DENVER — That went far from how the Dallas Cowboys envisioned it in their minds when they traveled to take on the Denver Broncos. This time around, with the No. 1 offense in tow, they felt confident they could be the team that ended the 30-year drought against the Ponies, but they were wrong — very, very wrong.
A promising start, by way of the first career interception from cornerback Trikweze Bridges, led to just a field goal by the Cowboys, but that was at least fine in some capacity, until it wasn't, because it turned out they would need those missing four points and a whole lot more to take down, or to even be competitive, against the Broncos.
They weren't, in either phase of the game, suffering a blowout loss fueled by self-inflicted wounds, an inability to generate enough explosive plays and an inability to stop the onslaught of explosive plays by Sean Payton's offense.
"When you look at it, I don't think any of us coached or played well enough," said head coach Brian Schottenheimer. "... We did not play well, we did not coach well. We didn't coach very well. I wasn't very good today. I don't think [Matt Eberflus] thinks he was very good today. Klayton [Adams] doesn't think he was very good today.
"We'll look at it. And we've got an extra day this week to get ready for Arizona, and that's what we're gonna do."
Dak Prescott found himself under siege for much of the evening, unable to get into a groove of any sort against the statistically best pass rush in the entire NFL, and it led to two-interception outing as he desperately tried to claw back later in the game.
The offense was disjointed, and frustrated, to say the least.
"Yeah, I'm surprised," said All-Pro quarterback Dak Prescott. "I'm sure that's a good word to use. Frustrated as well — frustrating. What we've been doing, what we're capable of doing, didn't really ever get going."
Might a trade ahead of the Nov. 4 deadline help the Cowboys, particularly their ailing, struggling defense, though? Prescott's focus isn't there, but rather on the guys in the locker room currently.
Instead of a trade, Prescott is challenging every single player in the locker room, that it might apply to, to stop saying they'll do better, and to actually do better.
"We've got to be better in everything that we do," he said. "Doing it — getting a trade — takes opportunities and plays away from somebody else. … Forget a trade. Do more, right? Shut that talk up, whether it be the offense or whether it be the defense? Whatever position group that you guys are alluding to, step up and shut the talk up."
Now sitting at 3-4-1 on the season, strapped to another wasted opportunity to try and keep pace with the Philadelphia Eagles and, at best, to potentially create space between themselves and the Washington Commanders they thumped a week ago, the Cowboys enter Week 9 having been unable to string together a two-game win streak at any point this season.
"I see us everyday, and I see what we're capable of. Here's the word that keeps coming back: consistency. We're not very consistent, and we have to be. Last week, we did a great job stopping the run, but tonight we didn't. Therein lies a problem. We've been doing well protecting the football, which has given us a chance. Tonight, we didn't."
That is echoed by Prescott, who didn't pull any punches when discussing it.
"Right now, our identity is up-and-down, and that's not anything I'm proud of — not anything," he said. "Nobody in that locker room should be proud, on any side of the ball, or coaches. Our identity right now is inconsistent, and that's unacceptable, and we've got to be better. We've got to find a way to be consistent, whether it's at home or on the road, regardless.
"We're too good."
With one game to play before having a chance to fully adjust to the gauntlet that awaits them on the other side of their bye week, the time for reflection in Dallas is right now, and neither Schottenheimer nor Prescott are avoiding that fact. They're instead embracing the reality of it, because not doing so risks letting the season get away from them in the next several weeks.
"We've gotta find consistency," said Prescott. "If we lost a game playing our best, you can somewhat live with that. … We didn't play to our identity. We didn't play to our standard.
"... I looked at everyone in the locker room, including myself, and challenged them to look in the mirror like, 'Are you giving enough?'"
That is a valid question heading into Monday Night Football, because tough love has to be on the menu now in Dallas.
