Throughout their bye week, the Dallas Cowboys offense has been picked apart. The lack of a running game was the focal point for a while, largely thanks to how Derrick Henry performed on Monday Night Football. Henry was open to playing for Dallas, but Jerry Jones never made a call.

However, their running game has taken a backseat now, as the attention has gone back to the passing game. Early in the week, Troy Aikman laid into the team’s wide receivers, calling their route running “lazy.”

Jones tried to gloss over Aikman’s comments, but a former Pro Bowler, Nate Newton, agreed with Aikman, going as far as to call the receivers “selfish.” Now, an analyst without ties to the team has chimed in and used game film to prove Aikman right. ESPN’s Dan Orlovsky, with the help of Harry Douglas, broke down three plays from the Detroit loss that highlight the concern.

Troy Aikman was right @dallascowboys @Espngreeny @HDouglas83 pic.twitter.com/c31TSSEdwM

— Dan Orlovsky (@danorlovsky7) October 24, 2024

The first was a route from CeeDee Lamb where he was supposed to run a slant pattern. With four players bunched on the opposite side of the field, Lamb was given space to operate. As Orlovsky pointed out, Lamb didn’t use this space at all.

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Instead, he ran straight to the defender and began hand-fighting. Orlovsky and Douglas both said there was no need for contact and that this should have been a simple, and quick route.

The next play was an example of the lack of communication between Dak Prescott and Lamb. An option route had Lamb going in motion and he could have run an out route or a vertical go-route. The receiver chose the go route, which Orlovsky and Douglas agreed was the wrong choice based on coverage.

Prescott agreed as he threw to where Lamb should have gone. That resulted in an incomplete pass and is just one example of many where the two were not seeing the field the same.

Lamb wasn’t the only one they criticized as they also critiqued a fourth-and-two play. With Lamb double covered and Jake Ferguson unable to get open, Orlovsky said KaVontae Turpin became the main target. The problem is Turpin didn’t sell his return route.

Douglas said he was unable to “deceive the defender,” which would have left him wide open when returning to the receiver. Orlovsky said the “one thing that needed to happen” in this route is exactly what Turpin failed to do.

The good news is that the Cowboys claimed they’ve been working on communication this week with Prescott and Lamb focusing on their rapport. Let’s hope it pays off because they’re clearly not on the same page right now.