DENVER 鈥 Coming into the game as the NFL's best offense, largely in part to Dak Prescott's MVP level play and Dallas' new WR duo of CeeDee Lamb and George Pickens, there were lofty expectations for the Cowboys on Sunday.
Lamb and Pickens combined for 14 catches and 152 yards, but it ultimately wasn't enough as the Broncos defeated the Cowboys 44-24. Tight end Jake Ferguson did not have a catch after coming into the game red-hot, and Dallas' couldn't find their footing in the run game.
"It's all about preparation," Lamb said of the offenses' struggles Sunday. "We've got to come out and execute the things that we've always been able to do throughout the week. And for us, understanding that is 17 games. I kind of lose track of what week it is, but I do feel like it's about time for us to start winning consecutively and putting streaks together."
In saying that, he's not saying that anything about this week specifically was abnormal or not to par, rather that it just didn't translate on the field Sunday.
"I feel like the way that we prep in the week, that should carry over throughout the game. Us as a team, offensively, defensively, and special teams. I feel like we played below our standard." Lamb said.
In the second half, reigning defensive player of the year and Broncos CB Pat Surtain was ruled out of the game with a shoulder injury. When a player of his caliber is out of the game, opposing offenses notice. Did Lamb see the Broncos change anything defensively with Surtain sidelined?
"Not necessarily," Lamb said. "We didn't take advantage. Just got to be aggressive in those situations. Surtain's a great player鈥 I feel like we [should've] taken advantage of those opportunities."
His counterpart George Pickens fully agreed.
"Yea, definitely," Pickens said when asked if he thought the Cowboys' should've been more aggressive going after Surtain's replacement.. "And then counterparts too, we can only work off the defense and the defense can only work off us. So I feel like, like I said, execution on both sides would help us prevail through this game."
Following the game, head coach Brian Schottenheimer said that the Cowboys did go after the side where Denver's secondary was weak. Following that, Dak Prescott added his thoughts on the matter.
"It's a lot that goes into that," Prescott said. "You've got two elite guys out at receiver, I don't really honestly care who is guarding them, no disrespect to the guys out there, even Surtain. It's not like 'Oh, he's [not] out there, I need to attack this other guy.' No, I was just fine attacking [Riley Moss]."
"The opportunities, we didn't make them when they presented themselves, and they did a better job."
Now, there's no worth in looking at what could have been with Surtain out of the game as Dallas didn't capitalize on their chances with him sidelined. At 3-4-1, the Cowboys need to focus on getting back to .500 with a home game coming up against the Arizona Cardinals. What gives their players confidence that they can bounce back from a performance like this?
"One, we've proved it before," Pickens said. "And then secondly, like I said, execution, more detail, and coming back to work, instead of coming back to work with 'Aw, we lost,' move on to the next thing, try to get better."
