‘Uncluttered’ organizational win legitimizes Dallas Cowboys vibes, Super Bowl hopes
Have you ever heard the tale of “the triumph of the uncluttered mind?”
It was a quote uttered by guard Blaine Nye regarding arguably the most out-of-nowhere performance in the illustrious history of the Dallas Cowboys that’s now the stuff of legends.
In 1974, unknown rookie backup quarterback Clint Longley replaced injured Hall of Famer Roger Staubach in the third quarter of a Thanksgiving Day game against Washington’s football team. He rallied the Cowboys from a 16-3 third-quarter deficit to a 24-23 victory, passing for 203 yards and two touchdowns, including the game-winning 50-yard touchdown to Drew Pearson.
Asked after the game what he thought of Longley’s performance, Nye, considered one of the smartest men in the NFL as he earned a master degree in physics from Washington and an M.B.A. from Stanford during his career and Ph.D in finance from Stanford after he retired, infamously called it “the triumph of the uncluttered mind.”
Now that Longley’s performance has been put in proper context.
Let’s take another look at the seemingly equally-miraculous play of Cooper Rush in Sunday’s 20-16 victory against the Minnesota Vikings in place of injured starter Dak Prescott.
Rush’s performance, passing for 325 yards and two touchdowns, including a 5-yard game winner to Amari Cooper, was certainly an out-of-nowhere phenomenon rivaling that of Longley.
It was his first ever start and he had only previously attempted three passes in the NFL.
But this is not about an uncluttered mind on the part of Rush or that of the Cowboys (6-1).
It was a calculated move with the big picture in mind and should be considered the triumph of an organizational decision.
Unlike Longley, Rush was no rookie. He had been with the Cowboys for four years. He knew the offense and was prepared for his big moment.
It was that knowledge and understanding that allowed the Cowboys to err on the side of caution and sit Prescott against his wishes in hopes of allowing a potentially nagging calf strain to heal.
Instead of listening to their quarterback, the Cowboys trusted the words of veteran athletic trainer Britt Brown, the team’s director of rehabilitation, who didn’t believe Prescott was well enough to play.
Team owner Jerry Jones, vice president Stephen Jones and coach Mike McCarthy sided with Brown and the ultra-competitive Prescott accepted the decision.
“We made the right decision regardless of the result of the game,” McCarthy said. “It was the right decision for him as a player and it was the right decision for us as a football team. I thought the process, we just stayed with it. I understand everyone here has a job to do, but it worked out the way it needed to work out.”
It was the right decision because the Cowboys had already proven to be one of the best teams in the NFL. They are riding a six-game winning streak and one of four teams remaining in the league with just one loss.
Operation Los Angeles has been in full effect and everything they are doing is with reaching Super Bowl 56 in Southern California in mind.
Making sure Prescott is healthy and ready to go for the bulk of the season was far more important than a game in Minnesota on Halloween night. He is expected to play this Sunday against the Denver Broncos.
The fact that the Cowboys got the “spooktacular” victory with Rush at quarterback should be frightening for the rest of the league.
Yes, the Cowboys are that good. They can go into a hostile environment and beat a good team with an unproven quarterback in place of their MVP candidate.
Cooper was the hero at the end but this was a complete team win. He had 122 yards receiving. CeeDee Lamb had 112 and Cedrick Wilson had 84 yards, including a 73-yard touchdown reception.
Running back Ezekiel Elliott was physical and punishing all game with 50 yards on 16 carries and his strength and toughness played a role in a key 15-yard completion on third down preceding the game winner to Cooper.
And the Cowboys defense allowed a touchdown on the opening drive of the game and limited the Vikings offense to just three field goals the rest of the way, including a third-down conversion rate of 7.7% (1 for 13).
“Cooper stepped up and did his job, played within the offense and kept the ball distribution, thought process and emphasis going,” McCarthy said. “The defense was big, the third down production was unbelievable. Excellent team win. It’s great for the quarterback room, it’s great for the offense, it’s great for the whole football team when young guys step up or next man up gets in there and the team keeps playing with the same edge, the same attitude, the same resiliency.”
It wasn’t a clean or pretty game for the Cowboys as they gave up seven first downs due penalties and had two turnovers. They also lost left tackle Tyron Smith to an ankle injury in the second half and Cooper missed several plays on the final drive due to a strained hamstring.
But just as has been the case all season, the Cowboys didn’t blink and remained resilient.
“I like the edge of our football team, the play style,” McCarthy said. “We’ve been beating that since training camp: play style and championship conditioning and I think we’re building off of it every week. The attitude and energy, the focus was there.”
The chemistry in the locker room has been great, and it’s been complemented by the decisions in the front office.
Obviously, what was surprising to the outside world was not a shock to the Cowboys. McCarthy said “they knew” they would rally around Rush and beat the Vikings.
“This is a tight locker room and a close-knit football team,” McCarthy said. “Their off-campus events they do are well attended. They spend time away from work together. So, you can feel it. You can feel it building in the spring. It’s part of the culture that we want to build here. It’s the vibe that’s going on, and this is a nice confidence to go to be part of this new direction.”
Unlike Longley, what’s going on with the Cowboys is no lark or happenstance. It’s not about one player having an out-of-nowhere performance.
It’s about uncluttered vibes and a confident direction with one destination in mind.
Operation Los Angeles.
