Losing to Buffalo on Thanksgiving when the entire nation was watching was bad enough. Losing to Buffalo by 11 was even worse.
The season has hit a new low for the Cowboys, losing three out of their last four. The worst part is they had the opportunity – and most likely should have – to win at least two of those games.
In a game where – despite what this offense should be – everyone thought running back Ezekiel Elliot was going to have a huge day and rush his way to another Cowboys’ win on Thanksgiving Day. Instead, quarterback Dak Prescott attempted 50 passes, completing 32 of them, and America watched him turn the ball over three different times.
In a game where Jason Garrett showed some urgency by going for it on 4th and 1 from his OWN 20-yard line, the Cowboys failed to even put Garrett in a position where he had to make a tough decision. The entire second half was the team playing catch up. Buffalo did not allow for the Cowboys to ever catch back up, dominating from start to finish.
The post-game scene was just as, if not worse, than the play on the field. You could hear players yelling from the locker room, Jerry Jones left his suite before the game was even over and was in tears during his post-game interview, and as usual, Garrett’s press conference did not inspire any new hope. The mood was not a good one and people in that Cowboy locker room know that they need to get better and get better fast.
So where do the Cowboys go from here? As Patriots head coach Bill Belichick would say, “We’re on to Chicago.” That is the only place the Cowboys can go from here. Taking games one at a time is what they need to do. As bad as the 6-6 season has been to this point, thanks to the dumpster fire that is the Philadelphia Eagles, Dallas somehow is still atop the NFC East.
There is no doubt that the schedule the rest of the way could be rocky. Playing Chicago on Thursday could create some serious problems with how good their defense has been. The Rams have one of the best offenses in the league that just dropped 34 points on the road in Arizona.
Then there is Week 16 in Philadelphia.
Currently, at 5-7, the Eagles playing so poorly is the only reason the Cowboys season is still alive. In what is the easiest schedule in the NFL, many thought Philadelphia had a great chance to run the table. A hiccup on the road to Miami quickly debunked that thought and the Cowboys are somehow still alive.
Taking each game one at a time is important, but the Week 16 game will more than likely decide who is going to win the NFC East and somehow get a home playoff game against the Vikings or Seahawks. It is the game that decides the fate of this year’s Cowboys team and what they can accomplish. If they lose that game, what already has been known will most likely be official. Jason Garrett will lose his job and Jerry Jones will be searching for a head coach for the first time since 2007. If they win, he can save his job, for now.
Going week by week is how the Cowboys will operate for the rest of the year, but the entire season will more than likely come down to the Week 16 matchup against Philadelphia.
As it stands, 8-8 with a tiebreaker against the Eagles will most likely get into the playoffs. But getting into the playoffs was never the goal. Making it to the NFC Championship game was and that is more than likely a prayer that will be not answered.
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