| Close Calls |
| NFL – Winning Means Finishing |
| by Scott Tejerian |
| An early Odyssey of the 2005 Dallas Cowboys and Why They are Meant to Lose. |
The Dallas Cowboys have made some marked improvements since Bill Parcells took over as the coach in 2003, making the playoffs his first year at 10-6. Though last year they took a step back with a 6-10 record, this year, with the addition of Drew Bledsoe at QB, 2005 looked like the year they would be primed to take two steps forward.
Following a three game winning streak versus the Cardinals, the Eagles and the Lions, many were even calling the Cowboys the mid-season favorite to win the NFC East, a bold statement for a team that does not know how to finish games. Thanksgiving brings the annual Dallas Cowboys game - this year they would face a tough opponent in the Denver Broncos, against whom the Cowboys would again prove that when the pressure is on, they crack.
Week 2 on Monday Night, I was nearly asleep on my couch from boredom as I watched the Cowboys methodically beat the Washington Redskins 13-0, until suddenly, like a slap in the face, the Redskins woke me up with two Mark Brunell touchdown passes to Santana Moss of 39 and 70 yards in the final 3:46 of the game to win 14-13.
Week 7, the Cowboys led early in the 4th Quarter 10-3 verses the Seattle Seahawks, only to give up a touchdown to Seattle with 1:26 left in the game, leaving the score tied 10-10. Bledsoe led the Cowboys down the field hoping to get them into field goal range to break the tie before the end of regulation. Instead, with 14 seconds left in the game, Bledsoe threw an interception to Jordan Babineaux who returned it 25 yards to the Dallas 32, setting up a Josh Brown game winning 50-yard field goal to win the game for Seattle 13-10.
Already on their second kicker of the year, having fired the first, Dallas relied on Billy Cundiff to kick a fairly automatic 34-yard field goal that would have put the Cowboys up 24-21 in the 4th quarter. Instead, he missed, taking the game into overtime, breathing new life into the Denver Broncos and running back Ron Dayne, the wayward, underachieving Heisman Trophy winner, who broke out with a 55-yard run in overtime to set up a 24-yard game winning field goal for Denver kicker, Jason Elam.
For those of you keeping score, that’s three losses by a total of 7 points that the Dallas Cowboys should have never allowed to happen. Yes, they have a good team and yes, they’re losing close games - but the problem remains that they cannot finish games, and until the Cowboys prove they have what it takes to finish games, do not expect them to finish on top of the NFC East. |
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