The Dallas Cowboys Play to the Level of Their Competition

Oct 6, 2013; Arlington, TX, USA; Dallas Cowboys quarterback Tony Romo (9) is sacked in the fourth quarter by Denver Broncos defensive end Shaun Phillips (90) at AT

If Sunday taught us anything it’s that the Dallas Cowboys play to the level of their competition. They have been accused of this in the past and appear to be guilty today more than ever.

Full Disclosure: This is not a, “Rah-Rah! Good Job Fellas! We’ll get ‘em next time!” – kinda article. If you want to feel good about a 2-3 football team you will have to look elsewhere.

Oct 6, 2013; Arlington, TX, USA; Dallas Cowboys quarterback Tony Romo (9) hands off the ball to running back DeMarco Murray (29) against the Denver Broncos at AT

What We Learned

When the Cowboys feel they are facing an inferior team, they exhale and coast through the game. As you can imagine this usually results in upsets and losses against our beloved Cowboys. When a real contending team shows up, so do the Dallas Cowboys – as we saw Sunday afternoon against the Broncos.

Getting the team up and motivated to play a good team is easy. It’s how you prepare and execute against the lesser-than teams that’s difficult.

Memory Lane

When the Cowboys faced the KC Chiefs they took the Chiefs for granted. They knew they could win so they didn’t try very hard. Surprise! The Chiefs are better than we all thought and were able to pull off the win.

A couple weeks later against the Chargers – same story. The Cowboys took them for granted and paid for it in the end. Both of those losses came against teams the Cowboys SHOULD HAVE beaten.

I’m well aware of KC’s strong record – the Cowboys still should have beaten them. KC did nothing special that Sunday. The difference was KC played prepared, motivated, and executed basic assignments. That’s something the Cowboys failed to do.

Oct 6, 2013; Arlington, TX, USA; Dallas Cowboys head coach Jason Garrett claps on the sidelines against the Denver Broncos at AT

San Diego was beaten, bruised, and heavily injured. They had an atrocious O-Line, a depleted WR corps, and a clueless secondary. Yet, the Cowboys found a way to lose that game too.

Against the Broncos and Giants was a different story. The Cowboys were expecting something big. They felt it was a battle against a good team and they came ready for war. The result may have been a 1-1 record, only beating the now 0-5 Giants, but no one can deny the effort exhibited in these games far exceeded the effort in the 2 previously mentioned losses.

That’s the kind of effort fans expect to see every week.

We simply ask for full effort, preparation, and execution. If that’s not enough to win – then so be it. That just means the best team won. And that happened on Sunday.

The Cowboys fought the good fight and gave a noble effort. It just wasn’t good enough. The Broncos are the better team. Simple as that.

But did anyone walk away from the KC game and the Chargers game thinking, “Well, we tried our hardest. They were just the better team.” Of course not! We were angry because we saw the piss-poor effort, the sloppy execution, the unmotivated faces just going through the motions – expecting to win.

Sunday’s game should make us feel good about the Cowboys. They played the Broncos better than anyone else and had a great chance to win. But Sunday’s game also proved the Cowboys only play when they want to. They have been coasting through games this season like every other season before.

Should we be upset that this group of millionaires, who we pour our blood sweat and tears into, takes the game so lightly?

Hell yes, we should.

Sunday’s effort was great but just exposed the Cowboys for who they really are: Posers. And they only have themselves to blame.

Do you have questions or comments regarding Dallas area sports? Email Reid at permaximum@hotmail.com. You may be included in the next weekly mailbag. Follow Reid on twitter @ReidDHanson