Cowboys' latest setback sounds an ominous tone
Dallas had nothing to play for and played accordingly
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By Kirk Bohls
AMERICAN-STATESMAN STAFF
Monday, December 31, 2007
LANDOVER, Md. — In a game in which the Dallas Cowboys literally had nothing to lose, they may have lost something anyway.
Like their dignity. Some of their pride. And any vestige of momentum they might have desired to take into their week off before the second round of the playoffs.
That may be a slight stretch, but probably not much of one, because the NFC's No. 1 seed will enter the playoffs looking like anything but.
In spite of its glittery 13-3 record, Dallas really hasn't looked sharp since its decisive victory over Green Bay in late November. It lucked by Detroit, played poorly in a home loss to Philadelphia, won at Carolina against that team's fourth-team quarterback, and stunk up FedEx Field against Washington on a cold, rainy Sunday to finish with a 2-2 record in December.
History doesn't smile at such ineptitude.
In its five Super Bowl championship seasons, Dallas didn't lose a regular-season finale, although the 1995 team went 2-2 the final month with a December loss to eventual wild-card qualifier Philadelphia. In fact, Dallas did not drop its final game on the schedule in any of its eight Super Bowl seasons.
Cowboys owner Jerry Jones left no doubt about his disgust for the manner in which a desperate Washington team dismantled Dallas from the opening kickoff, throttling the apathetic visitors 27-6 to earn the league's final playoff berth.
"We have two solid weeks to sleep in this pile of you-know-what," a somber Jones said, not mincing words. "We're going to stew in this. We have to soak it up. Maybe it will inspire our team."
He has to hope so.
It would have been one thing if Wade Phillips had chosen to rest all his starters for an otherwise meaningless game. The first-year head coach even joked that he had, saying, "We rested 'em either mentally or physically."
But he played most of them into the third quarter.
Phillips took the fall for the team's nonchalant attitude, saying he didn't have his team ready to play.
"One team was inspired," he said. "One team was not."
Team Not rushed for a franchise-record 1 yard on 16 carries. Team Not failed to convert a single one of its 11 third downs. Kicker Nick Folk missed a chip-shot field goal. Miles Austin dropped two probable touchdown passes. Marion Barber needed 19 yards to become the second backup in the modern era to rush for 1,000 yards, but ran for negative-6 yards and seemed to come closer to getting 900 than a thousand.
Tony Romo, quarterback of Team Not, has now thrown one touchdown with five interceptions in his last three games.
Cheerleader Not Jessica Simpson was nowhere to be seen at FedEx Field.
"No execution, no emotion," said offensive guard Leonard Davis, one of Dallas' 11 Pro Bowl selections. "We didn't play with any intensity. Maybe we'll walk with a chip on our shoulder."
Funny, but the Cowboys have only to look at the other conference to see a team with more pride, more desire, more accountability, more everything.
Granted, the AFC's New England Patriots had plenty on the line with a perfect record before topping the New York Giants on Saturday to complete a historic 16-0 mark, but the Patriots have not slacked off once, all season long. Maybe not even for a play.
Of course, they'd incur the wrath of the Darth Vader of NFL head coaches if they had slacked. If his Patriots played as the Cowboys did, Bill Belichick would have had them walk home from New Jersey and practice once they got there.
Phillips put on a decent if dour face, reminding that Dallas was a perfect 7-0 on the road this year before Sunday. That, of course, counts for nothing now, the same as the Patriots' unblemished mark.
But Sunday's game should leave Cowboys fans with a ton of uneasiness, and not just because Romo (0-1) and his coach (0-3) have never won a playoff game. Neither has inspired much confidence of late. Dallas has had difficulty running the ball lately, star wide receiver Terrell Owens is nursing a high ankle sprain, and in his very brief 2007 debut, Terry Glenn got no catches and a physical roll-up for his effort.
Dallas clearly went through the motions Sunday. Some very ugly motions.
The Cowboys had company. Phillips pointed out a few teams in similar circumstances, and he's right that four other clubs that had already clinched their divisions — Seattle, Tampa Bay, Pittsburgh and Indianapolis — lost Sunday. Another, San Diego, got by a 4-11 Oakland team. Green Bay just wanted to get a bad taste out of its mouth from the previous week and hammered 7-8 Detroit. Dallas is stuck with its bad taste.
"It's frustrating a little bit because we played poorly," tight end Jason Witten said. "You can't just turn a switch on."
Belichick would take a switch to his team. It's unlikely Phillips will crack a similar whip, because he's confident his team will rebound and play as it has for the bulk of the regular season. Maybe he's too confident.
The Cowboys own home-field advantage throughout the playoffs and have a bye next week. But should they play anything remotely close to the way they have been lately, it will be a quick goodbye from the playoffs. |
