DALLAS — The Dallas Cowboys went on the road for the second week in a row this week. And, for the second week in a row, they were defeated by a top-of-the-table AFC East team.
The Week 16 contest played out differently than Week 15's, but just as style points don’t count extra in wins, they sure as heck don’t amount to anything in losses.
After losing 31-10 to Buffalo in a game that they barely showed up for last week, Dallas lost 22-20 to Miami in a game that went right down to the wire on Sunday. While but there’s no pride in not getting blown out, a close loss still counts as a loss in the right hand column.
Now, Dallas’ record on the season stands at 10-5.
The last-second loss to the Miami Dolphins came as the Cowboys played another sloppy game. Their mistakes came back to haunt them in this one, too. Head coach Mike McCarthy’s team has enough trouble winning on the road as is, and by continuing to make costly errors, they are proving that the egregious home and road splits are not a fluke.
The Cowboys quite obviously play much better football at home than they do on the road. Their record reflects the dominance while playing at AT&T Stadium. But it also shines a spotlight on their shortcomings when away from Jerry World. Dallas is 7-0 at home, and 3-5 when they’re away.
As their former coach Bill Parcells liked to say, you are what your record says you are. And this year's Cowboys team is a bad one when they’re not playing at home.
Of course, the confusing thing about it is that it’s the same players competing at home and when they go out on the road. Still there’s a stark difference in how these two Cowboys teams play -- and the results speak for themselves.
Against the Dolphins, the Cowboys began like they were ready to exercise some demons, taking the ball on the coin toss and going right down the field to get themselves in a first-and-goal situation from the one-yard line. Instead of having four plays to get one-yard, though, rookie fullback Hunter Luepke got the call and promptly fumbled the ball away.
Aside from the bizarre decision to give the ball to a rookie who’s had four carries all season in a spot where it’s vital to get off to a good start with a touchdown, the offense should have already put the points on the board.
One play earlier, veteran running back Tony Pollard made an inexcusable read on a play where a starting RB scores 99% of the time. Pollard took the pitch and could’ve waltzed into the end zone if he ran to the pylon, but instead he headed straight for two defenders after bouncing off his own blocker. And, so, he was stopped just short of the goal line.
The next play was the fumble, and those were seven big points that the offense never scored. It ultimately proved the difference in the final score.
It’s hard to win on the road in the NFL, yes. It's especially difficult to do so when you waste an impeccable first drive with poor decision-making and a fumble to take a surefire touchdown off the board.
Dallas’ offense then answered a Miami field goal on their next drive when quarterback Dak Prescott hit CeeDee Lamb across the middle and the wide receiver did the rest, breaking away from defenders for a 49-yard score. It was a sign that McCarthy’s team wouldn’t fold like they did last week. But the joy was short-lived.
It took the Cowboys four possessions to score again. And, during that time, they found themselves down 16-7.
The Dolphins found success against the Cowboys’ defense by throwing short passes over the middle and picking up chunks of yards in the middle of the field.
Meanwhile, defensive coordinator Dan Quinn failed to adjust as Miami quarterback Tua Tagovailoa took the modest gains time and time again.
The Cowboys would mount a rally in the third quarter, though. They were on the move again when Prescott scrambled for a big first down to put his team just outside the red zone. That play was a 14-yard gain on third-and-11! Impressive stuff, except it was also brought back by an illegal shift penalty on Lamb -- one of a few questionable ones that went against the Cowboys. In the end, Dallas was forced to kick a field goal instead of continuing a promising drive.
Even so, the Cowboys still took the lead late in the fourth quarter when Prescott directed a 17-play, 69-yard drive that ended with a touchdown pass to wide receiver Brandin Cooks.
With that score, it would be on the defense to get a stop and keep the Miami offense from going down the field for a game-winning field goal.
Alas, that proved too difficult a task.
Another silly penalty -- this time a face mask on linebacker Damone Clark -- gave the Dolphins a free 15 yards. Then Tagovailoa nickel-and-dimed the offense down the field to milk the clock and set up an easy winning field goal.
The Christmas Eve clash left the Cowboys dreaming of their home turf. On a rain-slicked field of real grass, a team that seemed to have no issues moving the ball, being creative and playing fast on the first few drives went into a shell and played conservative for the next four series, which put them in a hole that they had to spend the rest of the game trying to climb out of.
Early in the game, the offense looked like the Cowboys from their November and early December contests, back when Dallas rattled off five consecutive victories. Unfortunately, that aggressiveness didn’t last, and the Cowboys couldn’t break out of their funk until it was too late.
Poor play at key times hurt the Cowboys in this one.
You can’t fumble on the goal line, taking seven points off the board, and expect to win. You can’t have penalties at inopportune times and expect to win. You can’t play conservative on the road against a 10-win team and expect to win.
The Cowboys played better on the road in this game, but it wasn’t enough to leave Miami with a narrative-changing victory.
It’s time to face facts: These Cowboys are what their record says they are when playing on the road.
They just don’t have the capacity to fight through adversity and win when they’re away from home.
Not until they prove it, anyway.
In the meantime, they just don't have it.
Bah humbug, indeed.
Do you think the Cowboys are on the naughty list after another road loss? Share your thoughts with Ben on Twitter @BenGrimaldi.
