Here We Go Again (Part 2)

A game like Sunday begins to make you wonder, “Are the Cowboys truly incapable of finishing out a season?”  Despite getting a career performance from their quarterback (41-55, 392 yards, 3 TDs, no picks), the Cowboys fell to a Giants team in turmoil.  Eli Manning completed less than 50% of his passes and the Giants couldn’t find any consistent offense.  So how in the world did the Cowboys lose this game?

A lot of analysts seem to want to point a quick finger to the run game.  That just doesn’t seem to be the case in my view.  Sure, the Cowboys only rushed for 45 yards, but the main point of running the ball is to control the pace of the game and the clock.  The Cowboys nearly doubled the Giants time of possession (38.50-21.50) and ran 31 more plays than the Giants.  So controlling the pace of the game wasn’t an issue for this team, and the run game just wasn’t working. 

The most worrisome fact about this latest loss to the Giants has to be the fact that the defense and special teams, which had been so consistent throughout the season, let this team down in crucial situations.

Since the loss to the Giants in week 2, the Cowboys defense has stepped up and limited big play opportunities.  They have played extremely disciplined throughout the season.  They have allowed some untimely 3^rd down conversions but have been spectacular for the most part.  This was not the case on Sunday.  Although one of the touchdowns allowed came after a costly fumble by Marion Barber, the other two were a direct result of Dallas’ inability to stop the big play.  The Giants 3 offensive touchdowns came on drives that lasted :19 seconds, :45 seconds, and 1:28.  The Cowboys dominated the game for 57 minutes but gave up 28 points in a total of less than 3.  Not being able to tackle Brandon Jacobs or at least get him out of bounds is just inexcusable.  And letting Steve Smith run free through the defense for the second time this season was something I just didn’t expect.  The Cowboys played great for 57 minutes of the game, but lacked the fundamentals necessary to win a game they desperately needed in December.

For the 1^st time all season, the Cowboys special teams absolutely let them down.  The 79 yard punt return by Dominik Hixon was well covered, but the tackling was horrendous once again and Hixon cut through the Cowboys punt coverage like Lorena Bobbitt. Unfortunately that wouldn’t be the last time that special teams would hurt the Cowboys.  On the last-stitch onside kick opportunity the Cowboys seemingly recovered the kick and would have an opportunity to march down the field and tie the game.  But all of that changed when replay showed that Sam Hurd had barely touched the ball right before it hit off the back of Madison Hedgecock, causing an illegal touch violation as the ball did not travel 10 yards.  One pinkie made the difference.  Had Hurd simply not reached for the ball it would have hit off Hedgecock’s back and the Cowboys would have recovered.  The little plays, as well as the big plays, hurt the Cowboys.

Ultimately, the Cowboys just didn’t execute the way they needed to.  I think they got wrapped up in all of the emotional baggage (December woes, Flozell Adams vs. Justin Tuck, Eli Manning’s autograph, avenging the week 2 loss, knocking the hated Giants out of the playoffs, etc.) that they forgot that they were the better team.  They didn’t need any extra motivation other than the fact that they needed to win.  They were clearly better than the Giants on Sunday, but they cannot enjoy the spoils of victory because they let it get away.  The Cowboys should be 9-3 right now and be talked about as a true contender in the NFC.  Instead the December questions persist, and the Cowboys are on the verge of spiraling out of the playoffs for the second year in a row.  It is a thin line between contender and disappointment and the Cowboys are tending to fall on the latter side. 

Going forward, the Cowboys need to forget about what all of these games “mean” and just focus on the task at hand.  Don’t get emotional, and don’t get wrapped up in little personal battles (Flozel Adams!).  They need to realize that they are in fact the better team on the field most of the time and if they just execute the game plan then they should win.  They need to play disciplined and play relaxed. 

This Sunday, the San Diego Chargers come to Cowboys Stadium looking to add to their impressive December résumé and continue to sully the Cowboys late season reputation.  I still believe that Dallas has the better overall team, but they need to play like it.  If this trend continues, then they’ll once again have all of us uttering those infamous words, “here we go again.”