Dallas Cowboys come up with embarrassing no-show in Philly, leaving Jerry Jones numb
To say you were you surprised by the Dallas Cowboys’ embarrassing no-show in Philadelphia on Sunday would be disingenuous.
How could you, considering their inconsistent and disappointing play all season?
But it doesn’t make it any less devastating and disheartening for those still hoping against hope for a miracle.
That the Eagles entered the game short-handed and then continued to see starters drop like flies raised the possibility for a dream ending.
But the dispiriting and seemingly uninspired DNA of the 2019 Cowboys proved too strong in a 17-9 loss to the Eagles before a frenzied crowd at Lincoln Financial Field.
That the Cowboys came up short in a game that could have clinched the NFC East title and a trip to the playoffs left bewildered owner Jerry Jones without feeling and seemingly ready to give up on his fairy tale finish.
“It’s extremely disappointing,” Jones said. “I didn’t anticipate us not being able to come in here and do better. I am a little numb that we didn’t come up here and beat them. Certainly it diminishes the possibility of a fairy tale, to have this loss.”
As disappointing and devastating as Sunday’s loss was, the Cowboys (7-8) are still not out it. If the Eagles (8-7) lose to the New York Giants on the road next Sunday and the Cowboys beat the Washington Redskins, then Dallas would claim the NFC East with an 8-8 mark.
Again, as bad as the teams in the NFC East have been all season, nothing would surprise.
Both games have been moved from noon kickoffs on Dec. 29 to 3:25 p.m. starts to increase the drama for the NFL on the final Sunday of the season.
But a Cowboys team that came into the season with Super Bowl hopes and Jason Garrett coaching for his job in the last year of his contract, Sunday’s effort was the most disappointing of the season and the most dismaying of Garrett’s career.
“Obviously, it was a great opportunity for us,” Garrett said. “We didn’t get the job done. What other words you want to use, we didn’t get the job done. Everyone understands that. Again, it’s not going to come back. We all have to own it. Unfortunately, we don’t control our destiny anymore.”
Again, none of it was a surprise for a Cowboys team that opened the season 3-0 and then lost seven of the next 10 before last Sunday’s shocking 44-21 victory against the Los Angeles Rams, their only win all season against a team with a winning record.
That they followed up their best game with their worst loss was par for the course as inconsistency and playing below expectations have been the centralizing theme. But this was their chance to make everything right and they failed miserably.
“When you get in this spot, you give yourself a chance to be real disappointed,” Jones said. “We are. The fact that we didn’t get any scores, the fact the game turned out the way it did, they played well. Not a lot to say about anything else other than it’s very disappointing. We all expected to leave here as NFC East champs. We’re not.
“Thought right up until the very end we could make some plays and get it done. It is a very meaningful game because of the circumstances within the league. We‘ve had times this year, a lot, when we didn’t play as well as we wanted to play, but we had in mind stepping back up here, getting on a run and having good things happen. This is a disappointing setback for that locker room and for all of us.”
The Cowboys were never in it from the outset, as they trailed 10-0 in the first quarter and 10-6 at halftime.
The Cowboys are now 0-8 when trailing at halftime in 2019. So the loss was inevitable, given their history.
Quarterback Dak Prescott didn’t practice all week due to a sprained AC joint in his right shoulder. He didn’t throw any meaningful passes until right before the game. But he made no excuses.
“They did a good job on defense early in the game,” Prescott said. “We didn’t do well on third downs early in the game. I know I missed the first third down. I probably should have thrown it here or there. That put us behind early. A couple of three and outs and they got points. You are playing from behind. If you look back all season long we haven’t been successful when we are forced to do that.”
In the end, this loss was all about the continuing dysfunction of a Cowboys offense that ranks No. 1 in the league but managed just three field goals against a suspect Eagles defense that allowed 27 points per game in its previous three contests.
One week after rushing for a season-high 263 yards against the Rams, the Cowboys rushed for just 54 yards on 16 attempts, including 13 for 47 by Ezekiel Elliott.
Nothing was more telling than the opening drive of the third quarter.
The Cowboys had the ball to open the second half and were driving for a score to either narrow the deficit or take the lead. Then the inexplicable happened.
On third-and-1 at the Eagles’ 25, they ran an option with Prescott pitching to rookie running back Tony Pollard, who didn’t get the first down and fumbled, killing a chance at a field goal.
Why was Elliott not on the field, and why get Prescott, who came into the game with a sprained shoulder, blown up on the option?
It was among a number of curious questions for the Cowboys, others being the six dropped passes and star receiver Amari Cooper sitting out parts of the fourth quarter with the game on the line.
Most shocking was that on fourth-and-8 from the 23 with 1:21 left, Cooper and Randall Cobb, who had five catches for 73 yards in the game, were on the sideline. Prescott threw incomplete to Michael Gallup in the back of the end zone to end their final chance.
For the first time in team history, the Cowboys have a 1,000-yard rusher in Elliott, two 1,000-yard receivers in Gallup and Cooper and 4,000-yard passer in Prescott. Yet, they are 7-8 and on the brink of playoff elimination after scoring the fewest points all season in the biggest game.
“Stats don’t matter. Stats, numbers, accolades none of that stuff matters,” Prescott said. “It’s about the best team that is out there. It takes all 11. Not 11 individuals. But the best 11 that makes the team. We are a good team. I love each and every one of those guys. We love each other. We just didn’t get the job done tonight and we haven’t throughout the season. We have put ourselves in a position where we are depending on someone else.”
Prescott played valiantly with the injured shoulder, but he was off the mark at times, completing 25 of 44 passes for 265 yards with no touchdowns and no interceptions.
He was outplayed by Eagles quarterback Carson Wentz, who completed 31 of 40 passes for 319 yards and a 6-yard touchdown to tight end Dallas Goedert in the first quarter.
Wentz did it all without two starting receivers in Alshon Jeffery and Nelson Agholor, and then losing another in the middle of the game, as well as tight end Zach Ertz for much of the first half.
The Eagles answered the call Sunday and came up with an inspired performance.
The Cowboys didn’t and regressed.
They still have a glimmer of hope.
But why bother?
This dream has had the making of a nightmare all season.
It was frightful on Sunday in Philadelphia.
This story was originally published December 22, 2019 at 7:33 PM.
