Dallas Cowboys: 3 Big takeaways from loss vs. Panthers in Week 1

1. Must be better on third down; rushing game needs improvement

The Cowboys didn’t convert a third down until the second half and didn’t get past the 50-yard line and into Carolina territory until the third quarter. A lot of that was because of their third down conversion percentage where the Cowboys were 2-of-11 for 18 percent. The Cowboys were also 0-for-1 on fourth down and totaled just 232 yards of offense for the game on 57 plays.

Converting on third down is a must for all NFL teams, but for the Cowboys, with how they like to run the football (which they did 22 times on Sunday), if the rushing game jumps up a level, the feeling is that will equal better results on third down, or at least one would think.

Ezekiel Elliott finished with 15 carries for 69 yards and one touchdown with a top run of 17 yards. Of those 69 yards rushed, 30 of those yards — on four carries — came on the Elliott touchdown drive that ended with a 4-yard run to the end zone in the fourth quarter.

Besides Elliott, next on the rushing chart was Prescott, who scrambled for 19 yards on five rushes, while Rod Smith had just one rush for five yards and Tavon Austin had one carry for one yard. That is another thing with the offensive play-calling on Sunday for the Cowboys. Though it didn’t work well on the one time it was attempted, rush the ball more with Austin and see what happens.

It was obvious that Carolina wasn’t going to let the Cowboys rush the ball in a tradition manner, so try someone else, mix up the playbook and give something else a try. Again, the entire team lost this game, but the defense was put in some bad spots and only allowed two touchdowns and a field goal.

Not playing well on third down, not rushing the football well for a majority of the game and just being predictable all was a perfect storm in this loss and one the Cowboys must recover from quickly because the New York Giants are next and they are coming off a loss as well.