Blogging The Boys
There are technically three weeks left in the regular season, and the math says they’re still alive, but the Dallas Cowboys’ season effectively ended on Sunday night in front of a national audience.
After the loss in Detroit snapped a three-game losing streak, it was easy to say the Cowboys simply ran out of steam. Playing three games in 12 days – with two coming against last year’s Super Bowl teams – will do that to you. But they needed to prove that narrative by beating the Vikings, who had been eliminated from the playoffs earlier in the day, at home after a mini-bye week.
They did not.
It wasn’t just the fact that they lost, but it was how they lost. Coming into the game, everyone knew the challenge Minnesota presented. Defensive coordinator Brian Flores is a master at changing the picture post-snap, and there’s a short list of quarterbacks he hasn’t had at least some success against. But the Vikings offense has struggled all year, especially quarterback J.J. McCarthy.
After two drives in this one, it looked like the Cowboys were about to roll. On the second play of the game, Donovan Wilson tipped McCarthy’s pass up in the air and Quinnen Williams intercepted it off the ricochet. Then, after coming up short on third down, Dallas perfectly executed a fake field goal that gave them a first down.
A few plays later, the typically-conservative Brian Schottenheimer went for it on fourth down again, picking it up again. The next play, Javonte Williams ran in for a touchdown. The Cowboys simply could not be denied, despite the best efforts of the Vikings defense.
From there, things changed in a hurry. Williams got banged up and Flores’ exotic pressure looks started to slow down Dak Prescott and the passing game. That on its own wasn’t a real concern – any offense expects ebbs and flows against this defense – but the big issue was that McCarthy and the offense started to heat up.
An explosive run from Certified Cowboy Killer**™** Aaron Jones was extended by a horse collar tackle, and then McCarthy found Jailen Nailor on an off-platform throw for a touchdown, tying things up. The Cowboys would score another touchdown – Malik Davis this time – but Minnesota responded, and McCarthy ran in for a score on fourth and goal.
What happened after that was when the tide really started to turn.
The Cowboys started to figure some things out against Flores’ scheme, and Prescott found CeeDee Lamb for a 17-yard pickup on fourth down, but Terence Steele was beat badly on third down for a sack. No problem, just send out Brandon Aubrey for a 51-yard field goal so automatic they might as well not even bother kicking it, right?
Nope. Aubrey missed.
It turned out to be the first of two misses, as Aubrey later shanked a 59-yarder. He connected on four other field goals, sure, but seeing Aubrey miss multiple field goals in a single...
