Before the Cowboys even took the field on Sunday night their fate had already been sealed. The Commanders’ win over Philadelphia officially eliminated Dallas from the postseason equation in Week 16. The Cowboys, playoff longshots since before Thanksgiving, have shown a tenacious spirit late in this otherwise forgettable season and that didn’t end when told of the official reality.
Coming into Week 16 with wins in three of their last four, Dallas was a dangerous opponent with a recently acquired nothing-to-lose attitude. The Buccaneers, 4-0 in their last four, have been even more red hot than the Cowboys. Playing some of their best ball of the season and hungry to stay ahead of the Michael Penix-led Falcons, Tampa Bay had a lot to play for on Sunday night.
Turns out playing the spoiler wasn’t a second-class motivation at all for Dallas. After jumping out to an early lead, the underdog Cowboys had no trouble dispatching the Buccaneers in convincing fashion. While the final score shows closeness, the Cowboys were in control most of the night. It doesn’t make much sense, but the results were fair, and the takeaways were poignant.
No Rico, no cry
(Photo by Ron Jenkins/Getty Images)
It was supposed to be Rico Dowdle’s game to win. Dowdle is coming off the best three game stretch of his career and statistically Cooper Rush has been one of the worst starting quarterbacks in the NFL. If the Cowboys wanted to get in the win column, they’d need Dowdle to take them there.
Nobody told Rush that.
Rush was story of the night in Week 16. He passed for 292 yards while Dowdle only contributed 23 on the ground. It was a sad ending to Dowdle’s brilliant stretch, but passing was the clear path to victory, no matter how much sense a strong running game meant in theory.
Rookie sighting!
(Photo by Ron Jenkins/Getty Images)
When the Cowboys selected Ryan Flournoy with the 216th pick in the draft, they assumed he’d be a project player with a strong upside. As a prospect Flournoy was generally seen as an elite athlete with very little refinement. As such, he was a project player who wasn’t expected to do much as a rookie.
Nobody told Flournoy that.
He might not have lit the world on fire, but Flournoy contributed in a fairly substantial way on Sunday night. The rookie pulled in three balls for 41 yards at an average of 13.7 yards/catch. It wasn’t much but it was something to build on and provided plays downfield that represent clear progress in his development.
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Edoga over Guyton
Mandatory Credit: Charles LeClaire-Imagn Images
Chuma Edoga once again received preference over the highly touted rookie Tyler Guyton at left tackle. It’s interesting because the Cowboys entered the game eliminated from the playoffs and focused on tomorrow, yet they still made Edoga the starter instead of Guyton.
It’s something to discuss more down the road but why are the Cowboys so sour on starting Guyton?
Pride and platitudes
(Photo by Tom Pennington/Getty Images)
The idea the Cowboys are better today than they were yesterday, is both right and wrong. Mike Zimmer certainly deserves his flowers by bringing discipline and accountability to this squad for the first time in maybe five years, but the Cowboys are far from being great without Dak Prescott, and as such, far from being any more than a midlevel team worthy of draft pick in the 12-17 range.
This was perhaps the Cowboys’ best game of the season and that’s not an exaggeration, it’s a reality. It may have happened too little too late, but it speaks to the direction of the franchise.
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Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Tim Heitman-Imagn Images
