Dallas Cowboys: Can talent overcome Jason Garrett to make playoffs?
The Dallas Cowboys sit at 6-5 after an ugly loss to the Patriots but can this ultra-talented group overcome Jason Garrett to still make the playoffs?
Things did not go ideally for the Dallas Cowboys in Foxborough. This was the chance for Dak Prescott, Ezekiel Elliott and, perhaps most crucially, Jason Garrett to prove that the Cowboys belonged among the league’s elite against the New England Patriots. And while the scoreboard showed just a 13-9 loss, the on-field play showed something different.
For every accolade that the Patriots defense has received this season, the Cowboys made them look the part on Sunday afternoon. Yes, Elliott actually had a nice game on the ground (21 carries, 86 yards) but the high-octane Dallas offense failed to find the end zone, including getting stopped short and settling for a field goal in the fourth quarter.
Livid Cowboys fans will surely bring up two extremely suspect tripping calls that went against Dallas that proved costly, most notably on the final drive where the penalty negated a first down. However, when the defense holds Tom Brady to under 200 yards and limits the ground game largely, there are no excuses to be made. Dallas should have done enough to win against New England.
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And it comes down to Jason Garrett. This isn’t an excuse — it’s a weekly hindrance that this Cowboys team has to deal with. The head coach is leading one of the most talented rosters in the NFL, one that should better the Patriots on paper. But when you stack Garrett against Bill Belichick in a matchup of sidelines, it’s heavy advantage New England every time.
Even if the story has its changes from week to week, the overall sentiment remains the same. To Garrett’s credit, the Cowboys came out of the gate better against New England than they had in recent weeks. However, the play-calling and decision-making remained baffling throughout the afternoon.
One of the most frustrating habits that Garrett has with the Cowboys is his tendency on second-and-short. You can count on that being an inside run play eight times out of 10 — and the other two are likely outside runs. This is the perfect opportunity to take a shot with play-action that will keep the defense guessing but Dallas maintains this uncreative, un-innovative and bland mentality under Garrett where those types of things never happen.
A continuation of this was on the next-to-last full drive for the Cowboys against New England. After driving 78 yards down the field and trailing by seven points, Garrett called out the field goal unit on fourth-and-7 from the New England 11-yard line.
What good does the field goal do there? Yes, the defense played well and did get a stop eventually but being down four points doesn’t make the task of coming back to win any easier. Worst-case scenario if the Cowboys go for it on fourth down, the Patriots are still pinned inside their own 20-yard line. Best-case scenario, the game is tied and the defense, which again is playing well, puts Dallas back with the ball needing only a field goal to win.
The Cowboys now sit at 6-5 on the season but this is not a 6-5 roster. Between Garrett and Rod Marinelli, they are holding back this roster in a definable way. With the talent this team has, they should not be fighting around .500 to win the NFC East — it should be locked up by now.
Dallas now has a tough schedule ahead, facing the Bills, Bears, Rams and Eagles over the next four weeks. The question now becomes if this talent is enough to keep them above-average and vault them into the playoffs. Heck, their talent kept them within one score of the likely No. 1 seed in the AFC on Sunday, despite Garrett’s best efforts.
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For my money, the talent of the Cowboys from Prescott, Elliott and Amari Cooper on offense to DeMarcus Lawrence and Jaylon Smith on defense will be enough to make the postseason. But the fact that’s in question should be enough to put Garrett’s future seriously into question. When you look at this team, he’s quite blatantly the weak link limiting what this group can be.