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Moore: Surreal loss hurts Jason Garrett; Jerry Jones 'mad as hell'
12:51 AM CST on Sunday, December 26, 2010
DAVID MOORE
GLENDALE, Ariz. – The Cowboys did not stack one good day on top of another.
David Moore
E-mail | Cowboys blog
They were not focused when it mattered most.
While they did fight through adversity – another key component in the mantra of interim coach Jason Garrett – it didn't matter because they insisted on making the mistakes they did this Christmas evening.
A team on the verge of a stirring comeback victory behind third-team quarterback Stephen McGee found yet another way to lose on the simplest of plays.
David Buehler, who kicked two game-winning field goals in the previous three games, missed an extra point late in the fourth quarter to leave the door open for Arizona . The Cowboys defense then allowed the Cardinals to crack that door open wide enough for Jay Feely to kick a 48-yard field goal with five seconds left for a 27-26 victory.
This is not a loss Garrett can afford as he tries to persuade owner Jerry Jones that he should be the team's coach moving forward. The team had a strong initial response to Garrett and is 4-3 since he took over for Wade Phillips.
But the Cowboys have now lost two of their last three games with a road game in Philadelphia next week to mercifully end this regular season.
This was easily the most disappointing loss since Garrett assumed control. Arizona had lost eight of its previous nine games and was down to rookie quarterback John Skelton.
"We're sitting here, a 10-loss team," Jones said. "That team we just lost to has five wins.
"I'm mad as hell and I know all of our fans are."
Focus. Discipline. Protecting the ball. None of what Garrett constantly preaches was evident for the Cowboys in the opening half of this game at the University of Phoenix Stadium.
Jon Kitna's first pass of the evening was picked off by Dominique Rodgers-Cromartie and returned 32 yards for a touchdown. His sixth pass of the evening was slightly behind Roy Williams. Cornerback Greg Toler returned it 66 yards for a touchdown.
The lead mushroomed to 21-3 early in the second quarter when rookie Andre Roberts burned the Cowboys secondary for a 74-yard touchdown.
It marked the seventh consecutive game that the Cowboys defense has given up a pass play of 40 or more yards.
The Cowboys would lose Kitna to a strained left oblique for the second half, but they would regain their balance.
The running game was strong with Felix Jones and Marion Barber. McGee, getting his first regular-season snaps, didn't turn the ball over and made some plays.
A powerful 24-yard run by Barber late in third quarter capped a run of 17 unanswered points and pulled the Cowboys within one point at 21-20. The Cardinals came right back and pushed their lead to four points on a Feely field goal.
Enter Miles Austin.
The Cowboys' lead receiver had suffered through a frustrating evening. He fell on the out route that led to the Cardinals first pick six. He dropped three passes, including one in the end zone.
"I can mess up really bad," Austin said. "I get down on myself. I do sometimes. Really hard.
"But you have to shake it off."
It appeared Austin had atoned for those mistakes when he got behind the Arizona secondary for a 37-yard touchdown from McGee in the final two minutes. All the Cowboys needed was an extra point for a three-point lead.
That's when Buehler rushed the kick and missed it.
"I don't even fathom missing an extra point," Jones said.
The Cowboys still had a chance to close the Cardinals out. But on fourth-and-15, Skelton found Larry Fitzgerald for the first time all evening for 26 yards and the first down.
Five plays later, Feely kicked the winning field goal.
"There's nothing prettier than beating the Dallas Cowboys on Christmas Day," Skelton said.
The Cowboys have now lost on Christmas. They have lost on Thanksgiving.
Heck, they even lost on Halloween.
"An ending like that is just surreal," tight end Jason Witten said. "It seems like it's happened a lot."
Close, but not enough
The Cowboys could be 7-0 in the Jason Garrett era, but they are 4-3 with the three losses by a combined seven points. A look at what happened in each loss.
Nov. 25 vs. New Orleans – The Cowboys led 27-23 with 3:03 to play, and it seemed like they had the game wrapped up when Jon Kitna hooked up with Roy Williams on a 47-yard gain to the New Orleans 11. But Williams fumbled, and five plays later, the Saints scored. New Orleans won, 30-27.
Dec. 12 vs. Philadelphia – The Cowboys led, 20-17, in the fourth quarter before a pair of field goals and a 91-yard DeSean Jackson touchdown catch doomed them in a 30-27 loss.
Dec. 25 at Arizona – David Buehler missed an extra point with 1:41 to play, leaving the door open for a Cardinals field goal to win it. Nine plays later, Jay Feely connected on a 48-yard field goal with 10 seconds remaining to give Arizona a 27-26 win.
• • •
12:51 AM CST on Sunday, December 26, 2010
DAVID MOORE
GLENDALE, Ariz. – The Cowboys did not stack one good day on top of another.
David Moore
E-mail | Cowboys blog
They were not focused when it mattered most.
While they did fight through adversity – another key component in the mantra of interim coach Jason Garrett – it didn't matter because they insisted on making the mistakes they did this Christmas evening.
A team on the verge of a stirring comeback victory behind third-team quarterback Stephen McGee found yet another way to lose on the simplest of plays.
David Buehler, who kicked two game-winning field goals in the previous three games, missed an extra point late in the fourth quarter to leave the door open for Arizona . The Cowboys defense then allowed the Cardinals to crack that door open wide enough for Jay Feely to kick a 48-yard field goal with five seconds left for a 27-26 victory.
This is not a loss Garrett can afford as he tries to persuade owner Jerry Jones that he should be the team's coach moving forward. The team had a strong initial response to Garrett and is 4-3 since he took over for Wade Phillips.
But the Cowboys have now lost two of their last three games with a road game in Philadelphia next week to mercifully end this regular season.
This was easily the most disappointing loss since Garrett assumed control. Arizona had lost eight of its previous nine games and was down to rookie quarterback John Skelton.
"We're sitting here, a 10-loss team," Jones said. "That team we just lost to has five wins.
"I'm mad as hell and I know all of our fans are."
Focus. Discipline. Protecting the ball. None of what Garrett constantly preaches was evident for the Cowboys in the opening half of this game at the University of Phoenix Stadium.
Jon Kitna's first pass of the evening was picked off by Dominique Rodgers-Cromartie and returned 32 yards for a touchdown. His sixth pass of the evening was slightly behind Roy Williams. Cornerback Greg Toler returned it 66 yards for a touchdown.
The lead mushroomed to 21-3 early in the second quarter when rookie Andre Roberts burned the Cowboys secondary for a 74-yard touchdown.
It marked the seventh consecutive game that the Cowboys defense has given up a pass play of 40 or more yards.
The Cowboys would lose Kitna to a strained left oblique for the second half, but they would regain their balance.
The running game was strong with Felix Jones and Marion Barber. McGee, getting his first regular-season snaps, didn't turn the ball over and made some plays.
A powerful 24-yard run by Barber late in third quarter capped a run of 17 unanswered points and pulled the Cowboys within one point at 21-20. The Cardinals came right back and pushed their lead to four points on a Feely field goal.
Enter Miles Austin.
The Cowboys' lead receiver had suffered through a frustrating evening. He fell on the out route that led to the Cardinals first pick six. He dropped three passes, including one in the end zone.
"I can mess up really bad," Austin said. "I get down on myself. I do sometimes. Really hard.
"But you have to shake it off."
It appeared Austin had atoned for those mistakes when he got behind the Arizona secondary for a 37-yard touchdown from McGee in the final two minutes. All the Cowboys needed was an extra point for a three-point lead.
That's when Buehler rushed the kick and missed it.
"I don't even fathom missing an extra point," Jones said.
The Cowboys still had a chance to close the Cardinals out. But on fourth-and-15, Skelton found Larry Fitzgerald for the first time all evening for 26 yards and the first down.
Five plays later, Feely kicked the winning field goal.
"There's nothing prettier than beating the Dallas Cowboys on Christmas Day," Skelton said.
The Cowboys have now lost on Christmas. They have lost on Thanksgiving.
Heck, they even lost on Halloween.
"An ending like that is just surreal," tight end Jason Witten said. "It seems like it's happened a lot."
Close, but not enough
The Cowboys could be 7-0 in the Jason Garrett era, but they are 4-3 with the three losses by a combined seven points. A look at what happened in each loss.
Nov. 25 vs. New Orleans – The Cowboys led 27-23 with 3:03 to play, and it seemed like they had the game wrapped up when Jon Kitna hooked up with Roy Williams on a 47-yard gain to the New Orleans 11. But Williams fumbled, and five plays later, the Saints scored. New Orleans won, 30-27.
Dec. 12 vs. Philadelphia – The Cowboys led, 20-17, in the fourth quarter before a pair of field goals and a 91-yard DeSean Jackson touchdown catch doomed them in a 30-27 loss.
Dec. 25 at Arizona – David Buehler missed an extra point with 1:41 to play, leaving the door open for a Cardinals field goal to win it. Nine plays later, Jay Feely connected on a 48-yard field goal with 10 seconds remaining to give Arizona a 27-26 win.
• • •
