Schottenheimer wants to stop making mistakes, but it's more than that

The Dallas Cowboys had to go into their boogie man’s house and fell short across the board, losing 23-13 to the Green Bay Packers. No part of the team played well in the first half, falling down 17-0, with the offense having two turnovers and the defense allowing a 90% conversion rate on third down. The team was lucky the Packers dropped multiple touchdown passes, keeping the game competitive. Head coach Brian Schottenheimer said the effort was right, but the team needs to eliminate mistakes; the issues seem much deeper than on-field mistakes.

The offense didn’t bounce back in the second half. Green Bay offered very little offensively in the third and fourth quarters, but Dallas couldn’t do anything to make the game close. They had their offensive line intact, the three main receivers were healthy, Dak Prescott was under center, Javonte Williams was a full go at running back, and Brevyn Spann-Ford replaced a healthy Jake Ferguson at tight end. With all that at their disposal, Dallas had a single score while the game was in the balance. It was an unacceptable performance from that side of the ball, and putting it all on “mistakes” isn’t good enough.

It’s not difficult to figure out the issue with the Dallas defense. They allowed 17 points in the first half and it could’ve been more if not for self-inflicted mistakes by the Packers. The Cowboys allowed four third-down conversions on the opening drive. Two from third-and-13, a third-and-5 and a touchdown on third-and-six.

They ended the half allowing 9 of 10 third-down conversions, and for the second time in just six games this season. This allowed GB to run 39 plays to the Cowboys’ 23 and control the clock 17 minutes to 13, while the Packers only rushed for 2.7 yards per carry in the opening two quarters.

In the second half, the defense turned things around as Green Bay only scored six points on five possessions. They allowed only two conversions on eight attempts and held the Packers under 30 plays before kneel-downs, with 13 minutes of time of possession.

When they get off the field, the defense looks okay, but when opponents can extend drives on third down, they look abysmal. The coaches need to look at how they are using their personnel. Von Miller covering the flat or Malachi Lawrence covering an in-route 20 yards downfield, in the end zone instead of rushing the passer, isn’t going to be impactful often.

Dallas played a Tampa Bay Buccaneers defense under Todd Bowles that blitzed often, and it badly impacted the quarterback and the offense overall. It was a short week, and the Cowboys were at the end of a tough travel schedule, but those reasons weren’t available for the matchup with the Packers.

Dallas had a mini bye to prepare for another defensive coordinator who blitzes and plays Prescott well, Jonathan Gannon. While the head coach for the Arizona Cardinals, Gannon was 3-0 and held the Cowboys to 22, 17, and 16 points. The fact that Brian Schottenheimer seemed to have no plan to counter Green Bay’s defense is not promising for the season’s future. The players made mistakes. Prescott missed throws, and the offensive line played poorly, but a lot of that could be due to a lack of a game plan to counter the blitz.

The Joneses have been the guys taking the brunt of criticism for 30 years without success, and rightfully so, but at the micro level, Brian Schottenheimer has been an issue in his first 23 games. The team has had poor defense and special teams play under his watch, but now his unit on offense has been poor over the last two games. The offense played the last two contests fully healthy, so there are no excuses for why they aren’t thriving. Instead, they are falling apart. Over the last two contests, Dallas is 12-for-26 on third down, has turned the ball over five times, and has only scored 14.5 points per game. The offense has been the furthest from the greatest offense there is, and with a completely healthy unit, the blame will fall at the play-caller’s feet. Schottenheimer is coaching for his job now.

You can find Mike Crum on Twitter @cdpiglet or on YouTube at Across the Cowboys podcast

This article originally appeared on Cowboys Wire: Schottenheimer wants to stop making mistakes, but it’s more than that