Dak Prescott Missed Opportunities vs. the 49ers
On a day when Dak Prescott needed to be at his best, he wasn’t. He barely completed 50% of his passes and left too many plays on the field that could have made a difference in a 6-point game. The Cowboys’ seemingly magical season came to an abrupt ending as a result.
Prescott’s back-breaking 3rd-quarter interception was a great example of missing opportunities. The throw itself was a bad decision and a forced pass. The intended target was never really open:
But I’m also not sure why Dak didn’t take the CeeDee Lamb vs. Ambry Thomas matchup to the other side of the field. First, the underneath coverage was skewed away from Lamb:
The only defender that could truly provide help to Thomas was the safety to Lamb’s side. However, he moved more to the middle of the field at the snap:
That left Lamb in a one-on-one against a cornerback who had a 118.0 passer rating against him this season and allowed 17.5 yards per reception (3rd most in the NFL). Prescott didn’t work this matchup, though, and the rest is history. Here’s one more look:
The play below was another example of Dak missing opportunities, seemingly where the design of the play was meant to target.
The Cowboys were in a 3x1 formation on this 3rd-and-7 in the third quarter. You can see the route combination below:
The combination broke down the coverage beautifully, leaving Dalton Schultz open over the middle:
Prescott opted for the iso route on the other side of the field, though. The result was an incompletion:
The ineptitude of the offense wasn’t merely Prescott’s fault. The 49ers defensive line absolutely dominated Dallas up front. Kellen Moore’s approach also didn’t do enough to attack San Francisco’s weaknesses.
To read my full breakdown over at Dallas Morning News, click here.
again great breakdown, love the use of the gifs