‘We Should Put That Game Away’: Brian Schottenheimer Owns Dallas Cowboys’ Late-Game Offense In Arizona Cardinals Loss

FRISCO, Texas — The Dallas Cowboys offense should have finished Sunday’s game against the Arizona Cardinals with the ball late, and that starts with him as the play caller, Cowboys coach Brian Schottenheimer said Friday.

Schottenheimer made the comments on 105.3 The Fan’s Shan & RJ, two days before Dallas (3-5) plays the Indianapolis Colts. The hosts raised the criticism that the Cowboys have not gone for the kill late in games, and Schottenheimer said he disagreed with the idea that the offense shies away from it.

“Number one, you are kind of what you’ve done. And I’m very disappointed that we collectively as an offense, starts with me as the play caller, weren’t able to end that game,” Schottenheimer said. “But I can promise you this, every game we go into, when we have a chance late, that is the goal and the objective.”

“I’m the first one to tell you that when we get the ball in four minutes, we should put that game away. And then when we get the ball in overtime, we shouldn’t go three-and-out,” Schottenheimer continued. “That is not something that we shy away from. And so we’ve looked at a couple different things this week, and we’ve talked through some stuff as a staff. And we know we need to be better.”

Dallas led 24-10 with 14:20 left in regulation. After Arizona cut it to 24-17, the Cowboys drove 56 yards in 15 plays and 6:53 before settling for a 35-yard field goal by Brandon Aubrey with 3:54 left. After recovering an onside kick at the Arizona 20, Dallas lost 3 yards on three plays and kicked a 41-yard field goal for a 30-24 lead with 1:09 to play.

Arizona tied it with 6 seconds left. The Cowboys won the overtime coin toss and elected to kick, forced a punt, then went three-and-out and lost 5 yards. Chad Ryland’s 42-yard field goal won it 33-30, as Dallas Sports Journal reported.

Brian Schottenheimer Says Arizona Loss Had Too Many Field Goals

Trusting the defense does not factor into his late play calls, Schottenheimer said. The focus is on the play sheet and on scoring.

“No, I think at the end of the day, I mean, you’re just feeling the game,” Schottenheimer explained. “You’re going through and you’re feeling the game, but you’re really looking at your play sheet and saying, ‘OK, what gives me the best chance to go score?’ That’s ultimate at the end of the day. We feel like we can score with anybody in the league, and that’s the biggest thing you’re thinking about.”

“OK, hey, what plays get my players involved, what plays give us the best chance to execute and go do the things we need to do to score touchdowns,” Schottenheimer added. “We just kicked too many field goals in the second half against Arizona.”

Aubrey made field goals of 31, 35, and 41 yards in the second half. The first capped a 15-play, 70-yard drive that took 8:23 to open the third quarter.

Usually, according to Schottenheimer, the decision to start working the clock comes in the fourth quarter, based on the score and the time left. He and Dak Prescott have their own terms for it.

“There’s X amount of time left. We’ve got a one-score game. We’ve got a two-score game. We’ve got all that stuff,” Schottenheimer said. “And there’s terms that Dak and I use together to know, not milk the clock or anything like that, but to eat a little bit of clock and not get out of the huddle quite as quick and things like that.”

“But usually it’s with a two-score lead with a certain amount of time left, and then with a one-score lead, different than four minutes,” Schottenheimer continued. “There’s times where you want to just kind of say, ‘OK, let’s milk the clock here a little bit and shorten the game, if you will.’”

Schottenheimer Backs Brandon Aubrey After 61-Yard Miss

Before halftime, Dallas recovered a fumble at the Arizona 47 with 21 seconds left. Javonte Williams ran for 4 yards, the Cowboys used their last timeout with 4 seconds left, and Aubrey missed a 61-yard try wide right. Aubrey is 3-of-6 from beyond 50 yards this season, with a long of 60 against Washington, according to the Cowboys’ team site.

“We’re always trying to get closer,” Schottenheimer said. “The end-of-half situation, we had a play on that we felt like whatever they did, we were going to have the right play on. Would have loved to get a few more yards there. But we have great confidence in Brandon. And he just kind of miskicked that one, and that happened.”

“But believe me, we’re always trying to get closer than the 60-yard field goals,” Schottenheimer noted. “We’re always trying to get them in because it’s like anything. The percentages go, what, way up when you’re closer.”

The call on that play depended on the defense’s look, according to Schottenheimer.

“Sometimes it’s based, guys, on what the defense is in,” Schottenheimer said. “We’ve got different packages or plays that you put together. If they do this, we’ll do that. If they do this, we’ll do that. And so usually they’re called premier looks, and we have to maximize and get the most out of those premier looks.”

Kickoff at Lucas Oil Stadium is set for noon CT on FOX.