The Cowboys’ special teams has now been punched in the same spot two weeks in a row, and DeMeco Ryans said the Texans knew exactly where to go after studying the tape.
Dallas had a field goal blocked by Baltimore on a 59-yard try by Brandon Aubrey in Rio, then got hit again in Week 4 when Houston swatted away one of Aubrey’s 65-yard attempts. Ryans said the Texans saw the same issue showing up repeatedly and used that to build their plan.
“During the film study you definitely saw a breakdown in the protection. You’ve seen it consistently.
That’s how you study film,” Ryans said during the show. “You look for those weaknesses, how you can exploit a team.
We saw a weakness there in the C and D gap area.”
Ryans also explained that spotting the weakness was only part of the job. The real question was whether Dallas had corrected it after the Baltimore game.
“We were able to show that kick from the Baltimore game, how they were able to block it, and we’re gonna design a plan similar to that to see if they fixed it. That’s what all teams do. If you see a breakdown, see if they fixed it the next week.”
They clearly did not. Dallas allowed one blocked field goal against Houston and nearly gave up another block on the final extra point, a play that would have turned the game into a three-point margin and possibly sent it to overtime.
That kind of night leaves special teams coach Nick Sorensen under the microscope. The blocked kicks are the headline, but the problems have been piling up beyond that. Against Baltimore, Aubrey also kicked the ball out of bounds twice, handing the Ravens strong field position at the 40-yard line.
Then came the critical kickoff with seven seconds left. Dallas could have kicked short and burned time off the clock, but instead Aubrey sent it through the back of the end zone. No time came off, Baltimore still had enough left for one play, and the Ravens used a timeout with one second remaining to pull out the win.
Entering Week 5, head coach Brian Schottenheimer said the Cowboys will be focused on their protection on special teams, but the issues clearly run deeper than one breakdown. If Sorensen is going to steady the unit and keep his job intact, the fix has to come fast.
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