Cowboys Head Coach Brian Schottenheimer (Post-Game Transcript)
On the fourth quarter offensive struggles:
“Yeah, it was really a tale of two halves. I talked to the guys about that in the locker room. We came out on fire on offense in the first half and defensively we struggled a little bit, and then I thought we made some great defensive adjustments in the second half and we flipped it. We gave ourselves a chance to win and offensively we didn’t really do enough. We put ourselves in more third-and-longs and we just weren’t able to capitalize. But that’s how a division game should feel. We had good moments, they had good moments. They do what they do, they bleed the clock on you and they limit your opportunities. I think they had the ball for almost 35 minutes and we got to make plays when they’re there. We’ve got to get guys on the ground and throw and catch a little bit better and we had our chances.”
On Cowboys WR Ceedee Lamb’s drops:
“Don’t worry about Ceedee Lamb. Ceedee’s going to be fine. What a great player. Again, this was a team defeat and we own that. We understand where we can go as a football team. We understand. I love the competition. I thought guys competed their butts off. I thought that was great, but we’re all about winning and we didn’t win tonight and therefore it’s not good enough.”
On if the weather delay had any impact on his team:
“No excuses. Nope. Same for both teams.”
On Cowboys QB Dak Prescott and Eagles DT Jalen Carter’s interaction:
“Yeah, honestly, I didn’t see it. I don’t know. All I know is that a great player got ejected and again, I don’t know. I’ll look into it, but I do not know.”
On whether or not the ejection impacted is game plan:
“No, I mean he’s a great player. It’s like, you lose a great player on either side of the ball, it affects them and they’re a little bit thin when you do that and that’s why, unfortunately, we weren’t able to sustain the ball enough. They were down a defensive lineman and a great defensive lineman at that. But again, like I said, we’ll look into it and see what happened.”
On defensive adjustments made for the second half:
“Yeah, we did. I thought [Cowboys DC Matt] Flu [Eberflus] and the guys did a great job. Number one, we tackled better. We fit the gaps better. We started using some more blitzes and some more movements. But I think we just settled in, I really do. I think we settled in and their quarterback is really big and athletic and our rush lane discipline in the first half wasn’t very good. He got out a few times. I thought we did a better job of containing him in the second half. But again, we had chances out there and there’s no moral victories for us. We had a chance to win that game and weren’t able to do it and it’ll sting.”
On where he believes his team can go following tonight’s loss:
“I still think we can win a Super Bowl. That’s the goal, [ESPN Reporter] Todd [Archer]. It’s not going to change. I mean, we’ve got the right type of guys. We’ve got good players. Again, like I said, you saw what we’re capable of in the first half offensively. You saw what we’re capable of in the second half defensively. We’ve just got to put the game together in a more complimentary fashion because that’s what we’re capable of. We lost the turnover battle. That affects some things, right? We lost 1-0 and we’re all about the ball, and we’ve got to protect it better and got to try to create some takeaways on defense.”
On Dak Prescott’s play:
“I thought Dak played really well. Limited opportunities just because we didn’t have that many opportunities with the 26 minutes or whatever it was, time of possession, but I thought [Cowboys QB Dak] D [Prescott] threw the ball really well and played well.”
On how the team responded to the challenging rain delay:
“I think they were great. I mean, the defense did great. It’s not our first rain delay. We’ve been through it – Pittsburgh last year, so a similar type of thing. The league did a great job communicating to us, ‘Hey, what time we think we’re going to go out,’ and we have a plan in place for that. Those are things you plan on, but again, no excuses. We just have to find a way to finish that game.”
On if the loss felt self-inflicted after a fumble and key drops:
“All the way across the board. Coaches, players alike. I’m never going to put this on any one person. This is a team game. It’s the ultimate team game and at the end of the day, absolutely, we’re a good football team and we had a chance to win that game and we didn’t. So we can learn from it. We’re certainly not going to make excuses and we’ll get back to work and onto the Giants. This is one of 17 that we’re guaranteed. It’s a division game. It’s what the league wants. That’s why they put us on Thursday night and again, they got what they want and the Eagles got the win. Give them credit.”
On his emotions going into the game:
“Yeah, I was pretty good. A little emotional during the anthem, but again, I’m surrounded by such great young men in that locker room and coaches – that was my main focus today. Just being around them, and I wish we would’ve found a way to get a dub.”
On the thought process in sitting DT Mazi Smith:
“Yeah, I’ve talked about [Cowboys DT] Mazi [Smith]. I had a great conversation with Mazi, just about the consistency. Mazi is going to play a lot of really good football. He’s not even begun to reach his peak, but the consistency has not been there and therefore, if your philosophy is [to] compete every day, then that’s what you have to do. Make those decisions.”
On the defensive improvements in stopping the run from the first to second half:
“Yeah, again, like I touched on, I thought we did start blitzing a little bit more. I thought we tackled better. Like I said, I think it was Clarence [ALL CITY DLLS reporter Clarence Hill Jr.] who had asked, but the rush lane discipline. I mean, [Eagles QB] Jalen [Hurts] hurt us in the first half. He got out a few times and we didn’t get him on the ground. He’s a big physical guy that you have to tackle a little bit differently. And again, we need to be better. We talk about our ability to tackle and things like that, and the first half wasn’t good enough. The second half was, and that’s why you saw the turnaround.”
On if the opening approach changed after the ejection of DT Jalen Carter:
“No, not really. No. I mean, he’s obviously a great player. We had some things that you’re always trying to do to a great player, but for the most part, no. I mean they’re not overly complicated. They’re just good at what they do and both teams have to adjust when things like that happen.”
On if he takes pride in how the team played amidst external noise during the week:
“Yeah, I’m proud of how they competed, but I don’t find any moral victories when this team’s built on a culture that’s all about winning. You don’t find moral victories in losing.”
On DT Kenny Clark’s Cowboys debut:
“The second half was way better. I want to see that before I speak on it, but I will say this, he’s been incredible from the time he got here. Just the big body and the physicality that he has in the A gaps is a huge advantage for our defense, and I think we really started fitting our gaps better in the second half. It all works together, right? The offensive or the defensive line, they have a gap. The linebackers have to find their gaps and I thought we did a much better job playing true gap sound defense in the second half.”
On QB Dak Prescott’s performance after not taking any snaps during the preseason:
“He’s a pro. I mean, how many snaps has the guy played in the NFL? I thought he [Cowboys QB Dak Prescott] played really well, and Dak is going to come on here and say the same thing. There’s no moral victories. We had a chance, we did not make enough plays. When plays are there against a good football team, you have to make plays, and that’s coaching and playing and all that together. But again, we know we’re good enough to beat the Eagles. We know we’re good enough to beat anybody, but we have to do it. Those are just words, and we came up short tonight. So, like I said, give them credit. We’ll look at the film and see areas that we need to get better and how we can kind of tie it in better and play more complimentary football next against the Giants.”