Cowboys Winners and Losers: Rico Dowdle’s stock continues to soar, John Fassel’s plummets

The NFL has generated some of the most watched programs for some time, and calculated risks such as the Simpsons-ized simulcast will be the reason the NFL continues its dominance over the other major American sports leagues.

While it may not have been something a traditional viewer would watch, the graphics in between each play were entertaining as well as the in-game trivia that would stump even the most knowledgeable NFL and Simpsons fans.

The entertainment value shown in cartoon form should be enough to get the next generation interested in the sport early. It should also generate ideas for future game enhancements. The XFL may have fizzled under Vince McMahon but the NFL did incorporate the sky cam after it was experienced within the defunct league.

The in-person helmet camera view along with the grade school stories told by some of the players were among the best features that could spark future ideas to enhance the in-home viewing experience.

Cowboys head coach Mike McCarthy was gaining momentum on a potential extension in Dallas but his one-sided play calling may have the entire coaching staff updating their resumes.

McCarthy failed to go with the hot hand in running back Rico Dowdle, who was averaging 7.3 yards per carry against a bad Bengals defense. With 10 days to prepare, failing to take advantage of one of the worst run defenses in the league is a big reason why the fan base is ready for change.

Old habits die hard and Cowboys quarterback Cooper Rush dropping back 31 times when he is averaging almost a yard and a half fewer on his completions (5.9 YPC) than Dallas was averaging on the ground (7.3 YPA) is exactly why Dallas needs a different philosophy.

Dallas scores the second-least points in the red-zone among all NFL teams. The Cowboys had three such chances in the first half and came away with one touchdown; An 11-yard toss to CeeDee Lamb from Cooper Rush, and a Brandon Aubrey 35-yard field goal.

To make matters worse, Dallas lost the ball in the red zone in that first half which was their seventh turnover inside the 20 which leads the league. Dallas is tied for 31st with 23 turnovers on the season.

McCarthy was a nice upgrade over former head coach Jason Garrett but Dallas needs a more modern approach to keep pace in an ever-evolving league.

Dowdle had his best rushing night of the season after carrying the ball 18 times for 131 yards. Dallas began the season unsure of who should be the lead back and Dowdle has unequivocally taken the role.

Dowdle has given the Cowboys a reason to retain the former undrafted free agent who will hit free agency this upcoming offseason sans an extension from Dallas. He has a decision to make as the Cowboys continued failures to feature him as a lead back could backfire and provide the ammunition needed to get a larger deal with more opportunities elsewhere.

In the meantime, Dallas still has a few games remaining this season and Dowdle could add a 1,000-yard rusher to his resume. With 731 rushing yards on the season, the NFL’s 21st-leading rusher could eclipse the coveted milestone if he can average 67.2 yards in the teams final four games.

For the first time since Week 2 of the 2023 season, Dallas suited up All-Pro cornerbacks Trevon Diggs and DaRon Bland along with nickel corner Jourdan Lewis.

It wasn’t enough to limit Jamar Chase and the Bengals passing offense as the former LSU wideout lit up Dallas catching 14 passes for 177 yards and two touchdowns. Bengals QB Joe Burrow threw for 369 yards against Dallas.

That is by far the most passing yards given up this season and only the second 300-yard passer Dallas has allowed this season. Lions QB Jared Goff threw for 334 yards back in mid-October.

To be fair, Diggs was coming off an injury that has kept him out of the last two games while Bland is still working is way back after missing the first ten games of the season due to a broken foot suffered in training camp.

Regardless, the secondary everyone had been itching to watch play together got torched for almost 400 yards.

With a win, Dallas would have closed to two games of Washington (8-5) for the final wild-card spot, with a win in hand and a second matchup to come.

The loss places Dallas into a three-way tie with the Bengals and Saints, teams who have defeated Dallas at home this season, and Dallas now projects as the 12th overall selection. All three sit ahead of nine teams with four or fewer losses.

While the team is currently positioned in the area where draft prospects such as Georgia’s edge Javon Walker or Missouri wideout Luther Burden III could be had, names such as Penn State’s edge Abdul Carter and Michigan’s cover corner Will Johnson could come back into the fold if Dallas continues to trend downward.

Cowboys owner Jerry Jones is still adamant that the team will continue to hunt wins but Dallas may have just punched their ticket to an early offseason.

It seems the lesson learned agaisnt Denver back in 2021 didn’t resonate and former Cowboys cornerback Nahshon Wright may be shaking his head somewhere.

For the second time in his time Cowboys career, special teams coach John Fassell had a player commit the ultimate no-no on a blocked punt. With under two minutes to play, Dallas linebacker Nick Vigil blocked a Bengals punt but the ball traveled past the line of scrimmage making it live only if touched by a Cowboys player.

Instead of special teams players yelling “Peter, Peter, Peter”, the universal call to get away from the ball, Cowboys cornerback Amari Oruwariye attempted to secure the ball but muffed it leading Cincinnati to retain possession and essentially ended any hope Dallas had of making the playoffs.

For that reason alone, Oruwariye is the biggest loser of the night although props to his teammates for protecting him from the negativity surely to come his way.

Oruwariye was sent to injured reserve after injuring his back agaisnt San Francisco in week eight and Dallas had just promoted him to the active roster hours before the Monday Night contest against the Bengals.