Cowboys game ball: Rookie Michael Gallup is starting to elevate his game

A heart-breaking loss to a division rival that blunts the momentum from a huge win the previous week makes handing out a game ball tough. The Cowboys had their opportunities against Washington but failed to take advantage. Still Dorance Armstrong Jr. Jersey , we always need to look to the future, and one player seems to be showing signs that his future will be bright. It’s taken some time, and his volume stats are not there yet (more on that in a bit), but he’s starting to give the Cowboys a true deep-threat option. Michael Gallup could be evolving into a playmaker for the Cowboys.Last week against the Jaguars, Gallup had one catch for 27 yards, and just missed out on a second catch that would have been a touchdown if he could have gotten his second foot down instead of bouncing it on top of his other foot. The catch he did have in the Jacksonville game showed his ability to elevate and catch a ball in traffic. That was reminiscent of what Dez Bryant used to do for the team when he was in his prime. When Gallup has one-on-one coverage, Dak Prescott should think more about trusting Gallup to make the play even if there is coverage.Against Washington, Gallup had three catches for 81 yards, including a 49-yard touchdown where he absolutely cooked the defender on a stop-start move. The problem for Dallas is that Dak Prescott doesn’t seem to trust his throws to Gallup enough. Through seven games, Prescott has only targeted Gallup 22 times, about three times a game even though on 10 catches Gallup has averaged 19 yards per catch. Granted, there have been a couple of balls Gallup could have caught that he didn’t, but still, right now he appears to be the Cowboys one big-play threat in the passing game, especially with Tavon Austin sidelined. Prescott did look Gallup’s way five times in the Washington game, so they are starting to build some trust. But Prescott could have avoided his one huge error in the Washington game Dalton Schultz Color Rush Jersey , and made Gallup’s day monstrous if he would have just trusted his arm and Gallup’s ability.The play we’re talking about is Prescott’s fumble in the end zone when he was was sacked. The play turned into a Washington touchdown, but it could have just as easily been a Cowboys touchdown. During a chat session some of the BTB writers were having during the game, I wrote these words right after that play was complete: “you guys are gonna cry wehn you see Gallup’s route on that play, 6 points if Dak sees him.” (Yes, I know I misspelled “when” in the chat).Here’s the full play:And here is what Prescott was seeing as he gets to the back of his drop on the play.The blue lines represent Dak’s field of vision based on where his head is pointed, he has Gallup right in his sights (black circle) and he knows the pattern Gallup is running is a fake to the outside then going straight upfield. He should recognize that the cornerback is in a terrible position for this play. Prescott has to recognize he’s got what he wants here and get ready to fire. The other Washington defenders are not in place to help on the play. The up defender (yellow circle) will never be able to get back in time to help, in fact he never tries. The deep safety (red circle) is just too far over to effectively make a play on a well thrown ball to Gallup. Here’s what we see a second later.Prescott is still looking at that side of the field (blue lines). He has to see that the up defender (yellow circle) can’t make a play, and the deep safety (red circle) is still sitting in the middle of the field. In the black circle, Gallup has made his move and the corner is toast, he’s actually reaching out in a feeble attempt to grab Gallup and slow him down. If Prescott had fired this ball on time, Gallup likely takes it to the house. If somehow the safety makes a saving tackle on him, the Cowboys still convert the third down and are on their way to a score. Michael Gallup is starting to show his ability to be a playmaker for Dallas. The coaching staff needs to recognize that and try to scheme him into as many one-on-one situations as they can. And Dak Prescott needs to recognize it, and trust himself and the receiver. If the Cowboys are looking for someone to stretch defenses vertically, they should start looking to Gallup more often. In what was a pivotal game for both the Cowboys and Titans, Dallas ended up making plenty of mistakes that led to their first home loss of the year, a 28-14 win for the Titans that significantly reduces Dallas’ odds of any playoff appearance. These were the five plays that shaped the game. Ezekiel Elliott dropped for a loss on second downOn the opening drive of the game https://www.dallascowboysfanshop.com/Michael-Gallup-Jersey , the Cowboys were moving the ball well. Zeke was running well and Dak Prescott found both Amari Cooper and Michael Gallup early for big gains. Before we knew it, Dallas was in striking distance of the endzone. Facing second and four from the Tennessee 17-yard line, the Cowboys ran it with Elliott but he was tackled for a three yard loss. It then brought up a third and long that Dallas didn’t convert, and forced the Cowboys to settle for a field goal, which Brett Maher surprisingly missed. After a drive that was going strong, the Cowboys offense fizzled out in scoring position and came away with zero points. Early momentum was lost.Kevin Byard picks off Dak in the endzone, celebrates on the starAfter scoring a touchdown and recovering a Titans fumble, the Cowboys had a chance to go up 14-0 before the end of the first quarter. After a huge pass to Ezekiel Elliott that picked up 37 yards, the Cowboys had first and goal at the four yard line. Elliott got stuffed for a short loss making it second and goal on the six when Dak did this:The pass was too high and one that Prescott should have never thrown into double-coverage. The talented Kevin Byard brought it in for an interception, making it three different red zone trips for the Cowboys with a total of just seven points to show for it. The Titans would score a touchdown on the following drive. The game was forever changed after this particular play.La’el Collins’ false start kills another driveIt’s almost becoming a weekly ritual of talking about Connor Williams being called for holding and La’el Collins being called for a false start. After a Williams hold, the Cowboys had a first and 20 at their own 35-yard line in the third quarter. After moving the ball and getting to a manageable third and eight, Collins jumped early. Now, instead of a third and eight, it was a third and thirteen, and Prescott would get sacked on the conversion attempt, simultaneously fumbling the ball https://www.dallascowboysfanshop.com , which was recovered by Tennessee. That led to another score.Michael Gallup can’t get in bounds for a big catchDown 28-14 late in the fourth quarter, the Cowboys were desperately trying to move the ball in a last ditch effort to tie the game, giving everyone memories of the game in Washington two weeks ago. On second down at the Dallas 36, Prescott threw a deep ball down the sideline to Gallup, who had a chance to bring it in despite needing some toe-tapping heroics. Unfortunately, the rookie was unable to do so, and what would have been a 54-yard catch was merely an incompletion that brought up third and long. The Cowboys converted, but it took a lot more time to get in scoring position. Cowboys run a trick play in crunch time that fails miserablyAfter converting the aforementioned third and long and moving the ball again, the Cowboys found themselves in Tennessee territory for the first time in the second half. With first and ten on the Titans 13, they ran a reverse that put the ball in Cole Beasley’s hands and was designed to throw to Dak in the endzone. The blocking on the play was blown up immediately, and Beasley had to scramble before tossing the ball to a blanketed Prescott near the goal line. It was a poorly executed play that failed to catch the defense off guard, and only served to take valuable time off the clock and give future opponents a free look at one of the few tricks up Scott Linehan’s sleeve. Three incomplete passes later and the Titans were kneeling to run the clock out and get the win.