Dallas Cowboys: 3 issues to address or history is destined to repeat
By Dink Kearney
In another dramatic episode of “America’s Team,” the Dallas Cowboys stuck to the script and gave the nation a fantastic game as they lost to the Jacksonville Jaguars (40-34) in one of the most painful ways imagined.
It seems the Dallas Cowboys either win big or lose big and there’s hardly ever is there any gray area with this team. For the Cowboys to enter that game with a 10-3 record and featuring one of the highest scoring offenses in the league, you would think being up three scores on a young and upcoming Jags team was enough to secure a win.
Even when the Dallas Cowboys scored a touchdown late in the fourth quarter to go up 34-31, you knew the Cowboys had a good chance of securing the victory, especially when the defense forced a fumble with 1:20 minute left in the game. I mean, the Cowboys had a scare the previous week against another inferior opponent in the Houston Texans, so…
The Dallas Cowboys are reverting back to their old habits which could come back to haunt them in the postseason.
I am not here to rehash the awful loss the Dallas Cowboys suffered at the hands of the Jags, but I’m here to ask you a simple question: How many times have Cowboys fans got their hopes up on a talented team only to see those hopes disappear like your grandfather’s hairline?
Watching Dallas play is eerily similar to watching a horror movie: You’re on the edge of your seat. You’re screaming for the victim to take off running because you just know the killer is in the closet waiting to jump out.
Since the Giants game on Thanksgiving, Dallas has struggled. They had slow starts, bad penalties, miscommunication, and turnovers. To be fair, the penalties have declined over the last two games, but everything else is relevant and indicators a painful ending is awaiting this franchise.
In a sad and truthful way, Dallas is becoming the same disappointing team we have seen in years past: a talented team that beats itself with mistakes, bad coaching, bad play calling, and no accountability. For example, Dallas featured some of its best teams in ’07, ’14, ’16, and ’21.
I featured those teams because two of those teams (‘07 and ‘16) were #1 seeds with the talent to at least make it to the NFC Championship game and then some, and last year’s team had everything as well to compete for a Super Bowl title, like this year’s team.
However, they all had the same issues that became their ultimate downfall. We look at four issues today…