate.

During the second quarter, Jarwin went down with a non-contact injury. He clutched his knee before exiting the game. According to Gehlken, the team suspects the fourth-year tight end suffered a torn ACL. Dalton Schultz took over for him.

The Cowboys selected Schultz in the fourth round of the 2018 draft. As a rookie, he logged 12 receptions for 116 yards in 300 offensive snaps, and the Stanford product caught one pass for 11 yards against the Rams on Sunday night.

Dallas has a strong three-wide receiver set featuring Cooper, Gallup and Lamb, so Jarwin’s absence won’t significantly diminish the aerial attack. The previous regime saw something in Schultz. Now, he’ll have an opportunity to carve out a role in McCarthy’s system.