Dallas Cowboys: Nothing’s going to change if nothing changes
For 25+ years, bad luck, indisciplined play, and collapses have plagued the Dallas Cowboys, and it won’t end anytime soon unless they change it.
Thursday’s 36-33 overtime loss on Thanksgiving to the Las Vegas Raiders looked like a sign of an eventual collapse of the 2021 Dallas Cowboys.
Why would it not be? A 6-1 start has now resulted in a 7-4 record. With the race for the NFC East crown and the conference, in general, becoming tighter by the game, repeated disappointments only foreshadow the inevitable for Mike McCarthy’s troops.
But it’s not just 2021. It’s about every year since 1995, and in reality, ever since Jimmy Johnson departed the franchise. Thanksgiving 2021 was just another layer of the pie. Penalties, although some tick tacky, killing momentum, the defense giving up big plays, and the offense not playing up to their capabilities, and of course, the dropped passes.
Much of this modern era of the Cowboys have produced quality drafts for Big D, but repeated playoff failures and underachievements, so much so that we see Shannon Sharpe and Stephen A Smith resort to making songs about the Cowboys’ losses and constant berating on a daily basis.
How else to describe giving up an early touchdown to Desean Jackson, and he wasn’t even in an Eagles uniform? Some players have a way of torturing fanbases; just ask Aaron Rodgers and the Chicago Bears. Also, the missed XP by Greg Zuerlein early on combined with the supposed holding call on a big Tony Pollard run? Here we go again indeed.
Dak Prescott is to be commended for his leadership and overcoming adversity. He is a role model off the field and should be loved. Against the Raiders, 32/47 for 375 yards and two touchdowns. Ezekiel Elliot? Just 25 yards on the ground.
In contrast, Derek Carr (6-5) had a productive day and even got second and third helpings in the process. 24-39 for 373 yards and a touchdown pass to Jackson while running back Josh Jacobs earned his seat at the table with 87 yards and a score of his own.
The Dallas Cowboys will continue to stay on the wheel of disappointment if they don’t correct their mistakes.
It’s not like the Cowboys have to bring back The Great Wall of Dallas and all their Hall of Fame Players to win. However, would it be reasonable to ask this team to someday put it all together for just one more time? So that they don’t have to resort to bragging about their past?
Also, can anyone explain the number of penalties called against Dallas, particularly on the game-winning kick from Daniel Carlson? Several penalties for jumping offside in an attempt to block the kick, and all of them failed. Sure, you take a chance, but when it doesn’t work, it doesn’t do any good to keep going after it.
The loss of CeeDee Lamb and Amari Cooper certainly hurt, but injuries, and in Cooper’s case, a personal matter, are just part of the game. Sure, if Prescott had both of them, there’s a good chance this game would have not gotten to overtime. But given how things have gone for Dallas lately, and throughout their history, anything is possible.
Brace yourself, the onslaught of laughter and trolling is coming, and the only ones that can protect the Dallas Cowboys from that are the Dallas Cowboys himself. You don’t need Hall of Famers to help replicate what schemes made you successful throughout your championship runs. You just need the right personnel, from players to coaching.
Do they have all of that? The results speak for themselves. Better act now, or the season will continue to slip away.