Brian Schottenheimer explains sequence that might have cost the Cowboys the game, and it has nothing to do with the defense

It's crystal clear the biggest reason the Dallas Cowboys lost 30-27 on Sunday to the Carolina Panthers was a horrendous defensive performance that even has players questioning if the defense has an identity. It's hard to win games when the opposing running back—Rico Dowdle, in this case—rushes for 183 yards.

However, there was a moment in the game where the Cowboys offense appeared to have a chance to get ahead on the scoreboard. The defense forced a rare three-and-out and with a little over eight minutes left in the fourth quarter, Dak Prescott and the offense took over at their own 46-yard line. At minimum, a field goal appeared likely. A touchdown seemed possible.

Instead, the Cowboys offense entered panic mode. It ran three head-scratching plays for a three-and-out to match the Panthers. The offense never got the ball back. Head coach Brian Schottenheimer explained the disappointing sequence following the Week 6 loss.

Brian Schottenheimer explains what happened

"Well, the first [play of the drive] was a screen, and they sniffed it out," Schottenheimer said. "The phasing wasn't very good. We couldn't get to the corner. The other ones weren't screens, they were checkdowns. This team does a good job of batting the ball and they did that. They played very passive when they got ahead of the sticks, they played pretty passive on second and third down. They forced us to check it down and they took it away."

The screen on first down came in a play action play in which Prescott rolled out to his right to try to force the defense to think it was a typical bootleg concept. Then, the idea was to catch the Panthers off guard with a backside screen. However, not only did Carolina not fall for it but center Brock Hoffman fails to get to his blocking assignment on time. Running back Javonte Williams catches the ball and an unblocked cornerback makes the easy tackle for loss.