Dak Prescott injury ends Dallas Cowboys hopes but dysfunction of season on overload vs. Falcons

In case you didn’t know it by now, the Dallas Cowboys season is over.

Owner Jerry Jones talked last week about having a fairytale ending.

He only walked himself into a nightmare in Atlanta where injuries, bad personnel decisions and poor coaching and self-inflicted miscues were on overload in a 27-21 loss to the Atlanta Falcons.

The Cowboys are now riding a three-game losing streak for the first time since they finished 6-10 in 2020.

That season was essentially over when quarterback Dak Prescott suffered a fractured ankle and was sidelined for the final 11 games.

Prescott suffered a hamstring injury against the Falcons and it could prove to be the final nail in the coffin for a Cowboys season already on life support.

Any hopes they had of reaching the playoffs for a fourth straight season and possibly saving coach Mike McCarthy’s job was to go a miraculous run, starting Sunday against the Falcons.

At 3-5, the Cowboys still have hope in the math of the schedule with nine games left to play. The Washington Commanders lead NFC East with a 7-2 mark.

But with Prescott now injured and unlikely to play next week against the Philadelphia Eagles, that’s more fantasy island than a fantasy finish.

“Frustrated, obviously, like I said that last week, disappointed,” Prescott said when asked to describe his emotions. “I felt like we could get this one. Felt like this was a great one. Set up for us, yeah, and didn’t get it done. For me to experience this, have this add to the injuries It’s tough.”

Prescott getting injured was par for the course for a Cowboys season that has been decimated by injuries to star players. The played Sunday without Pro Bowl defensive ends Micah Parsons and DeMarcus Lawrence, Pro Bowl cornerback DeRon Bland and receiver Brandin Cooks.

Parsons, Lawrence and Cooks have missed four games and Bland has been sidelined since training camp with a foot injury.

Parsons, Cooks and Bland are likely to be ready to go against the Eagles next week but, of course, the Cowboys may then be without Prescott.

Any idea of blaming the Cowboys struggles on injuries is missing the point on the season-long dysfunction that was typified in the loss to the Falcons.

Of course, it started on Sunday with running back Ezekiel Elliott being made inactive for disciplinary reasons and then being left behind in Dallas.

According to sources, Elliott has been late to team meetings but the issue had been building for some team, leading Sunday’s measure of discipline.

Of course, the root of the issue was the Cowboys re-signing Elliott in the offseason, just one year after releasing the team’s third all-time leading rusher for a high salary and declining production.

His role in the Cowboys offense has been a mystery since the start of the season and Elliott was not happy about it.

The discipline takes it to another level.

“Definitely difficult situation,” Prescott said of Elliott being left behind in Dallas. “Me being as close as I am with him, wanting to help. And I think this this will be good. And I say that is obviously there’s a mutual decision for him to not take this trip, whether, whether just getting himself together. And I’d like to just see you know, us rally around him, be the teammates and the brothers that we are and good will come from it.”

Without Elliott, the Cowboys got a strong game on the ground from Rico Dowdle, who rushed 12 times for 75 yards. He also had five catches for 32 yards and a touchdown.

The decision to sit Elliott meant more touches for Dalvin Cook as the backup running back. He was flagged for 12-men the huddle on a fourth-and-1 play in the third quarter.

It was typical of a Cowboys team has been beset by penalties all season and has been their own worst enemy with pre-snap flags.

The Cowboys had nine penalties for 55 yards on Sunday compared to four for 26 on the Falcons.

“We are making too many self inflicted wounds,” McCarthy said. “The pre-snap penalties are totally unacceptable.”

The flag on Cook came one drive after the Cowboys tried a fake punt pass on fourth-and-2 from their own 38 that allowed the Falcons to break the game open.

Punter Brian Anger’s attempt to special teams ace C.J. Goodwin was nearly intercepted. The Falcons soon turned a 14-10 halftime lead to 21-10 on an 11-yard touchdown pass to receiver Ray Ray McCloud against a confused Cowboys defense.

“Well, I think it’s a little bit part of the story,” McCarthy said. “I mean, we just had some self-inflicted wounds. The fake punt was a matchup [special teams coordinator] John [Fassel] felt strongly about going into the game, so didn’t convert that. But, yeah, that’s when they got the two-score lead.”

The Cowboys defense was also confused on a 36-yard touchdown pass from Cousins to receiver Darnell Mooney in the second quarter.

“We had a number of guys on the same level in that wide bunch formation,” McCarthy said.

It’s been the same things all season. Penalties, communication breakdowns, poor play.

“I can’t put my finger on it, to be honest with you,” Prescott said. “That’s one of the most frustrating things about it. Whether its guys taking turns, whether it’s us all not being on the same page, whether it’s the cadence or the substitutions, like you said, coming from the sideline. Some very frustrating, detailed matters in key parts of the games that when you do that, you’re not going to win. You’re not going to win. Especially in this league against a good team.”

What we know now is that the Cowboys are not a good team.

The Cowboys gave up three sacks to a team that had six sacks through the first eight games of the season.

Prescott was under siege all game.

That speaks to the personnel decisions made before season that has Cowboys starting two rookies on the offensive line.

Credit McCarthy for a Cowboys team that seemingly continues to fight.

At this point, that’s all they have left to do.