Dallas Cowboys: Studs and duds in frustrating Week 10 loss to Vikings

Stud: Dak Prescott

Another beautiful game by Dak Prescott was wasted as the Cowboys were unable to find a way to pull this one out. He nearly had 400 yards passing, as the fourth-year starter had 397 yards and three touchdowns — as well as a pick, but that came on the last-second Hail Mary.

Prescott continues to play well this season and it would be hard for anyone to try and give the credit for his play in Week 10 to Ezekiel Elliott. With the running back bottled up, Dak was on fire and nearly pulled off the big comeback.

He was poised and confident, but it’s hard to overcome your own team when the defensive scheme and offensive gameplan — which didn’t even use Prescott’s running ability once — continues to hold you back. And that brings us to our final dud from the game.

Dud: Coaching Staff

Once again, Jason Garrett and his staff did all they could to steal a victory from their own team. After the terribly slow start, they were nearly bailed out by Dak Prescott who kept them in the game. Even though he was on fire for them, offensive coordinator Kellen Moore and head coach Jason Garrett continued to take the ball out of his hands.

Terrible run calls on first downs haunted them but the worst play-calling came late in the fourth quarter as Prescott moved them into the red-zone trailing by four. He hit Amari Cooper for an eight-yard gain down to the 11. Then, they decided on second-and-2 and on third-and-2, they handed the ball to Ezekiel Elliott who was having a terrible game. The result was a loss of three yards and they ended up losing the game after not converting on a fourth-and-5.

It wasn’t just the offensive coaches either as the defense was atrocious in this one. They couldn’t stop the run as Dalvin Cook had 97 yards and Alexander Mattison had 52. They were even worse against the screen pass, giving up 86 total yards receiving to Cook.

The lack of urgency to start the game, the poor choice in run calls, and the absence of adjustments doomed this team. And that was all on the coaching staff.