Dallas Cowboys loss to Ravens in the context of NFL Next Gen Stats

The Dallas Cowboys never stood a chance against the Baltimore Ravens. Baltimore played like the better and, frankly, hungrier team. They stormed into AT&T Stadium and, even though they made things a little dicey towards the end, they had a lucky flight home.

We know the game was bad because we (unfortunately) saw it, but what can deeper data tell us? The folks at NFL Next Gen Stats are incredible and have some information that will make you pretty sad.

Let’s begin.

Derrick Henry had a day against the team that didn’t want him

During the offseason, it was reported that the Cowboys didn’t even call up Derrick Henry about free agency. Henry totaled 174 yards and two touchdowns against the team that passed on him and was, as always, difficult to stop.

In total, Henry forced 12 missed tackles against the Cowboys defense, the second-most by any player in a game this season (for full context, this information all relates to the start of Sunday night’s game).

Ultimately, the Cowboys defense allowed 158 total yards against the Ravens, which were primarily due to missed tackles, the most yards an NFL defense of that magnitude has allowed in a game this season prior to Sunday night.

Lamar Jackson didn’t have to do much to have a day

Reigning MVP Lamar Jackson didn’t have to work too hard as a passer against the Cowboys because he was able to throw the ball off so easily. That sounds kind of like an indictment of Jackson, but it’s actually a testament to his great decision-making and the Ravens’ ability to create space.

Jackson averaged 3.2 air yards per attempt against the Cowboys, which is, amazingly, the lowest number in a game of his entire career.

His only pass over 10 air yards was the 13-yard touchdown to Rashod Bateman.

Mike McCarthy needs to develop a more creative offense

This is also a criticism of Dak Prescott, if it’s worth it. But it’s clear that the offensive scheme that Dallas is putting in place doesn’t intimidate or deceive anyone.

On Sunday against the Ravens, Prescott threw into a tight window on 35.3% of his attempts. That was the highest rate for Prescott in a game since Week 4 of 2018 (Dallas narrowly beat the Detroit Lions that day), and if you remember, that was the infamous “wide receiver by committee” season.

Specifically, on those throws, Prescott was 5 of 18 for 66 yards for a 7% higher completion rate than expected. That, in case it’s not obvious, is pretty bad.

Dak needs to make better decisions, but several things could be true at once. Obviously, the Cowboys don’t have enough playmakers who can move out wide enough for him to apply pressure. Plus, as mentioned, Mike McCarthy isn’t capable of creating space for anyone.

These issues will continue to plague the Cowboys if they aren’t addressed immediately. They’re only 1-2, so nothing is unsolvable (the 2018 Cowboys fell to 3-5 and won the NFC East before advancing to the Divisional Round), but the situation is pretty tense. We’re somewhere around DEFCON 2.