Schottenheimer knows exactly where the issues are for his Cowboys offense.
The Dallas Cowboys couldn't quite finish the three-game gauntlet going undefeated, but they gave it a good shot.
Beating the Philadelphia Eagles and the Kansas City Chiefs, before losing to the Detroit Lions? Yes, heading into the season, most fans would have taken that.
But context is key, and on Thursday in Detroit, the Cowboys were full of confidence and the Lions were banged up ...
And yet Detroit still hung a bevy of points on Dallas in a 44-30 rout.
How? Well, in short, the Cowboys handed the Lions the bat, and Dan Campbell's team beat them over the head with it.
Self-inflicted wounds, particularly on offense, led to Dallas' demise, with two Dak Prescott interceptions (neither really his fault), costly penalties, and a Jake Ferguson fumble that were crippling.
To head coach Brian Schottenheimer, after four games in 17 days, the team now has a chance to breathe. But there's no second-guessing what Schotty's main area of focus will be once the fellas get back to work.
“We do have a little bit of time, we can dive into a little bit of self-scout stuff, over these next couple days, and clean some things up," Schottenheimer said. "But the biggest thing we got to clean up is the turnovers on offense.
"We're loose with the ball, and it's got to be better.”
Wanting to win the turnover battle 3-0 every game, according to Schotty, is a goal. Dallas hasn't gotten close to that, and when we delve into the numbers, particularly of late, it's alarming.
The Cowboys have had at least one turnover in each of the last six games, and what's more, in four of them, there's been multiple turnovers.
That can't happen.
A Jake Ferguson fumble, interceptions, and penalties all plagued the Cowboys in Detroit, and the worst part is Dallas knew it couldn't give this Lions team extra possessions, yet still managed to do it.
And in the NFL, that's a losing recipe.
Schottenheimer says he will use the next few days to self-scout, and if the Cowboys are to go 4-0 in their last four games and make an unlikely run at the NFC East, the turnovers can't be reeled in; they have to vanish.
But will they? Color us skeptical. ... because there is simply no track record that proves they can do it consistently.