My Quick Thoughts on Packers at Cowboys 2013

(Jim Biever/Packers.com)

• After riding an unstoppable running game to a seemingly-insurmountable 23-point halftime lead at home against a reeling opponent saddled with an extremely ineffective backup quarterback, the Dallas Cowboys came out of the locker room and ran just seven times in the second half, while inexplicably calling 23 pass plays. Meanwhile, their supposedly reeling opponent – the Green Bay Packers – chose not to abandon the run. It paid off immediately, as Eddie Lacy began the third quarter with a 60-yard run on Green Bay’s first play from scrimmage after halftime. Three plays later, the Packers would score their first of FIVE second-half touchdowns, en route to a 37-36 comeback win that should be shocking, but really wasn’t in the least.
• Dan Bailey (5-for-5 on FGs, including two 50-yarders) and DeMarco Murray (134 yards rushing, with an average of 7.4 yards-per-carry) are the ONLY two people associated with this franchise (including those who receive checks from the team, as well as the guy who signs those checks) who don’t deserve to be harshly criticized after that debacle. That includes Dez Bryant, who although he made some spectacular plays and posted big numbers on the day, also made the completely inexcusable decision to leave the sideline and head back to the locker room with a minute-and-a-half remaining. He’s got to show more maturity than that.
• There’s really not much else to say about the Cowboys’ disaster of a defense that hasn’t already been said after any number of their many catastrophic performances this season. If the game ended at halftime, it would have been their best performance of the season, as they held the Packers to just three points in the first two quarters. But after forcing Green Bay to punt four times in the first half, the Dallas defense forced zero punts in the second half, allowing the Packers to score 14 in the third quarter and another 20 in the fourth.
• DeMarcus Ware has been one of the greatest players in the history of the Cowboys over the course of his career, but he’s played well below expectations this season. Last week, his frustration reached a new high, as he took a page from the Heisenberg playbook and defiantly asked the media, “WHAT’S MY NAME?” After his no-show yesterday (1 tackle, 0 sacks), you have to wonder whether anyone on the Green Bay offensive line could answer his question. The real question that needs to be asked is, “How much is left in his tank?”
• Jason Garrett, Bill Callahan, and Monte Kiffin should ALL be fired, but it’s doubtful any of them will – especially not during the season. If the Cowboys win their next two games, they will still win the NFC East and make the playoffs, so Jerry Jones will view that as a successful season. If they beat the Redskins, but then lose to the Eagles, he’ll be able to fall back on the argument that the Cowboys at least were right there with a chance to win the division on the final day of the season. Heck, even if they lose both of these last two games, he’ll probably justify it by blaming the rash of critical defensive injuries to key players. Unfortunately, the one thing he WON’T do is fire the guy who’s responsible for hiring all of those incompetent coaches: the General Manager.
• Given the numbers Kirk Cousins posted yesterday in his first start of the season for Washington (381 yards passing, 3 TDs, 94.8 passer rating), along with the Cowboys’ inability to stop the backup quarterbacks of opposing teams in recent weeks (Green Bay’s Matt Flynn and Chicago’s Josh McCown), it seems inevitable that Cousins will light up the Dallas secondary. So, what seemed like it should have been an easy win just one week ago now looks to be anything but that. And if the Cowboys somehow do manage to beat the Redskins next week (ON THE ROAD, no less), their reward is yet another season-finale winner-take-all showdown for the NFC East title. They failed two seasons ago when facing the Giants in that situation at MetLife Stadium, and failed last season when in that same scenario against the Redskins at FedEx Field. In order for history to even have a chance of repeating, the Cowboys will have to immediately reverse the direction of their sinking ship, or that last game at home against the Eagles won’t be for anything but one final undeserved 2013 paycheck.