With historic collapse complete, Cowboys secure top-4 draft pick

One of the worst seasons in Dallas Cowboys history and the second-worst since owner Jerry Jones bought the team in 1989 has finally come to a bitter and fitting end.

A 34-23 loss to the Washington Redskins on Sunday at AT&T Stadium officially put the finishing touches on the Cowboys’ fall from grace, from first in 2014 to worst in the NFC East in 2015.

The Redskins (9-7), who had already clinched the NFC East title and a playoff berth, led 24-0 in the second quarter before taking their starters out to rest for the playoffs.

Cowboys quarterback Kellen Moore passed for 435 yards and three touchdowns to help narrow the score to 34-23 late in the fourth, but there was no pre-empting of this historic beatdown.

The Cowboys finished 4-12 after going 12-4 last season, marking the biggest one-season flop in franchise history.

The four wins are fewest for the Cowboys since they went 1-15 in 1989, Jones’ first season as owner.

It was the seventh consecutive home loss for the Cowboys, dropping them to 1-7 at AT&T Stadium and giving them their worst home record since they went 0-8 in 1989.

Even more sobering news is that the Cowboys are back to .500 since 1997 with a 152-152 mark and still no closer to a Super Bowl 20 years after their most recent title in the 1995 season.

Jones calls this season one of the most frustrating of his career.

“I’m just really taken aback by the fact that we’re sitting here with four wins after this year. This was never anticipated,” Jones said. “This would rival the most frustrating time. It has a life of its own.”

Injuries to quarterback Tony Romo and receiver Dez Bryant played a role in the Cowboys’ nightmare descent from Super Bowl contenders to their first last-place finish in the NFC East since going 6-10 in 2010, when coach Jason Garrett replaced Wade Phillips at the midpoint.

But the issues that plagued the Cowboys this season were far greater than the loss of a couple of key players. The Cowboys’ season-long inability to force turnovers, score points, avoid miscues and make plays when it mattered most were again on full display against the Redskins.

They scored three or more touchdowns in a game just five times this season, including Sunday. They still finished with the second-fewest touchdowns over a 16-game season in franchise history with just 26.

They got no turnovers against the Redskins, allowing them to set a team record for fewest turnovers in a season with 11.

“Clearly, we didn’t get the job done, for a lot of different reasons,” Garrett said. “You need to be mentally tough enough to handle adversities over the course of 16 games. You need to build your team the right way. We didn’t do that. We didn’t get the job done. Everyone has to take responsibility for it. We all have to be accountable for it. We all own it. No one owns it more than I do.”

Garrett, who is now 46-44 as Cowboys coach, will be back in 2016 to try to make amends.

Jones said Garrett won’t be replaced one year after signing a five-year contract extension.

“Let me be real clear: There’s no thought of replacing Jason. At all,” Jones said.”

The team is looking at possible changes and improvements and it could include changes on the staff, with the contracts of four assistants expiring.

The biggest moves, however, will be made in the NFL Draft. The only saving grace to the season-ending plunge is the securing of a top-four pick in the 2016 NFL Draft.

It will be the highest pick for the Cowboys since they had the first overall pick in 1991.

Their most recent top-five pick came in 2003 when they chose cornerback Terence Newman.

“We are going to pull back and evaluate every aspect of our football team and try to improve it in every way that we can,” Garrett said. “What we need to do is go back to work and make our football team better. We are going to evaluate what happened and we are going to move forward.”

On Sunday, the Cowboys gave up 176 yards passing and three first-quarter touchdowns to Redskins quarterback Kirk Cousins. Backup Colt McCoy passed for 128 yards and one touchdown. Alfred Morris finished with 100 yards on 19 carries.

In addition to his 435 passing yards and three touchdowns, Moore was intercepted twice and a lost fumble.

Dallas running back Darren McFadden rushed for 92 yards on 12 carries to surpass the 1,000-yard mark for the second time in his career.

But he also lost a fumble while running to the end zone, turning a potential touchdown into a touchback, typifying a frustrating season that began with Super Bowl hopes and ended with failure.

No one felt the hurt more than 13-year veteran tight end Jason Witten, the team’s longest-tenured veteran along with Romo. His touchdown against the Redskins gave him three for the season, just one more than career playoffs wins (2) he has been a part of.

It marked the third time since 2007 that the Cowboys have missed the playoffs the year following a double-digit win season.

“It’s probably as difficult of a season as we’ve been a part of,” Witten said. “Every year I feel like personally I set the standard for myself and my teammates and go out there and play and put yourself in position to compete and be a part of a program that goes onto the postseason.

“The margin is so small and when you don’t achieve that, it’s tough. It’s really tough and it makes for a long off-season.

“You really can’t put into words how you feel coming off of last year. We didn’t execute well enough. There is nowhere to hide. You have to be accountable to it and get it fixed.”

This story was originally published January 3, 2016 at 1:41 PM with the headline "With historic collapse complete, Cowboys secure top-4 draft pick."