It is difficult to erase the images of the third quarter in Santa Clara.
The Cowboys suffered a setback that hurts particularly when they went into halftime up 10-6 and as a football team looking to rescue a point it seems like they sought to survive instead of propose.
There were 21 unanswered points that set the cowboy ship adrift for the beginning of the last act, and even though the final score of 30-24 points to a close game with the coin in the air, the reality is that the last series Dak Prescott’s offensive was a sign that things are not going well at The Star in Frisco.
The likes of John Elway, Peyton Manning, Drew Brees, Tom Brady, Joe Montana, Roger Staubach and Ben Roethlisberger were clamoring for a chance to get the ball at their own 30-yard line with 3:00 left on the clock and trailing by six points. It is the opportunity that turns them on.
But in the case of Mike McCarthy’s team, it was four consecutive incomplete passes without being able to move the chains that ultimately gave the local fans the opportunity to celebrate at the expense of those dressed in blue and silver.
Now it’s time to go to Atlanta against a balanced team with an inspired Kirk Cousins at the controls, who arrive after beating the Bucs in their own lair of Tampa in a duel of divisional rivals for first place in the South Division of the National Conference ( NFC).
As the current situation looks, there will be a need for someone to raise their hand, or something unusual to happen so that these Cowboys can account for themselves with a victory.
For this ninth day, the Vaqueros have the fifteenth total offense in the league, 32nd by carrying and number three with the pass with an average of 256.0 yards per game. On defense they are 26th overall, allowing a total of 372.6 yards per game, 31st against the run and 20th against the pass.
For its part, this edition of these black hawks brings total offense number seven, number fifteen with the carry and six through the air with an average of 250.6 yards per game. On defense they are 19th overall, allowing 348.1 average yards per game, being number 21 against the run and number 18 against the pass.
Coming into this game, the pupils of the peppery defensive coordinator Mike Zimmer have a -8 in exchanges of possession while for the hosts of first-year helmsman Raheem Morris they are neither “foo nor fah” with a 0 in this area.
With this in mind we go to the five keys to the game from the luxurious setting of the capital city of the Peach State.
