(As always, a h/t to our old friend rabblerousr, who originated the By The Numbers column here - Dave) So, that didn’t go as planned. The 2018 Dallas Cowboys season began with a whimper, losing 16-8 to the Carolina Panthers. The much-hyped defense played well enough, holding the Panthers to only 16 points and 293 yards - that’s usually good enough to win in the NFL. But not Sunday, not for the Cowboys in Charlotte. That’s because Dallas’ revamped offense had an anemic performance. Shut out for the first 52 minutes of the game. the offense struggled to move the ball throughout the game. Dak Prescott played terribly and the high-pedigreed, very-expensive offensive line didn’t play close to expectations. The end result was an offense that generated only 232 yards and eight points. Ouch. Let’s look at the numbers: Ten - combined number of sacks and major penalties committed by the Cowboys’ offensive line The tone was set early for the offensive line when Tyron Smith was called for a blatant block in the back penalty on the team’s second play from scrimmage. The penalty set up a 2nd-and-21, leading to an eventual punt. This was a pattern that would be repeated again and again as sacks and penalties would frequently put them team in bad down-and-distance situations. Tyron Smith was also called for a holding penalty later in the first half. La’el Collins visibly wore down as the game progressed. He was twice called for holding in the second half, gave up two sacks and basically looked like a turnstile over the last 20 minutes of the game. Connor Williams again showed the flaws that have plagued him throughout the preseason: an inability to stand up to a strong, physical bull rush and lunging forward and dropping his hands, allowing defenders to race past him. Both showed up Sunday and resulted in a sack and hits on the quarterback. The Cowboys ran only 57 plays and ten of them ended with either a sack of Dak Prescott or a 10-yard penalty on the offensive line. That’s basically a negative play attributed to the offensive line once every six plays. No offense can succeed with that kind of performance. That’s not what was expected. Dallas has invested numerous high draft picks and big money contracts on the big bodies up front. Not only is the OL supposed to be the strength of the team, it’s supposed to be the team’s identity. Yes, Travis Frederick was out. However, his replacement Joe Looney wasn’t the weak point Sunday, the problems were found with others, mostly Williams, Smith and Collins. Those who expected the OL to return to an elite unit after a less-than-elite 2017 might have to re-evaluate. Three - missed big-play opportunities Sometimes, an NFL team can lose most plays but make just enough big plays to overcome being the inferior team. Dallas had several opportunities to write such a script, but simply couldn’t capitalize on enough of them. The Dallas defense did capitalize on a big play to thwart the Panthers’ first drive. Carolina had moved from their own 32 to the Cowboys 5-yard line and looked sure to push the ball in for a touchdown when Daniel Ross penetrated and caused a fumble with DeMarcus Lawrence coming up with the loose ball. There were three additional opportunities where the Cowboys’ came up empty: Facing third-and-two from the Cowboys 27, Cam Newton tossed a screen pass to Jarius Wright. Sean Lee had an opportunity to make a play but couldn’t wrap Wright up. Wright would eventually pick up the first down but fumbled at the end of the play. Dallas, however, could not come up with the ball. tossed a screen pass to Jarius Wright. Sean Lee had an opportunity to make a play but couldn’t wrap Wright up. Wright would eventually pick up the first down but fumbled at the end of the play. Dallas, however, could not come up with the ball. The very next play Lee was able to tip a Newton pass intended for Torrey Smith . The ball deflected towards Jeff Heath , who managed to get both hands on the ball but couldn’t come up with the interception. It would have been a difficult play but Heath is capable of making it. Three plays later Newton would run four yards for the game’s first touchdown. pass intended for Torrey . The ball deflected towards , who managed to get both hands on the ball but couldn’t come up with the interception. It would have been a difficult play but is capable of making it. Three plays later would run four yards for the game’s first touchdown. Two possessions later it would be Dak Prescott who missed a big play opportunity. Trailing 7-0 and facing a third-and-seven from their own 35, Prescott was pressured and stepped up in the pocket. This is what Prescott saw: An NFL team can play an entire season without ever having a receiver get that wide open. It should have been an easy touchdown. Instead, Prescott’s pass was so short Jarwin had to stop, come back and was unable to make the catch. Not only didn’t the play result in a touchdown, the Cowboys didn’t even pick up the first down. The poor pass was one of many, as Prescott was inaccurate throughout the afternoon. Had the Cowboys been able to convert any of those three opportunities the game could have played out differently. 6.7 - average yards gained by Dallas per first half possession The Cowboys offensive first half was simply abysmal. Six possessions netted only 40 yards. The team managed only three first downs. The offensive line that surrendered six sacks and four penalties also couldn’t create any running lanes for Ezekiel Elliot (seven rushing attempts for 15 yards). The team’s drive chart for the first half is a nightmare: Note: the red columns indicate a drive that went backwards. When four of your six drives ended with the team in worse position than when it started there is a problem. Just an ugly, ugly first-half performance from the offense. 232 - total offensive yards The Cowboys 232 offensive yards is something Cowboys’ fans have, unfortunately, become accustomed to. It was the sixth time in the team’s last nine games that Dallas was held under 300 yards. It was the fifth time in the last nine games Dallas was held under 250 yards. The following chart shows the Cowboys’ offensive yardage totals since week one of 2017: The Dallas offense topped 375 yards five times in the team’s first eight games of 2017; they’ve reached that number only once since (against the Giants in late 2017). Many were skeptical about the Cowboys’ decision to employ second-rate free agents, no-name third and fourth stringers and mid-level draft picks at the tight end and wide receiver positions. Those critics can pat themselves on the back for at least one week. Cole Beasley had a strong game with seven catches on eight targets for 73 yards. None of the other receiving targets, however, managed more than 27 receiving yards and no one found the end zone. Until Dak and this receiving corps is able to prove the naysayers wrong, questions will remain about this group. Zero - number of converted field goals and extra points by new kicker Brett Maher Okay, that’s a little harsh, since Maher had only one attempt the entire afternoon. But the Cowboys’ rookie kicker missed the 47-yard, third-quarter attempt. The score was 10-0 at the time so a successful kick would have brought the Cowboys to within a single score. The Panthers then marched 63 yards with the resulting good field position and took a commanding 16-0 lead early in the fourth quarter. Normally, a single missed field goal wouldn’t warrant undue attention. But when the Dallas brain-trust put more faith in a 28-year old rookie with zero NFL experience and a fairly sketchy CFL resume over the second most accurate kicker in NFL history... well, every kick is going to be scrutinized until you disprove the skeptics. Perhaps no Cowboys’ off-season move was more shocking than the decision to go with Maher over Dan Bailey. Through week one, that decision looks a bit questionable. Summary NFL fans shouldn’t put too much weight on a week one performance. The vast majority of players haven’t played or even practiced any real football in nine months. The first three to four weeks of the season are now used to get into game shape. Thus, whether a performance is unexpectedly good or bad, it’s reasonable to assume that performance will change over the next few weeks. Still, there was very little to like in what the Cowboys had on display Sunday in Charlotte and if things don’t change for the better soon this will be a very long season.<doc-sep>The Dallas Cowboys played an extremely ugly game against the Carolina Panthers. They were saved from a blowout only by a timely fumble and some suspect penalties. They looked unprepared and undisciplined in committing several of their own penalties. The Cowboys had an entire offseason to prepare for this game. And they came out completely flat. Nowhere was that more evident than on offense. Everyone from Jason Garrett to Jason Jones spent the offseason telling the world how ready the Cowboys were to modernize their offense. They were supposed to incorporate the sort of read-option and spread concepts that helped the Philadelphia Eagles win the Super Bowl. Instead, Scott Linehan trotted out the same boring and predictable play-calls that, frankly, cost the Cowboys a playoff berth last season. And those who follow the team are tired of it. The Cowboys were absolutely horrendous on offense after months of being told not to worry. The organization promised an offense it has not delivered, instead falling back on the same conventional calls they have always relied upon. And just about everyone with a keyboard let them have it for it.<doc-sep>
It certainly wasn’t the expected start to the Dallas Cowboys’ season, as they fell to the Carolina Panthers 16-8. The public was told the offense was holding back some of the new concepts they were working on. Cowboys fans were expecting to see an exciting, new version of the offense in 2018. When the Sunday afternoon games were finished, those who watched other contests across the league were treated to offensive coordinators daring to break the glass while the Dallas offense pretty much stayed within the confines of their own imagination. Over the summer owner and GM Jerry Jones talked glowingly about a Dak-friendly offense, a scheme that would accentuate Dak Prescott’s skill set. Dallas added new receivers Allen Hurns, Deonte Thompson, Tavon Austin, and drafted Michael Gallup to help the process along. After one game, admittedly a small sample size, the new offense looks a heck of a lot like the old offense. The Cowboys’ skill players struggled in a 16-8 loss to the Carolina Panthers and a big reason is because the same men are in charge, head coach Jason Garrett and offensive coordinator Scott Linehan. The more things change, the more they stay the same. For all of the player turnover the results were the same; a stagnant, predictable offense lacking creativity. Austin was supposed to be a secret weapon, the team didn’t use him much in the preseason so they could unleash him when the games mattered. Instead of an exciting playmaker, the Cowboys managed to give Austin just one touch; a carry for one-yard. The pint-sized receiver was used more as a decoy on jet sweeps than he was a valid option to stretch the defense with his speed. The rest of the new weapons didn’t fare much better. Hurns, Thompson and Gallup managed just five combined catches for 56 yards. What happened to the imagination and new concepts the Cowboys were going to showcase? We saw the same stale offense. There were runs for Ezekiel Elliott on first and second downs into eight men fronts. If the Cowboys happened to get behind on the down and distance, they appeared to give up on the series with hand-offs to Elliott on second down, followed up by a screen pass on third downs. It’s the same script the offense used last year when they had trouble over the final eight games of the season. One of the knocks on Linehan is that he isn’t quick to adjust when things go wrong. Instead of being creative to keep the defense off balance, he reverts to conservative play calling. Linehan may have rolled out a few new plays and formations, but he didn’t appear to try anything imaginative and out-the-box to kick start his offense against the Panthers. Despite the Cowboys trailing for most of the game, it was never truly out of hand. With the offensive line struggling to control the line of scrimmage, Linehan stayed true to his plan. Perhaps he felt restricted by the team’s inability to protect Prescott, who had little time in the pocket. Perhaps he felt limited by Prescott’s inaccuracy. The problem was he didn’t then try to up the ante with rolling out things the Panthers couldn’t be ready for. He allowed those shortcomings to kill the Cowboys chances via 1,000 paper cuts. The definition of insanity is doing the same thing over and over, and expecting a different result. The Cowboys continued with the same offensive game plan and not much worked. Dallas finished with just 232 total yards against the Panthers, nothing Linehan called appeared to have worked. It was a rough game for the Cowboys’ offense. We hoped to see a different version of it than we saw last year, that didn’t appear to be the case. A tiger doesn’t change its stripes and we learned that Dallas’ offense remains unchanged. Something better change soon or another season will end in disappointment. You can chat with or follow Ben on twitter @BenGrimaldi