Tonight’s showdown against the Denver Broncos was supposed to be the turning point for the Dallas Cowboys. A statement game, a test of playoff credentials, maybe even a season-saver. Instead, it turned out into a disaster. A 44-24 blowout left the Cowboys sitting at 3–4–1 and hanging onto second place, for now. It was bad all around, and head coach Brian Schottenheimer didn’t hold back afterwards.

The Cowboys were bad on both sides of the ball today. No doubts about it. But what frustrated Brian Schottenheimer the most was the penalties tonight. And he put the locker room on notice. “The discipline has to be better,” the Dallas head coach said.

“I felt like there were four or five pre-snap penalties in the first half that definitely hurt us. You come into a tough place to play like this, you have to do a great job of having the discipline…..That’s something that needs to be looked at….everything will be evaluated. I can promise you that. Everything will be evaluated, from the penalties to the calls that we made, to players, everything.”

A couple of pre-snap penalties are fine when your defense isn’t the worst in the league. But having multiple penalties when you’re giving up more than 40 points? Any coach would boil up. Dallas gave up nine penalties for 80 yards on Sunday. That’s almost double the yards Denver conceded to penalties (seven for 42). It’s not a one-off problem either. They’re averaging 8.3 penalties a game, a total of 67 on the season. Concerning, isn’t it?

“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. I wasn’t very good today. I don’t think Matt Eberflus thinks he was very good today,” the head coach added.

The players didn’t show hunger either. The play-calling was questionable, and Matt Eberflus’ defense was no better than what we’ve witnessed so far this season. And it needs to change if they want to make it to January.

“I thought the guys fought, they battled, but at the end of the day, we did not coach the play well enough to be a good football team,” Schottenheimer continued. That’s questionable, honestly! In fact, compared to the last few weeks, the team looked spineless today. And putting in this defensive performance in a matchup this important, it’s rather unacceptable for the Dallas fans.

“Unfortunately, at the end of the day, we did not capitalise. I think the first drive that we had, we needed to come away with seven there. It was disappointing that we didn’t. But again, this is a good football team,” he added.

Yeah, the Cowboys could’ve easily been 7-0 up after rookie cornerback Trikweze Bridges recorded the first interception of his career just three plays into the game. Dallas had a prime field position at their own 48. They drove all the way down to the Denver 1-yard line, only to stall and settle for a chip-shot 24-yarder from Brandon Aubrey.

Three points instead of seven. And sure enough, that missed punch landed hard. The Broncos answered with touchdowns on back-to-back drives, flipping the game to 14–3 before Dallas knew what hit them. The offense simply has to take all the chances it gets when the defense is eating up 40 points.

And according to Brian Schottenheimer, it all comes down to inconsistency at the end of the day. “We’re not very consistent. We have to be more consistent. Last week, we did a great job stopping the run. Tonight, we didn’t. Therein lies a problem. [The] last couple of games, we’ve been protecting the football, which has given us a chance. Tonight, we didn’t,” he noted.

He’s got a point there. The Cowboys did not handle the Commanders’ run game decently, holding them to 136 rushing yards at 4.9 yards a carry. This has been the story of Dallas’ season: the offense scores enough to keep things interesting, while the defense keeps giving it all back. But tonight, both sides collapsed. And that’s when Dak Prescott’s frustrations started spilling out.

Dak Prescott made his frustration known

“Yeah, I’m surprised. I’m sure that’s a good word to use. Frustrated as well, frustrating,” Dak Prescott said. “What we’ve been doing, what we’re capable of doing, didn’t really ever get going. Had an opportunity right there on the first drive getting down in the red zone, being able to have a chance to put seven [points] up and settling for a field goal. That was the start of it, and then the rest just kind of followed that, and us not making the plays that were necessary.”

It was easily his worst outing of the season. After weeks of posting MVP-caliber numbers, Prescott threw for just 188 yards, no touchdowns, two picks, and a 51.5 passer rating. It was his second game without a touchdown this year and his first interception since Week 3 against Chicago. Everything that could go wrong, did.

And to be fair, Denver’s defense is no joke. Their pass rush and coverage units are among the best in the league, and they made life miserable for Dallas all night. The question coming in was simple: could the Cowboys’ offense outscore the Broncos’ defense? Turns out, not even close.

Momentum has always been key for Dallas. If they’d punched in that first touchdown after Bo Nix’s early interception, who knows? Maybe things play out differently. But games like this can’t be built on “what ifs.” Prescott knows that better than anyone. He echoed Brian Schottenheimer’s views on inconsistency.

“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,” he added.

The quarterback was then asked about the all-important potential trade question. “We’ve got to be better in everything that we do. 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,” he said.

But if there’s one area this team desperately needs help, it’s the pass rush. Those Maxx Crosby rumors fizzled fast, but maybe Jerry Jones still has something cooking behind the scenes. The fans can only hope.

Finally, Precott credited the Denver defense and its defensive coordinator, Vance Joseph. “Credit to those guys. Credit to [Broncos defensive coordinator Vance Joseph], making it tough on us. They got the best of us, that’s for sure,” he said.

And that’s the truth. Keeping Prescott touchdown-free this year? That’s no small feat. Denver’s defense brought pressure from every angle, forcing Dallas into mistakes and limiting them to just 339 total yards. They converted only 36 percent of their third downs and went 1-for-2 in the red zone.