Blogging The Boys
Well, that was not fun. In a game where we expected the Dallas Cowboys to keep their playoff hopes alive, the team just wasn’t up to the task as they fell to the Minnesota Vikings 34-26. At first, things looked promising, but it didn’t take long for us to realize what was about to happen. This Cowboys team just didn’t have it in them to show that they belong in the playoff hunt. Here are ten thoughts on this very unsatisfying Sunday night loss to the Vikings.
Brian Schottenheimer stated he wanted the team to come out fast, and that is exactly what they did. The defense got off the field right away after a batted pass dropped into Quinnen Williams’ arms. The offense took advantage and scored a touchdown on their first possession, although it took a little chicanery to extend the drive.
When it appeared that the Cowboys’ opening drive had stalled out, they were given new life thanks to a fake field goal. The play was orchestrated perfectly as holder Bryan Anger delivered an over-the-shoulder toss to Brandon Aubrey as he took off running to his right. The Cowboys’ All-Pro kicker picked up the yards they needed before sliding to the turf.
This late in the season, we just hoped the defense would be better. They’re not. It was terrible. Statistically, the yardage total wasn’t lucrative as the Vikings finished with just 327 total yards, the Cowboys’ third-lowest number of yards allowed this season. But when Minnesota pushed, the Cowboys’ defense couldn’t make stops and gave up points quickly. The Vikings scored four touchdowns on the night, and three of those drives took less than four minutes. It happened so fast, the Cowboys’ defense didn’t even know what hit them.
The defense will take the brunt of the blame as they normally do, but the offense shouldn’t get off scot-free. Despite putting together a handful of nice drives, the offense just couldn’t finish them. The Cowboys’ offense had ten total drives, and in nine of them, they were in Vikings territory; however, they only scored two touchdowns, while settling for four field goals. Three times they got squadoosh. They stalled because whenever they needed a play on third down, they continuously came up empty. The Cowboys were 2/12 on third down in this game.
Things didn’t go well on offense. Things didn’t go well on defense. And sadly, things didn’t go so well on special teams. After the successful fake field goal, it all went south. Aubrey uncharacteristically missed two field goals, which is always a bad sign that things are not going well. KaVontae Turpin let a punt bounce that rolled all the way back near the goal line. Even when Turpin had a nice return, they got flagged for a hold that negated the run. It was just bad...
