‘Play How You Practice’: Tyler Smith Owns Dallas Cowboys’ Failure To Close Out Arizona Cardinals
FRISCO, Texas — Offensive lineman Tyler Smith said Thursday that the Dallas Cowboys had a chance on offense to close out Sunday’s 33-30 overtime loss to the Arizona Cardinals, and that he did not execute well enough in that moment.
Dallas led 27-24 after recovering an onside kick with 2:11 left and settled for a field goal. Arizona tied it with 6 seconds left and won in overtime after the Cowboys went three-and-out.
Losing at home stung, Smith said. The bigger lesson was his own part in it.
“It’s extremely frustrating, but in that frustration, I did realize we had chances to win that game. There are a lot of chances, and we had a chance on offense to close out that game, and we simply didn’t execute well enough. Like, I didn’t execute well enough in that moment,” Smith said. “And so it makes you think about what can I do better? How much more intentional can I be with the stuff I’m doing? Because at the end of the day, it’s going to show up, and it’s going to matter.”
“And so I think the biggest thing, like I said, being intentional in practice, because ultimately practice is where you get better. You’re going to play how you practice,” Smith continued.
Tyler Smith Says Accountability Shows Up On Sunday
Consistency in execution and communication, and holding teammates to the standard, is how Smith described the fix. He described how a missed communication in practice carries into games.
“I just think execution, being consistent in our execution, being consistent in our communication, being intentional with the way we practice, with the way we communicate, and then holding each other accountable. Because ultimately, a lot of things that can happen on Sunday, good, bad, or whatever, happens when you don’t hold people accountable or you do hold people accountable,” Smith explained.
“We mess up a play on Thursday, and I’m like, hey, bro, we really need to communicate this better. This has to be better. And then we communicate that way in the game, and we have great success in that area. I’m seeing that in real time,” Smith added. “Me holding myself and my teammate, TG or Cooper or whatever, accountable and just enforcing that adherence to the standard, that’s going to show up on Sunday.”
Center Cooper Beebe said Wednesday that Dallas “should never been in that position” against Arizona. Smith was limited in Wednesday’s practice with an ankle injury.
Smith Says The Arizona Game Is Over
Learning from a loss matters to Smith, and so does leaving it behind. He credited veterans from earlier in his career for that approach.
“I had great vets, and I think the biggest thing is that next play mentality. You’re going to have some losses, and I’m not going to say you’re just going to flush everything. Ultimately, when you lose, you have to learn from that loss,” Smith said. “It’s important to be able to move on and understand that ultimately, the Cardinals game or whatever, that’s over. The Baltimore Ravens game, that’s over. This week is the Colts. What can I do to be the best version of myself versus the Colts this week?”
Smith was a first-round pick in 2022 out of Tulsa and has three Pro Bowl selections. The Cowboys visit the Indianapolis Colts on Sunday at noon CT on FOX.
