Dallas Cowboys’ CeeDee Lamb nails the season: ‘It sucks.’ It’s going to get worse.
The Dallas Cowboys have evolved from a playoff opponent to a “Trap Game, ” only because the NFL has no “Homecoming.”
This entire season needs not to be tossed into the recycle bin but the Arlington landfill, as this team can’t even fail right.
These Cowboys will not make history as the worst team in franchise history, and they will have a hard time securing the No. 1 overall pick in the 2025 Draft. All these Cowboys can do now is make sure they are the second-worst team since Jerry Jones bought the franchise, and secure a top five pick.
(The first round of the 2025 NFL Draft is April 24, in Green Bay. Plan your hotel stays accordingly).
Those achievements are possible, and given the state of this roster both look inevitable. It’s all rather pathetic, and an injustice to head coach Mike McCarthy.
On Monday night, the Houston Texans walked into a stadium that is now literally falling apart and waltzed out with the hallowed Governor’s Cup, brought to you by Sen. Ted Cruz. The late Bum Phillips and the “Luv Ya Blue” crowd would have been proud to see the Texans defeat the scrappy little Cowboys, 34-10.
“It sucks,” Cowboys receiver CeeDee Lamb said in the locker room after the game. “It’s not so much coping, it’s moving on to the next one.”
The Cowboys were seven-point underdogs, and didn’t mail it in in front of a stadium that was actually full proving again that even when Jerry loses, he wins. No. 2 quarterback Cooper Rush played much better than he did in his season debut last week against the Philadelphia Eagles, but eventually the Cowboys’ single-ply roster was exposed.
The Cowboys were game, but the problem remains they really have “no game.”
Cowboys’ future schedule
The Cowboys are 3-7, and there are two more games on their schedule where they may win: Nov. 28 against the New York Giants, and Dec. 15 at Carolina. You may be tempted to add Dec. 9, against Cincinnati. The Bengals are more talented than the Cowboys, but by the time they play in Arlington, Cincy may have checked out.
Unlike in 2010, when the Cowboys quit on head coach Wade Phillips, this group is still playing for McCarthy. That is unlikely to net him a contract extension with the team, but in a season where achievements are few, it’s something.
“Hell, they better be frustrated,” McCarthy said after the game. “Our problem isn’t effort. I haven’t seen that.”
Which means they’re not good. We have all seen that.
There is a chance this will be the worst season for the Cowboys since they finished 1-15, in 1989. Rookie Troy Aikman was the starting quarterback for that team, and he was in the ESPN broadcast booth for Monday night’s game.
Next on the list of awful is 2015, when they finished 4-12 under coach Jason Garrett. That was the season where starting quarterback Tony Romo was limited to four games because of injury.
These Cowboys have dropped five straight, and a 3-14 record is attainable. They just have to want it. The offense is just that bad, and relying on 12 Brandon Aubrey field goals to win a few games is a tad heavy.
Given the average state of the NFL, it’s hard to see the Cowboys losing out; a five-win season is a more likely finish.
“It means a lot to us,” linebacker Eric Kendricks said in the locker room. “We just have to figure this out.”
The Cowboys and the 2025 NFL Draft
With coaches, and many members of the front office, on the final year of their contracts this offseason could be a large turnover for the entire organization, unless your last name is Jones.
The Cowboys currently occupy the ninth spot the 2025 Draft, but there is healthy competition to “move up” into the top five. From Jacksonville to the Jets, the NFL this season is loaded with some truly awful teams, all of which are capable of not winning another game for the remainder of the year.
The last time the Cowboys had a top 10 pick, it was the fourth overall in 2016. They selected Ohio State running back Ezekiel Elliott.
Speaking of older, washed up, done players, Zeke barely played on Monday night as the Cowboys keep him on the roster to appease their owner. If McCarthy thinks having this version of Zeke on this team is good for his putrid offense, he should be fired yesterday.
Much like in 2016, the Cowboys will need a running back in 2025. Their approach to that position in 2024 was not dumb as much as it is offensive.
Even though this era of drafting says not to invest a high pick on a running back, we are talking about GM Jerry Jones and the Cowboys. Do not rule out a scenario where they use that top 10 pick on Boise State running back, Frisco Lonestar grad Ashton Jeanty.
Their target positions for that top 10 pick will also include defensive tackle, wide receiver, maybe an offensive lineman, head coach, and, as always, general manager.
It’s not even Thanksgiving, and the Cowboys are all about next season as they have morphed into a Trap Game.
This story was originally published November 18, 2024 at 10:34 PM.
