McCarthy’s teams don’t learn
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This has been a rough season for the Cowboys, who continue to shoot themselves in the foot. Despite being under .500, Dallas miraculously isn’t out of the playoff hunt and a third straight win could’ve catapulted this team into late-season success.
And all that was briefly attainable when linebacker Nick Vigil blocked Ryan Rehkow’s punt with just under two minutes to play. The Cowboys were set to get the ball back on the Bengals’ side of the field with the opportunity to score and win the game. Time was winding down and they sport the kicker with the best boot on the planet.
That wasn’t to be though, as cornerback Amani Oruwariye tried to pick up the loose ball and run with it. Instead of staying away and giving the offense a chance to close out a third consecutive win, Oruwariye never controlled the ball. The Bengals recovered it with a new set of downs and in great position to win, taking just three plays for the game-winning score.
If the misplay looked familiar to Cowboys fans, it might have evoked memories from when defensive tackle Leon Lett tried to recover a blocked kick on Thanksgiving in a snowy 1993 game. However, there’s been a more recent play exactly like this one, and this also happened with McCarthy as the teams’ head coach.
In a 2021 game against the Denver Broncos, the Cowboys blocked a punt they tried to recover and return. Then rookie CB Nahshon Wright fumbled the recovery attempt, which the Broncos finally secured to extend a drive. The Broncos won that game easily, 30-16.
Just three seasons later, McCarthy’s team made the same mistake, and it cost them, again. For all the recent chatter about bringing McCarthy back, these types of issues make it difficult to get behind the idea.
Best weapons show up
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The Cowboys don’t have much offensive firepower, especially without starting quarterback Dak Prescott. However, it was evident in the loss how they do have two very good pieces on offense.
There was little doubt about wide receiver CeeDee Lamb’s ability to be a weapon and he played well again, catching six passes for 93 yards and a touchdown. Lamb caught six of his seven targets, but only two passes came Lamb’s way after halftime, which has been a recurring problem. The Cowboys need to do a better job of throwing the ball to their All-Pro for 60 minutes.
Running back Rico Dowdle backed up his first 100-yard rushing game, with another trip over the century mark. Dowdle ran for 131 yards, and a whopping 7.3 yards per carry in the loss.
The Bengals couldn’t stop the rushing attack, but like Lamb, Dowdle didn’t have enough opportunities. Dowdle only had 18 carries on the game, despite his success. The offense needs to lean on Dowdle and Lamb in the last four games.
Injuries are crippling the team
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It has been a rough year for the Cowboys in terms of injuries, which have taken their toll on the team’s performance. Things went from bad to worse late in Week 14’s loss.
Budding star LB DeMarvion Overshown went down in the fourth quarter to a catastrophic knee injury, which looks like it could be serious. It’s likely that Overshown won’t play again in 2024, ruining what had been a promising first year, but the fear is the injury might cost him most of next season as well.
It’s one thing to have guys out for this disappointing campaign, but long-term injuries this late in the season that affect next year is a crushing blow for the Cowboys. The team’s injury woes went from bad to worse in a loss that has ramifications well past this week. That’s a tough pill to swallow.
Home still a house of horrors
Bengals wide receiver Ja’Marr Chase scores a touchdown in the fourth quarter against the Cowboys.
Normally playing at home in the NFL is cause for optimism, but for the Cowboys, it has been a house of horrors. The team is now 1-6 at AT&T Stadium and is giving up over 30.5 points per game. In every game, an opposing team has had a player throw for over 300 yards, rush for over 100 yards or have over 100 yards receiving.
In this loss, Bengals QB Joe Burrow threw for 369 yards and three touchdowns, while WR Ja’Marr Chase caught 14 passes for 177 yards and two scores. Opposing teams are making a living off the Cowboys in their own building.
Luckily the team got a win on their home turf on Thanksgiving, so they won’t be shut out in their own building, but it doesn’t get much worse than having almost every loss be in an embarrassing fashion. The only team with a worse record at home this season is the New York Giants, at 0-7. So, they got that goin’ for them, which is nice!
Playoff dream is dead
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In the last two weeks, there’s been some hope that a late season turnaround could propel the Cowboys into the playoffs. The schedule down the road isn’t daunting and an upset or two could lead to a postseason berth.
That dream died in the Week 14 loss. The Cowboys would have to win out just to have a chance and have a measly 1.3% shot at making the playoffs right now. They currently stand 13th in the NFC, three games behind the last wild card team. Leapfrogging five teams, three of whom the Cowboys have already lost to, feels like an enormous task, especially considering they play three of their last four games against current playoff teams.
It was a tall order before losing to the Bengals, it’s nearly impossible now. The pipedream of having a miracle comeback season for the ages is gone, and probably something only a fool would have thought possible, even if the Cowboys had won this game.
