Dallas Cowboys head coach Brian Schottenheimer didn't mince words after his team's disappointing 28-20 loss to the New York Giants on Sunday night. In his first regular-season game at the helm, Schottenheimer acknowledged that his squad simply wasn't ready for the bright lights of primetime.
"As a football team, we were pretty poor," Schottenheimer told reporters, via ProFootballTalk. "This is a humbling business and we got humbled tonight. That's what I told the guys. We lost mile one of a 17-mile marathon, and we have to be better, and we will be better."
The Cowboys struggled on both sides of the ball, but the defense took the brunt of the criticism. New York's offense, led by a punishing ground game, carved up Dallas's front seven, leaving Schottenheimer to admit that his unit was not up to the task.
"This one feels pretty bad just because at the end of the day, we just didn't perform the way we're capable of playing," he said. "We didn't play defense the way we're capable of playing. We didn't play offense in the first half the way we're capable of playing."
Despite the ugly opener, Schottenheimer isn't hitting the panic button. With 17 games left, he's keeping the big picture in mind, even as he promises corrections.
"We're not going to panic. This is a long season, and we know we're not going to go undefeated," he said. That measured approach comes after he spent the offseason trying to overhaul practice to fix a 'soft' defense, a label that Sunday's performance only reinforced.
Quarterback Dak Prescott, meanwhile, pointed to a specific moment that he believes swung the game. His interception just before halftime gave the Giants momentum and a lead they never surrendered.
"The interception before half … that was crucial," Prescott said. "I'm trying to throw the ball away. [Jevon Holland] made a hell of a play. I've got to make sure it's out of bounds, though. I was surprised. One I'd want back, obviously. … That was the game right there."
The Cowboys now turn their attention to another NFC East matchup, hosting Washington next Sunday. But before that, Schottenheimer knows there's plenty of film to break down and mistakes to correct.
For a team with Super Bowl aspirations, the opener was a stark reminder that hype doesn't win games. As Schottenheimer put it, the only way is up.
