Home is where the heartache is for the Cowboys, but the road might not bring much relief

FRISCO, Texas (AP) — Dak Prescott isn’t coming back this season, and the Dallas Cowboys finished their latest home loss without three of their five starting offensive linemen or their top tight end.

Talk of a fourth consecutive trip to the playoffs is long gone.

Instead, it’s looking a lot like 1989, the year owner Jerry Jones bought the team and the Cowboys didn’t win a home game. A franchise that started the season with Super Bowl hopes is now in the conversation for the No. 1 overall pick in the draft.

The reality of a five-game losing streak heading into a fourth consecutive game against a team with a winning record — Sunday at Washington (7-4) — has more than settled in for Dallas (3-7).

“Certainly we have to be realistic about how we’re playing,” Jones said after a 34-10 loss to Houston on Monday night. “We have to be realistic what we’re dealing with in quarterback, and we have to calculate that and look ahead.”

Cooper Rush is 0-2 filling in for Prescott, who had season-ending surgery on his torn hamstring last week.

Rookie left tackle Tyler Guyton injured a shoulder trying to run with a Rush fumble that he caught out of mid-air, only to have the ball knocked out and returned for a touchdown by the Texans.

Later, perennial All-Pro right guard Zack Martin and left guard Tyler Smith injured ankles on the same series. Tight end Jake Ferguson was lost to a concussion in the first quarter.

The Cowboys were already suffering through the growing pains of youth. Those pains are probably only going to get worse.

“We had so much success over the last three years as far as in the regular season, it’s starting to bother us right now,” 2023 All-Pro receiver CeeDee Lamb said. “We’ve got to find ways to gel together, play together and finish this thing out.”

Dallas is 0-5 at home for the first time since losing all eight games at old Texas Stadium and finishing 1-15 in 1989. That was the rookie year for No. 1 overall draft pick Troy Aikman.

The highest the Cowboys have picked because of their record since then is fourth in 2016. Wherever they end up in the draft, it could be the first pick of a new coach with Mike McCarthy on an expiring contract.

“This is it, man. We’ve got to go,” McCarthy said. “We got to fight, scratch and claw. So, those guys, our young guys, they’re getting a lot of experience. We need to do whatever the hell we need to do to win.”
What’s working

Getting the ball in the hands of speedy receiver/return KaVontae Turpin is leading to good things.

His 64-yard touchdown was a career long, and the 22.4 mph he reached while sprinting to the end zone was the fastest in NFL this season, according to the league’s Next Gen Stats. The NFL leader in kickoff returns averaged 28 yards on a pair against the Texans.
What needs help

The punt team isn’t helping McCarthy’s case for a new contract. Twice in the past three losses, the Cowboys have failed on fake punts. Both didn’t come close to fooling the opposition, and left a struggling defense in a difficult spot.

Punter Bryan Anger threw a pass each time, and the second one he actually completed to Juanyeh Thomas. Problem for Dallas was, John Metchie III was right there and tackled Thomas 5 yards short of the first down.

“They won the chess match there,” McCarthy said. “That was a poor call by us.”
Stock up

Luke Schoonmaker had a career-high 56 yards receiving on six catches, which matched his best, after Ferguson’s injury.
Stock down

Situational awareness was a problem again with Guyton’s decision to stay on his feet rather than go down after ending up with the ball when Rush had it knocked out of his hand as he was trying to throw.

Instead of the worse-case scenario of a punt, Guyton had the ball knocked loose, and the second fumble on the same play was returned 28 yards by Derek Barnett for a touchdown, putting Houston up 27-10.

“We’re not teaching offensive linemen to carry the ball. That’s twice now,” McCarthy said. “That was a big play obviously in the game. We need to fall on the ball.”
Injuries

There was no immediate report on the status of Ferguson, Martin and Smith. … The return of CB DaRon Bland and rookie DE Marshawn Kneeland could be near. Bland, who set an NFL record with five interception returns for touchdowns last season but hasn’t played this year because of a stress fracture in his foot, has been on the active roster several weeks now. Kneeland injured a knee in Week 5.
Key number

28.1 — That’s the average of the largest deficit for the Cowboys in each of the six games on a home losing streak that includes the blowout to Green Bay in a wild-card playoff in January. There are many remarkable aspects to this skid at AT&T Stadium. Topping the list is that Dallas had won 16 in a row at home before it.
Next steps

Coming off a Monday night game, the Cowboys are about to play three times in 11 days. After visiting the Commanders, Dallas plays its traditional Thanksgiving home game against the New York Giants.

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