After being humiliated by the New Orleans Saints, the Dallas Cowboys were eager to get back at the Baltimore Ravens and make a statement. To the extent that the Cowboys desired possession of the ball at the start of the game in an effort to start the game well and give Mike Zimmer’s defense an advantage.
It didn’t exactly go as planned, though. To make matters worse, Dallas had to punt after going 12 plays for 17 yards, and on their opening drive, the laundry was flying. On kickoff, KaVontae Turpin was given an offensive holding penalty; Brevyn Spann-Ford and Jake Ferguson were flagged for false starts. Sick.
Head coach Mike McCarthy stated, “I mean, you have to definitely eliminate continued mistakes, especially if it’s the pre-snap penalties.” It’s a kick in the ass to begin the game the way we did. It’s not how you want to start a football game, so you have to make sure you keep an eye on those things. You take the ball for a reason, and you got three penalties—obviously on the kickoff—and then two on the first drive.
Dallas’ disastrous opening drive was made even worse by the fact that the Ravens covered 71 yards in six plays before Lamar Jackson scored on a nine-year run on the next drive. Add some salt to the wounds. That first drive set the tone for what was to follow, and the Cowboys would never bounce back. Without a doubt, this game wasn’t close, even though the comeback improves the stat sheet a little.
Dallas was hoping to make a big first impression at AT&T Stadium, but instead it kept shooting itself in the foot, giving the struggling Ravens a chance to win for the first time this season. And that’s exactly what it means to be a “kick in the ass.”