DALLAS — These weren’t the same Jacksonville Jaguars that are easily-bullied anymore, but those are the same Dallas Cowboys of the last 25 years who blew a 17-point third quarter lead and eventually lost on a flukish interception return in overtime.
The Cowboys showed in the 40-34 overtime loss that they don’t appear ready to shed their labels and become among the best teams in the league.
For the second time in five games, the Cowboys blew a double-digit lead in the second half with their vaunted defense collapsing. Dallas was in control, up 27-10, but couldn’t seal the deal with a chance to avoid backing into a playoff spot.
Contending teams don’t allow bad teams to hang around and win games. The Cowboys losing to a 5-8 team when they were up 17 points is about as embarrassing as it gets. The team avoided disaster last week against the Houston Texans but couldn’t escape getting swamped in the second half against the Jaguars.
It’s Week 15 in the NFL, and no one knows much about who the Cowboys are, except that they remain an enigma. They have the ability to blow teams out, but also play down to the level of bad teams. If you let bad teams stick around, they’ll eventually make you pay, which is exactly what the Jaguars did on Sunday.
The final play of the game in overtime was a strike of poor fortune, a ball that needed to be caught by wide receiver Noah Brown on third down to keep the chains moving on a drive where a field goal would have been enough to win. Instead, Brown’s drop led to an improbable carom for an interception that was returned 52 yards and the game-winning score.
Bad luck or not, the Cowboys put themselves in a position where the ball could bounce against them. It never should have gotten to that point. The Cowboys were up by 14 points at halftime and moving the ball at will. Quarterback Dak Prescott was playing well while throwing two touchdowns in the first half. The second touchdown was an immaculate throw to tight end Peyton Hendershot for a 20-yard score.
However, in the third quarter, the Cowboys couldn’t cash in when they moved the ball. The offense settled for field goals after moving into Jaguars territory on their next two possessions, leaving the door open.
Up 24-10, the Cowboys got an interception from rookie cornerback DaRon Bland and had the ball in Jacksonville territory. The offense set themselves up in a manageable third-&-three situation when Prescott was flushed from the pocket and had Brown open for the first down across the middle. Instead of taking the easy first down, Prescott went for the hero ball down the sideline to running back Tony Pollard. The throw missed and the Cowboys settled for three points.
Despite leading 27-10 with 5 minutes to go in the third quarter, that play was the start of the demise for the Cowboys.
From that point on, the Cowboys were outscored 30-7 and they didn’t look anything like a 10-win team. The Jaguars scored touchdowns on three consecutive possessions, two of them thrown on second-year cornerback Kelvin Joseph.
The game snowballed on the Cowboys from there. Prescott rolled out and overthrew tight end Dalton Schultz for his first interception of the game. The Jaguars converted that turnover into a touchdown and the game was tight again at 27-24.
On their next possession, the Jaguars went on an eight-play, 75-yard drive to take the lead. For the second consecutive drive, the Cowboys allowed a third-down touchdown.
Dallas and Prescott would answer with a touchdown drive of their own to take the lead back late in the game to put the pressure back on the Jaguars. Up 34-31, the Cowboys were able to force their third turnover of the game with just 1:34 left on the clock but bungled the end of the game situation.
The Jaguars stopped the Cowboys on first and second down and called two of their timeouts. On third down, the Cowboys decided to try and throw for the first down to seal the win, but the pass fell incomplete. Instead of giving the Jaguars the ball back with no timeouts, Mike McCarthy’s decision to throw the ball left the Jaguars with a key timeout and 1:01 left to play.
That error in judgment was instrumental in the loss.
The Jaguars took advantage of the gift and were able to kick the tying field goal to send the game into overtime where the Cowboys continued to dole out Christmas gifts in Duval County. Eventually, they had secured a loss that kept them waiting until the New York Giants’ Sunday Night Football victory to formally back their way into the playoffs.
With a big opportunity in a weak conference, and the NFC East and top seed still in the balance, this loss ranks near the top of the more painful regular season losses for Dallas in the last 10 or so years. It wouldn’t take long to put together a list that burns deep in the hearts of many Cowboys fans and blowing this game to the Jaguars would certainly qualify as among the worst.
With the loss, Dallas can all but kiss the East goodbye. Next week’s game against the Philadelphia Eagles is now nothing more than schedule filler with Philly only needing a win or a Cowboys loss in the final three weeks to claim the division.
The Cowboys are going to be the Cowboys, and it’s just something that should be expected these days. Until they prove otherwise, this is the state of America’s Team.
Do you think the Cowboys will be able to regain their footing in the final weeks? Share your thoughts with Ben on Twitter @BenGrimaldi.
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