The Dallas Cowboys posted a combined 16-1 home record during the 2022 and 2023 NFL regular seasons. They began the 2024 season with a 0-1 record in Dallas.
The Cowboys, despite being more than a touchdown favorite heading into the Saints game, were outplayed and trounced 44-19 in Week 2. While New Orleans improves to 2-0, Dallas falls to 1-1 after winning at Cleveland in Week 1 and before hosting Baltimore in Week 3.
Beyond the obviously lopsided final score, here are some horrific statistics that led to the Cowboys’ worst home-opening performance in modern franchise history.
Dak Prescott had a rare bad home game
Prescott’s record-breaking contract as a quarterback means he can’t afford to go 27-of-39 for 293 yards while throwing just one TD against two interceptions and getting sacked three times. The last time Prescott had those poor performances at home was in Week 10 of 2017 against the Eagles and Week 15 of 2017 against the Seahawks. The Cowboys went 9-7 that season, finishing second in the NFC East and missing the playoffs.
Prescott, who led the league in TD passes in 2023 with 36, has two after two games in 2024. He also had just 11 turnovers last season (nine interceptions).
The offensive line is in transition and the running game is unreliable. CeeDee Lamb is his only truly reliable receiver, and he was without his favorite tight end Jake Ferguson on Sunday. That, plus the fact that the Saints hold a big lead, has put Dak under constant pressure.
Cowboys’ run defense has deteriorated
Last season, Dallas was 18th against the run, allowing an average of 114.1 yards per game. The Cowboys gave up 93 to the Browns in Week 1, but that team struggled up front and played from behind for much of the game.
The Saints played out front and shook the Cowboys’ weakened defensive line for 190 yards on 4.9 yards per carry. Alvin Kamara made his explosive four-TD game look easy with his 118 rushing yards. Dallas took some personnel hits up front by switching from Dan Quinn to Mike Zimmer in D.C. This is still a defense built to rush the passer and cover, so getting behind is bad news for a snowball effect.
Cowboys’ rushing attack gets worse
The Cowboys were 15th in the league in rushing last season, averaging 112.9 yards per game but only 4.1 yards per attempt. That was with Tony Pollard, an often explosive runner who could boost his average and production with a few big games. They didn’t re-sign Pollard and opted to bring back Ezekiel Elliott.
Last season, Prescott was very efficient, with the team throwing over 59 percent of the time. The Cowboys still threw 58.3 percent in the Week 1 win over the Browns. They had just 102 rushing yards in that game before falling to 68 against the Saints, with Rico Dowdle leading the way ahead of Elliott. They will continue to lose their 21st-place rushing offense, once again tied to a transitional offensive line that also allowed Prescott more sacks than usual at home.
Cowboys are more vulnerable to big plays against the pass
The Cowboys are weak at safety with Malik Hooker and Donovan Wilson. It hurts when they don’t have their top cornerback DaRon Bland and have a more playful cornerback like Trevon Diggs leading the secondary. The Cowboys are at their best when they’re looking for turnovers, but they can also get caught when they’re too aggressive. Rashid Shaheed and Chris Olave showed that in Derek Carr’s calculated deep shots playing the run.
Rookie Caeleon Carson, Bland’s replacement, has had a rough start to the season, allowing just five receptions. Hooker and Wilson continue to be poorly rated. The Browns haven’t had a chance to really test the backfield without Bland. The Saints focused on attacking the weakness early on, and it’s paid off.
Cowboys got worse on third downs
Dallas converted just 28.6 percent in the opener against the Browns’ stout defense. The Saints’ stout defense held the Cowboys to 46.1 percent, which still doesn’t match last season, when they were second in the league to the Bills at 49.1 percent. The problem is they have a harder time starting downs with the run and don’t have consistent weapons behind Lamb to move the chains. Jalen Tolbert and Ferguson’s backup Luke Schoonmaker provided limited help, and Brandin Cooks once again strayed from the game plan against one of his former teams.
The Cowboys’ offensive line, backfield and receiving corps all had lingering issues for Prescott. The defensive seven lost some pieces, and Quinn’s departure and Bland’s injury were huge.
The Saints’ loss was a perfect storm of all those misfortunes coming together and it won’t get any easier against a desperate Ravens team at home in Week 3.
