Cowboys one loss from worst record since 1989, first top-four pick since 1991

The Dallas Cowboys won’t officially say they are shutting down receiver Dez Bryant for the season and going into tank mode for a possible top-four pick, if not higher, in the 2016 NFL Draft.

They won’t admit as much because of that whole integrity-of-the-game thing and the playing-to-win talk. It’s clear, however, that they are keeping their stars out of harm’s way.

That’s where the Cowboys (4-11) are in a historically bad season that saw them officially clinch last place in the NFC East with a scripted and predictable 16-6 loss to the Buffalo Bills.

Playing without Bryant, who was left home because of foot and ankle injuries that have bothered him all season, and playing with Kellen Moore at quarterback in his first career start, the Cowboys failed to get in the end zone for the fourth time this season.

Moore completed 13 of 31 passes for 186 yards and an interception. He passed for just 70 yards in the second half.

The Cowboys failed to get key stops late on defense as they lost for the ninth time when within a score in the fourth quarter.

The Bills broke open a 9-6 game with two key third-down conversions and a 50-yard touchdown from Mike Gillislee with 2:25 left.

“It seems like we’ve played this game 10 times this year, the same game, where we’re fighting our tails off and unfortunately we’re not moving the ball. At the end of the day, it’s about the results. We didn’t score enough points to win the game,” Cowboys coach Jason Garrett said.

“Six points is not going to win you many games in this league. We just don’t make the plays to win it in the end.”

The Cowboys are in the midst of their second losing streak of at least five games — a feat last accomplished when the Cowboys went 1-15 in 1989. The Cowboys lost seven consecutive games earlier this season.

Not only have the Cowboys ushered in the worst collapse in team history — a Cowboys team had never lost more than six games than it did the year before and this team is at seven and counting from last year’s 12-4 campaign. They have also gone from first to worst for the time since 2010.

In 2010, the Cowboys fired coach Wade Phillips midway through the season — one season after winning the NFC East with an 11-5 record and winning a playoff game for the first time since 1996 — and replaced him with Jason Garrett, who finished off a 6-10 campaign.

There is probably little chance Garrett will be fired one year after signing a five-year contract extension and leading the Cowboys to a playoff win.

For these Cowboys, it’s all about the future, which includes an early first-round pick in the 2016 NFL Draft even if they won’t admit it heading into Sunday’s final against the Washington Redskins.

The Redskins, who were last in the division a year ago, have already clinched the NFC East title and could rest their starters in the final game.

“We’re worried about this week,” Cowboys executive vice president Stephen Jones said. “There will be plenty of time to deal with evaluating what this team did for the season at the end of the season. We’ve got a game left against the Redskins and that’s what we’ll focus on.”

The Cowboys now sit with the fourth overall pick in the draft. Asked again if the top pick was a consideration, Jones grew terse.

“We’re worried about the Washington Redskins. Next question,” Jones said.

Owner Jerry Jones went against normal routine and didn’t make himself available for postgame interviews.

Bryant’s availability for next week’s game against the Redskins remains unclear.

“We’re just taking the situation day by day,” Garrett said. “It’s his foot and his ankle. That is the issue he is dealing with right now.”

Bryant missed five games this season after fracturing his foot in the season opener. He returned to play in the next eight games before being held out Sunday.

“If he can play, he’ll play. If he can’t, he won’t. It’s certainly not worth putting him out there if he’s not healthy. Dez has worked hard this year to get back and play,” Stephen Jones said. “I know he’s played through some injuries and we’ll just evaluate that as the week goes this week just like we did this week.”

The evaluation of Moore will go on for another week at least. He became the fourth quarterback to start a game for the Cowboys this season, joining Tony Romo, Brandon Weeden and Matt Cassel.

The last time the Cowboys started four quarterbacks in a season was 2001 when it was Quincy Carter, Ryan Leaf, Clint Stoerner and Anthony Wright.

Moore, a four-year veteran, showed flashes of promise early. But the numbers and his play trended down as the game wore on.

The Cowboys converted just three third downs in the second half. It also marked the fourth time this season a Cowboys quarterback passed for under 200 yards in a game.

“We need to get better offensively,” Garrett said. “We need to score more points and the passing game is a big part of that. We weren’t able to sustain drives. It was Kellen Moore’s first start. I thought he did some good things. Ultimately, we didn’t do enough.”

It didn’t help that Moore had to play without Bryant.

In the end, the highlight of Moore’s day was meeting Bills Hall of Fame quarterback Jim Kelley after the game.

“I mean we can make excuses and all that stuff, but the bottom line is we had an opportunity to score more points and we didn’t,” Moore said. “We got one more to go out there and play this year and hopefully take advantage of that one.”

In what way?

That is the question.

Another loss gives the Cowboys a chance at their worst record since the 1-15 1989 and possibly a top-four pick, if not higher, for the first time since 1991 when they picked first overall.

“There are great players throughout the draft and I understand fans want us to position ourselves for the best outcome in the draft. I understand that,” linebacker Sean Lee said. “But we are professionals and we’re still going to play as hard as we can to get wins no matter what. That’s our focus.”

This story was originally published December 27, 2015 at 1:29 PM with the headline "Cowboys one loss from worst record since 1989, first top-four pick since 1991."