It's Official: Cowboys Have A Brandon Aubrey Problem

The Dallas Cowboys have had a host of troubles this season, with Brian Schottenheimer struggling to navigate his second season as head coach.

One thing he could always fall back on, perhaps to a fault, was the dynamite leg of All-Pro kicker Brandon Aubrey.

Usually automatic from 50+ yards, "Butter" since the start of last season, has had his radar on long attempts go haywire.

Per RJ Ochoa, of his 25 attempts from 50+ since the start of last season, Aubrey has converted just 14 of them. It should be noted that eight of these kicks have been from 60+, which, again, might fall on the coach for "settling" for a field goal.

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But still, that is a lot of misses for the NFL's highest-paid kicker, and it's a problem.

Well, not for Schottenheimer.

"Certainly, he hasn't made as many as he'd like, but again, there's different things that go into that, and I know Trent [Sieg] would like to have one of those snaps back for sure," Schottenheimer said. "Operationally, we can be cleaner.

“…I still I still believe in in Brandon."

Schottenheimer might believe in Aubrey, but Cowboys Nation might not share that confidence.

Once automatic from long range, one of Dallas' most unheralded weapons is now struggling. 

Now, could part of that be the distance? Absolutely. 

Having eight tries from 60+ yards isn't exactly a good thing as the offense stalls out, but sometimes it is also the offense, led by Schottenheimer, playing conservatively because they know they have Aubrey and his leg in their back pocket.

Maybe that will change now.

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The other part is maybe Aubrey is just going through a rough patch in form...which has lasted since the start of last season.

From 50 to 59 yards, Aubrey is 10/17 since the start of last season, so he clearly isn't as automatic as we thought.

We know kickers can get the "yips," and while limiting the long-range bombs would probably help Aubrey, he still isn't hitting at a good rate from 50+, which, in today's NFL, seems to be every kicker's sweet spot.

So, this will be one to watch as the season goes on, because the one weapon Dallas could always fall back on, is in struggle town.