Dallas Cowboys’ Jason Garrett and Dak Prescott fail in season-defining loss to Eagles
After nailing the coin toss, Dak Prescott’s day, and the Cowboys’ season, went into the fryer.
No matter how hard kicker Kai Forbath tried to save them all.
All the Cowboys had to do was defeat the average Philadelphia Eagles on Sunday and they would win the NFC East and host a playoff game. Despite a handful of perfect conditions gifted to the Cowboys, they blew them all and lost 17-9.
Offense, what do you have to say for yourselves?
“Unfortunately we didn’t get the job done. We all have to own it,” Cowboys coach Jason Garrett said. “I have to own it. The coaching staff has to own it. All the players have to own it.”
You do that.
In their most important game of the season, the Dallas Cowboys, with all of their offensive talent, scored only three field goals from a guy whom they signed off the street a couple of weeks ago.
DON’T BELIEVE THE COWBOYS’ STATS
If you want to buy the team’s final, spirited drive to potentially tie the game in the last minute ... you’re stupid. The Cowboys’ penetrated the red zone once, and never moved the ball inside the 10-yard line.
Dak’s final fourth-down pass into the end zone for receiver Michael Gallup was a 50/50 ball, and it was batted away.
Please note top receivers Amari Cooper and Randall Cobb were not in the game on that fateful play. Per Garrett, those things can happen in a final minute, and certain skill players rotate out.
What?
And what about the NFL’s highest paid running back, Zeke Elliott? He ran the ball 13 times for 47 yards.
The Cowboys will have two 1,000-yard receivers, a 4,000-yard passer, a 1,000-running back, three offensive linemen who made the Pro Bowl and they all combined to put on this mess on Sunday.
“Stats don’t mean anything,” Dak said.
“It obviously isn’t about accolades or however many great players you have on your team,” Cooper said. “Because that would mean the team with the most great players would win the Super Bowl every year, and it doesn’t work that way.”
The 1990s Dynasty Cowboys would disagree, but Cooper and Dak are right when they said the stats don’t mean anything.
All of those top offensive players have the Cowboys at 7-8.
DAK PRESCOTT’S BAD DAY IN PHILLY
The Eagles loaded up to stop Zeke, and by doing that they stopped the Dallas Cowboys. That’s on the quarterback.
To his credit, Dak dismissed the idea that his sore shoulder is the cause for his blah afternoon. If that is the case, then the Cowboys have to reconsider the massive extension they have discussed since the off-season.
Dak missed passes all day, including what could have been a touchdown to Tavon Austin with four minutes remaining in the game.
“If that ball is on him, he scores,” Dak said.
The only plausible reason the Cowboys’ offense played so poorly is because their franchise quarterback and receivers are both far more injured than the team let on.
Dak wasn’t having that excuse, and neither is Cooper.
“I’m not hurt,” Cooper said.
Dak threw at Cooper 12 times on Sunday. He caught four passes for 24 yards.
This means they’re not that good, or they choked. You pick.
JASON GARRETT’S TENURE WINDING DOWN
This was a signature Cowboys game, and performance. This game was Jason Garrett’s head coaching career.
In the most important game of the season the Cowboys were flat.
“We had all the confidence coming in,” guard Zack Martin said. “We got off to a slow start and that killed us.”
You can ask, “How does that happen?” but the answers are always the same. This is simply who they are in 2019.
The Cowboys may still be able to win the NFC East and host that playoff game, but it will require the strength of the Almighty. The Cowboys must defeat the Washington Redskins, and the Eagles must lose to the New York Giants.
Because it’s the NFC East, don’t rule this out.
Either way, of course, Garrett is gone. There is nothing else Jerry Jones can do to save him. Nor should he. No one tried harder to make Jason Garrett a successful NFL head coach more than Jerry.
Garrett and the Cowboys were gifted a handful of nearly perfect scenarios and conditions on Sunday and they elected to play it safe, and to show up late.
The Philadelphia Eagles are beset by major injury, and the Cowboys could not exploit a team bereft of players.
The weather was no factor in a game played on Dec. 22 in Philadelphia, and the Dallas Cowboys could not take advantage of the soft conditions.
And Eagles coach Doug Pederson made a handful of odd decisions on Sunday that kept the Cowboys in it. Decisions to opt for field goals that were missed, which handed the Cowboys good field position. Decisions to throw for it on fourth down when a short run was needed.
So many of the numbers don’t make sense, but for the Dallas Cowboys they add up.
This will be the fourth time in Garrett’s nine-year tenure as the full-time head coach of the Cowboys the club will enter the final weekend with a chance to win the NFC East.
They did it 2011, 2012, 2013 and now in 2019. Just like those first three years, they will miss the playoffs, and finish 8-8.
Like Garrett said, he has to own it, and so do the players and coaches.
This story was originally published December 22, 2019 at 8:06 PM.
