In front of Troy Aikman, no less. The Dallas Cowboys had one of those once-in-a-lifetime bad decisions haunt them in a winnable game. Harkening back to nightmarish memories from Leon Lett in Thanksgiving snow in 1993, a beautiful special teams play turned into a disastrous losing moment.

Late in the fourth quarter of a game tied at 20, Dallas’ defense pushed Joe Burrow and the Cincinnati offense way back to a 4th and 27 from their own side of the field. The punt, at the two-minute warning, would give the Cowboys a chance for a third win in a row and near them to .500. A block! But they touched it. Unbelievable. Bengals ball. Madness.

In a wildly disappointing 2024 season, this is the first gut punch loss for the Cowboys. Every other loss had been a blowout, even the ones they made look close. And despite all of that, Dallas didn’t give up on the season. But this loss? This one might have broken everyone’s spirit.

Cornerback Amani Oruwariye, just activated from IR before kickoff, attempted to corral a bouncing ball after linebacker Nick Vigil blocked the punt, but instead saw the ball bounce off his arm and past him. The Bengals recovered and a dejected Cowboys defense that had held the dynamic Cincy offense to just 20 points, came back out on the field.

Well, their bodies came back out, but their souls didn’t. A few plays later, Burrow found Ja’Marr Chase on the right sideline, and he spun away from an over-pursuing DaRon Bland and raced 40 yards for the score.

Bengals win, 27-20.

Dallas drops to 5-8.