FRISCO, Texas – While the numbers and league rankings for the Cowboys may be in the upper part of the league, Dallas still feels as though they haven't played their best as offense through eight games in 2026.
For Pro Bowl WR CeeDee Lamb, part of the core issue is staring back at the offense in the mirror.
"We stop ourselves," Lamb said. "That sh** is frustrating. It's annoying. I hate it. And then ultimately, we end up losing."
With the amount of talent that the Cowboys have an offense, not being able to make crucial plays at key moments in the game has been irritating.
"When you have the standards and expectations to go out there and score every play and you're not doing that, yeah, it's frustrating," Cowboys QB Dak Prescott said. "And each and every guy, I'd be lying to y'all if I didn't say guys feel that, and each and every guy feels it in their own way. Especially crunch time, when you want to go win, and you want to go win it on your terms, and you don't get that done, and you put your defense in a tough situation, yeah, it's frustrating."
To get to their fastball, Dallas' offensive identity needs to be better.
"Yeah sure, I mean, is it one we're proud of? I don't know." Prescott said when asked what the identity of the offense is.
The question now is how do the Cowboys get back to being one of the top units in the league, like they were in 2025? Part of the answer is getting back to consistency across four quarters.
"That's been the gameplan all week of starting fast and making sure we finish and stay consistent with our gameplan," Prescott said. "Making sure the things that we want to do, whether it's your fastball, making sure when we attack with that, we finish with that as well. Make them change before we change and get away from anything. Words are all good, but we've just got to go out there and we've got to put it together. It's not just on offense, it's on defense, it's on special teams and it's putting a full, complete complimentary game together from all three levels."
For fulfilling their 1/3 of the bargain offensively, getting back to the basics is something the Cowboys feel can help them find their consistency.
"We've got to just make it much more simpler," Lamb said. "Make the game much simpler. I feel like we complicate in a way to some degree on certain times where I feel like we're not coming up and getting the first down on third downs and things of that nature… I don't really like continuing to talk about this week in and week out as if I got to figure it out, and then we go out there and do what we do. So we just got to go out there and play ball."
Are the Cowboys pressing to get things going?
"It's hard to say we're pressing," Prescott said. "But when you've got the talent we've got, when you've got the expectations, the standards that we have for ourselves and you go three and out or you don't score a touchdown, yeah, it's frustrating. And you've got to make sure that you don't allow that to continue to bleed, because then that bleeds into guys making MAs or not doing the details the right way because they want the big play rather than just sticking to it."
Despite a 3-5 start, both Lamb and Prescott are confident that the Cowboys can get back on track with nine games remaining in the regular season and outperform teams of years past.
"For one, the roster," Lamb said when asked what convinces him this team can perform better than those of the last two years. "Just look top bottom, I feel like this is probably one of the best teams that I've played on, been a part of. It's just unfortunate how we start into the season. Just hoping that we can turn it around before this bye week, and then get this thing going."
For Prescott, it's about being solution-oriented.
"Frustration doesn't get you anywhere," Prescott said. "So it's about coming in, us game planning and going out there and more importantly, it's about Sunday. It's about continuing the things that we've talked about, or that we've planned all week, and making sure that we stick to that then."
When a reporter said Sunday's game against the Colts was mathematically not a must-win game, Lamb said he didn't like that thought process and that "every game is a must win." Prescott shares the same mentality.
"I love it," he said. "At my position and being who I am for this organization, I think it raises the level. I felt it, and so to hear other guys saying it and maybe feeling it, that's good. That's good to me. You should play, and you should approach and prepare every game that way. That should be the way it is."
The Cowboys offense will look to find their fastball on Sunday against the 2-6 Indianapolis Colts, who have allowed the 30th ranked scoring defense in the NFL.
