Then as fate would have it, former Redskins running back Alfred Morris punched in what proved to be the game winner. This time though, the defense rose to the occasion and again held the opponent to a field goal. Again Washington had a short field and it looked like a solid offensive game plan was out the window because of one mistake. Later when Washington looked to take control late, Barry Church stepped up with an interception in the end zone.ĭallas later had a blunder as Elliott fumbled the ball away. Dallas’ maligned defense held Washington to a field goal following the short field from the onside attempt. This risk didn’t work, but it sure fired the team up.įrom this point on Dallas shut Washington down. The kick was pretty abysmal and safety Barry Church was flagged for an illegal touch. Garrett saw something in the kick coverage he liked and a surprise onside kick ensued. With a 20-17 lead, Dallas again looked like a changed team. Washington was able to jump on top the next half with a touchdown but Dallas answered with rookie quarterback Dak Prescott‘s first career touchdown run.ĭak Prescott showing off his athleticism with a 6 yard run. They kept the lead at three and headed to the half 13-10.
The home team had some momentum, but unlike the week before, Dallas still had the lead. Washington then headed right down the field and scored, yet this time it didn’t sting as bad. Dallas then capitalized with a touchdown run by Ezekiel Elliott and a 10-0 lead. The result was a 28-yard completion to tight end Geoff Swaim. Head coach Jason Garrett decided to put his super-conservative play-calling book in his back pocket this time and decided they could convert on this short yardage play. All their hard work was erased on a 93-second drive that covered 75 yards with just four plays.
Doing so in Week 1 was a killer as Dallas controlled the clock but were down 7-6 after only a short drive from New York. With a fourth-and-one at the Redskins 300yard line Dallas was about to do what they did against the Giants the week before, kick a second-straight field goal.
That’s what happens when you leave a game to chance like Garrett has been doing in every single contest without Tony Romo. He messed up, the clock ran out, and the team lost. Last Sunday, that happened when receiver Terrance Williams didn’t get out of bounds on the final play of the game. Playing the safe approach led to a lot of close games in which a single mistake could ruin an entire game. It also made Dallas a very beatable team. Doing this, in effect, made wideout Dez Bryant one of the highest paid decoys in the entire NFL. This “plan” consisted of a high dose of running the ball and short, safe passes to tight end Jason Witten and slot receiver Cole Beasley. This game plan was nearly identical to the one they employed throughout their 4-12 campaign in 2015. In Week 1 Dallas played an ultra-conservative game against the New York Giants and lost, 20-19. Related Story: Cowboys: Garrett Must Stop Coaching Not to Lose