Taking nothing away from the Falcons, who remained top in their division. The Cowboys are nowhere near the team their fans would have expected this season. Playing just their eighth game of the season, the Cowboys have now lost five of them. Well, it’s the same number of losses they suffered throughout the last three seasons. And after Sunday’s defeat, they have no one but to blame themselves for the loss.

Losing QB Dak Prescott to a fourth-quarter hamstring injury only made their defeat look worse in Atlanta. Although backup QB Cooper Rush tried to rally a comeback late into the final quarter, too many mistakes and missed opportunities eventually cost them the game. This led to Zack Martin sharing his thoughts about a self-inflicting defeat, “We’ve got to quit beating ourselves. I’m not taking anything away from Atlanta… but the stuff that we can control just keeps popping up. We just can’t have that.”

Well, Martin may be right in his stance as the Cowboys fumbled multiple chances to win the game. Take, for instance, Martin himself, who failed to block a screen pass made towards Rico Dowdle. If he had kept Falcons LB Kaden Elliss at bay, then Dowdle might have reached the end zone for a TD in the first quarter. Instead, they had to settle for a 34-year field goal that Brandon Aubrey converted. And that was just the beginning of a streak of miscalculated moves that the Cowboys played in Atlanta.

On the following drive, Prescott failed to find Jalen Tolbert, who was wide open on the sidelines. Not being able to throw the pass on time, Prescott instead found himself sacked. Well, the 31-year-old also threw a bad pass at TE Jake Ferguson, who couldn’t adjust his body on time. Thereby, the Cowboys remained short of a first down while turning it over two plays later.

And when it came to their loser mentality, the Cowboys could have strung a fourth-quarter comeback. However, their WR, KaVontae Turpin, couldn’t hold on to a punt return that could have resulted in a TD late into the final quarter. Even CeeDee Lamb, who was banged up by a shoulder injury, fumbled a perfect pass by backup QB Cooper Rush. Holding onto that pass might have resulted in a TD a few plays later. Their record of 4-18 on third and fourth downs isn’t the numbers that would have given them the win either way in Atlanta.

Even after such a poor Sunday, the Cowboys GM Jerry Jones still spoke highly of the team he assembled before the season.

Jerry Jones reiterating his trust in the Cowboys locker room

With playoff hopes fading fast from Dallas, the Cowboys owner Jerry Jones delivered an emotional message to his team. On the day when individual mistakes brought his team their fifth loss of the season, Jones decided to cheer up his locker room. “That room is full of guys that can get it done. I believe in them, coaches and all. I was proud of the way the guys competed out there. That’s a team that we could beat. It’s obvious, mistakes and those kind of things. This is not really good time. I really regret this for all our Cowboys fans.”

With talks of regret, Jones did bring some hope to his fans. As he might have indicated, pulling off a few trade deals before the window slams shut on Tuesday, “The point is, we got a s—, we think, to improve our roster. We’re going to do everything we can, at all times, to improve this team, and in our judgment. If what you have to give up helps improve it. We’ll do it.” 

Although it remains to be seen whether Jones does pull some strings before Tuesday. The Cowboys must do some self-introspection on their loss to the Falcons. In a season that is slipping away every week, the Cowboys must show growth. Or else it would be another season of hopes going down the drain.