Cowboys' latest loss highlights fear of one reality ahead of playoffs
The Dallas Cowboys took a beating in Week 18 against the Washington Commanders. There's no other way to put it. They were outplayed, outcoached, out-everything. They ended the regular season in the same way they started it off; playing bad football. The Cowboys didn't get the run game going yet but insisted on it. Dak […]
The Dallas Cowboys took a beating in Week 18 against the Washington Commanders. There's no other way to put it. They were outplayed, outcoached, out-everything. They ended the regular season in the same way they started it off; playing bad football.
The Cowboys didn't get the run game going yet but insisted on it. Dak Prescott forced deep shots that weren't there. Wide receivers dropped passes. The blocking was bad and of course, the team gave up 74 yards in six penalties.
As All-Pro offensive lineman Zack Martin put it postgame, it was the kind of play that forces you to watch from home if you repeat it next week.
The good news? The Cowboys get an opportunity to make it right next week when they take on the Tampa Bay Buccaneers on Monday Night Football. This time, in an elimination game.
The bad news? The performance in Week 18 raises significant concerns about the State of the Cowboys while bringing up some ghosts that are difficult to shake off.
After all, Cowboys Nation probably can't forget what happened last January against the San Francisco 49ers. The Cowboys got to host a playoff game in the first round as divisional champions as a 12-win team. But they got pushed around at their own stadium.
The Cowboys looked unprepared for that one in a flat performance that resulted in a 23-17 anticlimactic loss. The game featured struggles up front on both sides of the ball as the team saw the season slip away.
Now the hope is that doesn't happen on the road against a losing-record Tampa Bay Bucs team that won the Super Bowl a couple of years ago.
But anyone who's been watching the Cowboys and the NFL for a long time fears the same reality.
- Despite in-season struggles, Tom Brady is very likely to show up in the playoffs. That's what he does. The Bucs might not be a good team overall but just like Thanos, Brady is inevitable.
- Despite the in-season success, the Cowboys are a always question mark. Will they show up? Or to be more specific, what version of themselves will? The one that picked apart one of the best secondaries in the NFL against the Eagles? Or the one that couldn't do anything against a shorthanded Commanders squad?
These are valid concerns because the Cowboys have made them so.
The Cowboys opened as three-point favorites over the Tampa Bay Bucs. But fans have a legitimate reason to not feel good about that even after a 12-win season.
Featured image via Brad Mills-USA TODAY Sports
