The poor performance of the Dallas Cowboys offense was well documented in the Dallas Cowboys week 1 loss to the Carolina Panthers. The offense was the major concern following the departures of Dez Bryant and Jason Witten in the offseason coupled with the lack of depth at offensive line (mainly the absence of Pro-Bowl center Travis Frederick). Cowboy fans and members of the national media have had little faith in the new group of wide receivers and tight ends and last Sunday’s performance did not prove any doubters wrong. The silver lining in the week 1 loss was the performance of the defense but what has slipped under the radar largely was the poor play of the Dallas Cowboys special teams.
For all the changes on the offensive side of the ball that pales in comparison to the turnover on the special teams unit. It began with ace special teams coach Rich Bisaccia who left to join former coach John Gruden with the Oakland Raiders. Bisaccia has been an outstanding special teams coach in the NFL for over 15 years and that was a big loss for the Dallas Cowboys. Not only did Bisaccia leave for Oakland but he also brought over special teams standouts Kyle Wilbur and Keith Smith along with return man Ryan Switzer. The final shocking blow to the Dallas Cowboys special teams came when Dan Bailey was inexplicably cut in the offseason in favour of Brett Maher. Maher had never kicked a field goal or extra point in the NFL prior to last week and has STILL not converted a field goal or extra point after being shut out in the loss to Carolina.
Special teams play can often be the difference in close games and In an 8 point loss to the Panthers on Sunday the special teams play was indeed a key factor. Take a look at how the Dallas Cowboys special teams compared to the Carolina Panthers special teams in the contest.
| Carolina Panthers | Dallas Cowboys | |
|---|---|---|
| Kick/Punt returns (yards) | 4(62) | 2(13) |
| FGA/FGM | 1/1 | 0/1 |
| PAT ATT/PAT MADE | 1/1 | 0/0 |
| Pinned opp. inside 20 | 4 | 2 |
| Avg. starting field pos. | 38 yard line | 21 yard line |
There is no doubt that Cowboy fans should be concerned about the offensive performance against Carolina. One positive to take away from that game is that it was on the road against a very good defense. This week against the Giants, the Cowboys will face a less daunting defense and they will be playing at home so I anticipate a better offensive performance at least. As for special teams, that may turn out to be the achilles heel for the Dallas Cowboys as the season progresses.
All statistics and data obtained and verified from https://www.pro-football-reference.com/boxscores/201809090car.htm
*Photo by Kieth Allison (c) https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/2.0/legalcode