The Cowboys’ red zone troubles in Week 2 were overlooked in the Cowboys’ 30-10 victory over the Jets. They were only 2-of-6 inside the Jets’ 20-yard line in that game. It didn’t matter.
On Sunday, it mattered.
The Cowboys’ failure to score in the red zone played a big part in their 28-16 loss to the Cardinals.
Dallas scored only one touchdown in five trips inside the Cardinals’ 20-yard line.
“You look at this loss, we moved the ball up and down the field and just couldn’t score,” Cowboys quarterback Dak Prescott said, via Todd Archer of ESPN. “So, that’s your reason for this loss.”
In the second half, the Cowboys twice kicked field goals from the Arizona 8. They turned it over on downs from the Arizona 4, and Prescott threw an interception from the Arizona 6 on their final possession. Prescott was only 2-of-9 for 25 yards with a touchdown and an interception in the red zone.
“We’ve got to do better,” Prescott said. “Just as a team, as a unit, myself. Got to make some throws. Maybe use my feet more. Honestly, that’s an area that we haven’t been good in the last two weeks. Even in the win last week, that was the sore spot in the win. . . . We’ve all got to get back to the drawing board. Starts with me. Making some throws and making some plays with my feet and trying to get it done.”
For the season, the Cowboys have six touchdowns in 15 red zone possessions. Only the Bucs, Titans and Texans have a worse success rate than the Cowboys’ 40 percent. The Cowboys have seven red zone field goals.
The Cowboys scored touchdowns on 40 of 56 red zone drives (71 percent) last season.