Cowboys Fail to Overcome Early Errors, Fall to Green Bay

Crippled by a maddeningly slow start, the Dallas Cowboys are yet again a frustrating one-and-done in the NFL playoffs.

The Dallas Cowboys have no one to blame but themselves. That much is certain. Penalties, drops and mental lapses on the offensive end contributed to a disastrous start. Before we were ready for it, the score was 21-3. The rout was on. White-hot Packer quarterback Aaron Rodgers carried on. The Dallas defense looked as pedestrian as they have all season. For all the 13-3 regular season fireworks, a flame out of the highest order seemed nothing more than a preordained inevitability.

But just when all seemed lost, the Cowboys displayed their typical resilience. The 21-3 deficit evolved to 21-13 at the end of the first half. The Packers promptly scored to take a 28-13 lead on their first possession of the third quarter. From there, Dallas embarked on a momentous rally that culminated in an instant classic. The only problem was that the good guys fell achingly short–again. Unfortunately, we’ve seen this movie before.

Despite coming out on the wrong end of an exhausting 34-31 loss, they must be given full marks for getting themselves back in the game. Any team, especially a youthful squad such as these Cowboys, might have been easily excused if they folded and faded away under such an onslaught. They did not. In fact, the rally was downright exhilarating.

Take everything into account. The dumb mistakes, the questionable coaching decisions, Aaron Rodgers playing out of his ever-loving mind. The Cowboys turned a 21-3 canyon into a 28-13 rally and nearly parlayed that into an NFC Championship appearance. Oh yeah, it was also lead by a rookie quarterback that really only committed one dubious error. Even then, that flub got negated by a defensive takeaway. As disheartening as the final result is, we’ve got to take the longer view when evaluating this team’s long-term prospects.

More from Dallas Cowboys

First and foremost, the developing chemistry between Dak Prescott and Dez Bryant continued to show marked improvement. Bryant had his best game of the season hauling in nine passes for 132 yards and two scores. That it happened in the biggest game of the year is an encouraging sign of the highest order. In fact, the rookie quarterback acquitted himself impressively on the strength of 24-of-38 passing for 302 yards, three touchdowns and the aforementioned interception.

Finally, running back Ezekiel Elliott contributed 22 carries and 125 yards.

The individual stats would almost definitely point to a Cowboys’ win.

Alas, that was not the case. For the second time in three years, the fate off the Cowboys has been decided by the Green Bay Packers. For the second time in three years, Cowboy fans will forever ponder the possibility that their squad lost to an overall inferior team. Two losses by a combined eight points find ways to bury themselves into our collective psyches.

It also does not help that an opposing quarterback playing at the absolute top of his game orchestrated our team’s untimely demise. This season exceeded anything beyond our wildest dreams–until yesterday. And that is something that we will have to deal with until probably about this time next year, provided everyone stays healthy and the Cowboys can muster another 12-4 or 13-3 record. Until then, overwhelming insecurity and doubt will rule the day. So at least we have that to look forward to.

Next: #DezCaughtIt – Still a Catch and Still a Mess of a Rule

More from Sports Dallas Fort-Worth

So while the long march to the eternal optimism of training camp begins, we have yesterday’s game to chew on and stew over in the meantime. Yes, it was an incredible game wholly befitting the history between Dallas and Green Bay. A novel could likely be written about yesterday’s game alone. As monumental as it was, however, the sting isn’t mitigated. It is increasingly more difficult to come so close, yet still be so far away.

Home/Dallas Cowboys