Following their embarrassing 41–35 home loss to the New York Giants on Monday night, the Dallas Cowboys must not only deal with the likelihood of missing the playoffs, they must question the direction of the team, and the health of their star quarterback.
Unlike the Giants (5–2) who now lead the NFC East, the Cowboys (1–5) now find themselves in last place in the division and 0–4 against NFC opponents. While not mathematically eliminated from the playoffs, without Tony Romo at the helm for the next several weeks their chances are extremely slim.
Romo (broken collar bone) is due to miss at least eight weeks following a devastating hit by Giants linebacker Michael Boley in the second quarter. Watching the rest of the game from the sideline in a sling, Romo could only look on as his teammates appeared listless without him.
While 39-year old backup John Kitna had an admirable performance, completing 16-of-33 passes for 187 yards and two touchdowns no one can compare Kitna to Romo.
Without Romo leading this team, the offense will surely suffer and the onus will be placed squarely on the shoulders of the defense that are beginning to have question marks of their own after giving up nearly 500 total yards to the Giants.
Speaking after the game, the always-classy Romo gave his endorsement despite whatever odds now face the team, “We’re lucky to have John [Kitna]. He’s had a lot of success in the league. He’s going to step in and he’s going to do a great job for this football team. We’re going to rally around John.”
While Romo could return in December, if the Cowboys don’t drastically turn things around in November, his return may be a moot point.
Other injuries sustained on Monday night included those to left guard Montrae Holland (groin), Jason Hatcher (groin), and Pro Bowl cornerback Terrence Newman (rib). Holland was already subbing in for injured starting left guard Kyle Kosier.
Adding insult to injury was the fact that the Cowboys created five turnovers in the contest—two of them gift-wrapped early in the first quarter deep in the Giants zone. Dallas was able to convert on both drives for a combined 10 points, but they did next to nothing with the remaining three turnovers.
Other glaring sore spots for Dallas included the breakdowns on both sides of the ball. The stats from Monday night’s game were ugly. While New York rushed for 200 yards and threw for 297 yards, Dallas was only able to muster 213 yards passing and a mere 41 yards rushing. Once Romo had left the game, the Giants defense forced the Cowboys to become one-dimensional and held them to zero points in the third quarter.
Granted, the G-Men got careless in the fourth quarter and allowed Kitna and the ‘Boys to stage a mini comeback with 15 unanswered points, but had New York closed out the game with the same intensity they showed in the second and third quarters, it would have been no contest.
Despite having big names on defense, the Cowboys gave up 497 total yards to the Giants and looked helpless in trying to slow down Manning after his initial rough start. Manning carved up Dallas’s secondary, completing 25-of-35 passes for 306 yards and four touchdowns. The Cowboys had no answer for Giants receivers Steve Smith (nine receptions for 101 yards, one touchdown) and Hakeem Nicks (nine receptions for 108 yards, two touchdowns).
As poor as the pass defense was, the run defense was equally inept. The Giants duo of running backs Ahmad Bradshaw (24 carries for 126 yards) and Brandon Jacobs (12 carries for 75 yards, one touchdown) punished Dallas’s defense, averaging a combined 5.4 yards per carry.
Whether the defense was drained or just simply overpowered by the Giants, or both, is up for debate. Regardless, for the remainder of the season the Cowboys ‘D’ will be relied upon to do much better because the offense will struggle at times without Romo.
Going hand-in-hand with the poor defense was the Cowboys’ anemic third down efficiency. Dallas was 0-for-10 on third downs. Again, with that many three-and-outs it puts the onus on the defense and forces them to remain on the field for longer than usual.
Other Notes
Special Teams looked greatly improved, most notably the play of rookie sensation Dez Bryant who returned a punt for 93 yards and a score at 8:53 in the second quarter.
Bryant also displayed incredible speed after the catch and hauled in two touchdowns to go along with his eye-popping punt return.
Despite any doldrums in Dallas, Bryant is something to look forward to for many years to come.
With the specter of a failed season looming, head coach Wade Phillips is likely on borrowed time. Cowboys’ owner Jerry Jones will likely hire a new coach to go along with his billion dollar stadium and high-profile roster—Bill Cowher or Jon Gruden come to mind.
Unlike the Giants (5–2) who now lead the NFC East, the Cowboys (1–5) now find themselves in last place in the division and 0–4 against NFC opponents. While not mathematically eliminated from the playoffs, without Tony Romo at the helm for the next several weeks their chances are extremely slim.
Romo (broken collar bone) is due to miss at least eight weeks following a devastating hit by Giants linebacker Michael Boley in the second quarter. Watching the rest of the game from the sideline in a sling, Romo could only look on as his teammates appeared listless without him.
While 39-year old backup John Kitna had an admirable performance, completing 16-of-33 passes for 187 yards and two touchdowns no one can compare Kitna to Romo.
Without Romo leading this team, the offense will surely suffer and the onus will be placed squarely on the shoulders of the defense that are beginning to have question marks of their own after giving up nearly 500 total yards to the Giants.
Speaking after the game, the always-classy Romo gave his endorsement despite whatever odds now face the team, “We’re lucky to have John [Kitna]. He’s had a lot of success in the league. He’s going to step in and he’s going to do a great job for this football team. We’re going to rally around John.”
While Romo could return in December, if the Cowboys don’t drastically turn things around in November, his return may be a moot point.
Other injuries sustained on Monday night included those to left guard Montrae Holland (groin), Jason Hatcher (groin), and Pro Bowl cornerback Terrence Newman (rib). Holland was already subbing in for injured starting left guard Kyle Kosier.
Adding insult to injury was the fact that the Cowboys created five turnovers in the contest—two of them gift-wrapped early in the first quarter deep in the Giants zone. Dallas was able to convert on both drives for a combined 10 points, but they did next to nothing with the remaining three turnovers.
Other glaring sore spots for Dallas included the breakdowns on both sides of the ball. The stats from Monday night’s game were ugly. While New York rushed for 200 yards and threw for 297 yards, Dallas was only able to muster 213 yards passing and a mere 41 yards rushing. Once Romo had left the game, the Giants defense forced the Cowboys to become one-dimensional and held them to zero points in the third quarter.
Granted, the G-Men got careless in the fourth quarter and allowed Kitna and the ‘Boys to stage a mini comeback with 15 unanswered points, but had New York closed out the game with the same intensity they showed in the second and third quarters, it would have been no contest.
Despite having big names on defense, the Cowboys gave up 497 total yards to the Giants and looked helpless in trying to slow down Manning after his initial rough start. Manning carved up Dallas’s secondary, completing 25-of-35 passes for 306 yards and four touchdowns. The Cowboys had no answer for Giants receivers Steve Smith (nine receptions for 101 yards, one touchdown) and Hakeem Nicks (nine receptions for 108 yards, two touchdowns).
As poor as the pass defense was, the run defense was equally inept. The Giants duo of running backs Ahmad Bradshaw (24 carries for 126 yards) and Brandon Jacobs (12 carries for 75 yards, one touchdown) punished Dallas’s defense, averaging a combined 5.4 yards per carry.
Whether the defense was drained or just simply overpowered by the Giants, or both, is up for debate. Regardless, for the remainder of the season the Cowboys ‘D’ will be relied upon to do much better because the offense will struggle at times without Romo.
Going hand-in-hand with the poor defense was the Cowboys’ anemic third down efficiency. Dallas was 0-for-10 on third downs. Again, with that many three-and-outs it puts the onus on the defense and forces them to remain on the field for longer than usual.
Other Notes
Special Teams looked greatly improved, most notably the play of rookie sensation Dez Bryant who returned a punt for 93 yards and a score at 8:53 in the second quarter.
Bryant also displayed incredible speed after the catch and hauled in two touchdowns to go along with his eye-popping punt return.
Despite any doldrums in Dallas, Bryant is something to look forward to for many years to come.
With the specter of a failed season looming, head coach Wade Phillips is likely on borrowed time. Cowboys’ owner Jerry Jones will likely hire a new coach to go along with his billion dollar stadium and high-profile roster—Bill Cowher or Jon Gruden come to mind.
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