Nothing goes as planned for Cowboys, including trip home from Buffalo

The Dallas Cowboys knew it wasn’t a good sign when their charter kept going in circles over DFW on Sunday night. That pretty much defines their season.

Nothing has gone as planned as they’ve gone nowhere fast.

“The flight home was adventurous,” Cowboys coach Jason Garrett said. “They were telling us, ‘Flight attendants prepare for arrival,’ so that’s typically about 10 minutes or so before [you land], and you put all of your stuff away. Then, we started circling, and ended up in Houston and finally made our way back here late, late last night/early this morning.”

The Cowboys landed at DFW Airport four hours late, arriving at 12:30 a.m., because of storms in the area.

It made a long day longer, following a 16-6 loss to the Buffalo Bills.

The Cowboys saw the starting debut of Kellen Moore, but they could muster only two field goals. It marked the fourth game this season they failed to score a touchdown, with the Cowboys averaging only 15.2 points a game without Tony Romo.

The Cowboys have started four quarterbacks, with the three backups combining for a 1-10 record.

“Tony’s a really good football player, and when you have your starting quarterback, the impact on your football team typically is a positive one,” Garrett said. “…The quarterback has an impact on your football team, certainly the caliber of a guy like Tony Romo. Having said that, teams have to absorb injuries, and the best teams are able to absorb injuries over the course of the season. We have not done a good enough job of that at that position and maybe at some other positions as well.

“The quarterbacks we have played, for the most part, have given us a great chance to win a lot of these games. You could say nine out of the 11 games [with backup quarterbacks] we were in going into the fourth quarter. Some go to the last drive, and somehow someway you have to make a play — offensively, defensively or in the kicking game — to win the game.

“And when we’ve won games this year, we’ve done that. When we won games last year, we did that. The teams that win games this year do that. That’s the nature of the NFL. So we have not done that, certainly on a consistent enough basis, and that’s why we’re in the situation we’re in.”

The situation is a 4-11 mark, one loss from the franchise’s worst record since going 1-15 in 1989, and last place in the NFC East.

How bad have things gotten? So bad that owner Jerry Jones didn’t speak to the media for the first time since the London game last year when the Cowboys beat the Jaguars.

The only thing the Cowboys have left to play for is draft position.

They close out the season at home Sunday with a meaningless game against the Washington Redskins, who clinched the division title with a victory over the Eagles on Saturday and likely will rest some starters.

“I just think it goes back to what we try to preach on a daily basis around here: Be your best regardless of circumstance and prepare that way and play that way,” Garrett said. “It’s something that regardless of what our record is and what the record of our opponent is that we always try to emphasize and instill in everybody, and that’s the approach we’ll take.

“I thought we prepared well last week to get ready for the Bills game. I thought we played well throughout a lot of that game and gave ourselves a great chance to win. Ultimately, we didn’t get the job done and we have to learn from that experience and go back to work and finish strong.”

Moore, who completed 13 of 31 passes for 186 yards and an interception against the Bills, will start again Sunday. Dez Bryant and Morris Claiborne are among the banged-up veterans who likely won’t see the field again this season.

The Cowboys’ long season has come down to one and done.

“We’ve been right there in a lot of these ballgames, but unfortunately we haven’t done what’s necessary to win,” Garrett said. “We’re all going to learn from that — the coaches are going to learn, the players are going to learn. We’re going to recommit. We’re going to do our best to prepare the right way and win a ballgame this Sunday against the Redskins, and then we’re going to get back to work.”

This story was originally published December 28, 2015 at 7:52 PM with the headline "Nothing goes as planned for Cowboys, including trip home from Buffalo."