The Cowboys lost their fourth game of the season on Sunday, blowing a 17-point lead en route to a 40-34 overtime loss. Here’s what got accomplished in a brutal loss:
Underwhelmed in the worst way ✔
Moments after Lionel Messi and Argentina’s exhilarating World Cup victory, I pondered the emotional downshift of FOX pivoting from arguably the greatest men’s soccer match ever played to the Cowboys against the underwhelming Jaguars. The answer? Going from Space Mountain directly onto the tram back to Disney World’s parking lot. But even those who skipped the soccer would have been within their rights to expect a low-octane afternoon. The 5-8 Jaguars hadn’t been in spitting distance of AFC contenders all season. Meanwhile, the 10-3 Cowboys were one week removed from a near-total meltdown against the Texans, their worst performance since the actual total meltdown at Green Bay. Dallas followed up that loss in Lambeau by disemboweling a Minnesota team much, much better than the bunch waiting for it in Jacksonville. There was every reason to expect a rebound.
Instead, we got this.
This performance differed from last week’s in one crucial way (aside from Dallas taking the loss it deserved against the Texans). Seven days ago, the Cowboys mostly had themselves to blame for things getting out of hand. Yes, the secondary looked more vulnerable than it had all season, but the myriad dropped passes and the muffed KaVontae Turpin punt and the lost turnover battle all were hallmarks of a good team unduly believing it was great. The Cowboys came off as sloppy and complacent, a perception underscored by the ease with which Dak Prescott marched them upfield for a 98-yard touchdown drive to salt away a game they should have won hours earlier.
Now Dallas did commit a pair of costly turnovers on Sunday (only one of which was Prescott’s fault). Also like last week, this one featured a crucial drive worthy of second—and third—guessing:
But neither ball security nor playcalling is why the Cowboys lost this game.
The Cowboys lost because they were outplayed.
When the dust settled, Jacksonville compiled 106 more yards than Dallas on four fewer plays. The Jaguars recorded more first downs. They converted more third downs. They out-passed the Cowboys, and they out-rushed them, too. The latter mark was particularly telling: Jacksonville averaged a whopping 7.1 yards per rush as they held Dallas to a paltry 3.8. The vaunted Dallas pass rush? Neutralized, as second-year Jags quarterback Trevor Lawrence slipped out of pressure time and again en route to 318 passing yards and four touchdowns. Prescott, meanwhile, was hit twice as often and sacked five times to Lawrence’s three.
Now tends to be the time when I point out the mitigating circumstances of Dallas shooting itself in the foot with turnovers and/or penalties. This week, not so much: the Cowboys won the turnover battle (3 to 2) and kept the laundry to a minimum (two flags for 18 yards compared to four for 37 on Jacksonville). In that sense, Dallas did course correct. The mental errors were kept to a minimum.
But after a loss like this, that feels less like a silver lining than an omen. There is no cold comfort to turn to; no readymade fix. The Cowboys mostly stayed out of their own way, and all that got them was a second-half bum rush by a team with half their win total and less than a calendar year’s distance from being the butt of the NFL’s jokes.
The secondary, sans Anthony Brown and Jourdan Lewis, is officially a problem area when Kelvin Joseph is playing his way out of a future in Dallas thanks to moments like this…
And this…
So is Prescott’s care with the football; he’s up to an NFL-high 10 interceptions since Week 8. Ditto the non-CeeDee Lamb passing weapons. Dalton Schultz and Michael Gallup combined for 17 yards on three receptions, while Noah Brown cost Dallas the game when Prescott’s pass ricocheted off his hands and into Reyshawn Jenkins’ for the game-winning pick-six. Injuries, too, with Leighton Vander Esch and Dorance Armstrong joining the ranks of the wounded. The rushing defense? That never stopped being a problem.
Instead of gaining momentum after the easiest three-week stretch on their schedule, the Cowboys now bleed it heading into the game that will define their season. Nothing about their play suggests optimism against the 13-1 Eagles, who are more complete on each side of the ball and who are piloted by MVP frontrunner Jalen Hurts. Never mind that it’s at home instead of in Philadelphia. Never mind that it’s the night before Christmas, for goodness’ sake.
Correctable? Sure. Today’s setback notwithstanding, Dallas is all but guaranteed to be a playoff team, and their top gear is among the NFL’s best.
Concerning? Absolutely. And after these last two weeks, it’s hard to imagine waking up on Christmas morning feeling great about whatever this group leaves under the tree.
Did the Romo ✔
Prescott’s most important moment of the day also happened to be his most fun play. Tell me, does this call to mind a certain other Dallas quarterback?
Perhaps it’s a bit fuzzy. After all, we’re six years removed from the last time we saw Prescott’s predecessor in action. So don’t just take my word for it—or the word of friend of the program Jared Dubin, who gets credit for immediately pointing out that this was a patented Tony Romo spin.
See for yourself:
Because we’re pals, I’ll allot the following five seconds for any Romo evangelists to rant about how Tony spun better than Dak before we move on with the column.
…
…
…
…
Is that out of your system? Great. On with the fun.
Got right ✔
It is a hell of a thing for Tyron Smith, the greatest pure offensive tackle to wear a star on his helmet—Larry Allen stands alone, but he only spent part of his time on the outside—to tear his hamstring off the bone in August, undergo surgery, and still make it back before Christmas. It is another hell of a thing for him to do so at right tackle instead of his customary position on the left side, which per the FOX broadcast was a change he insisted on.
Imagine teaching yourself to do the most important facets of your job in reverse. That’s what it’s like to flip sides on the offensive line. Smith volunteering to do so in his comeback from a major injury, 11 years after he last played on the right side, is fairly mind blowing, especially since the future Hall of Famer has more than enough clout to demand his heir apparent, Tyler Smith, get the hell out of his spot if he so chose.
The biggest benefit to Dallas is the continuity it will provide 21-year-old Tyler Smith as he continues to prove the front office right about his capacity to step into Tyron Smith’s shoes.
The biggest benefit for us? The heartbeat of some of the better lines in franchise history finally playing side by side:
Smith played the entire first quarter and much of the second before giving way to Jason Peters, who alternated with him the rest of the game. The offense looked noticeably smoother with him in the game, too. Will that mean a ramp-up against Philadelphia?
Broke the rule of twos ✔
When is a sack this good merely an appetizer?
It is when Micah Parsons is involved, because to know the rhythms of Parsons is to be aware that all 12 of Parsons’ sacks entering the day came in pairs. Alas, while Parsons tacked on a fumble recovery in the fourth quarter, the sack total stayed at one for the first time all year.
Chalk up the demise of the quirkiest Cowboys stat this season as yet another casualty of this game.
Fled a cursed land ✔
This was only the seventh regular-season meeting between these teams and just the second to take place in Florida. And just like Sunday, Dallas lost that first game—on September 10, 2006, during the Bill Parcells era—by a touchdown.
The endgame?
I look forward to doing this again with you all in the flirty ’30s.
Author
