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By Bob Sturm 11m ago
This Cowboys season was dead and gone as the calendar turned to November. We had been presented with another version of the Dallas Cowboys that simply did not measure up. They said all the right things and certainly inspired hope when they talked about what they wanted to be, but nothing developed like they said it would on those July days in California.
Mottos are catchy and sometimes they resonate. But we had seen little indication through battles in Carolina, Seattle, Houston, and Washington that this team had any idea how to finish fights. In fact, it often seemed like they knew how to do just enough to lose. It was an incredibly frustrating script, where the team would spend most second halves looking far more lost than they were early on.
Something clicked in Philadelphia on November 11th. And then again in Atlanta on November 18th. And yet again against Washington on Thanksgiving day. And the Saints. And the Eagles again. In all of those games, the Cowboys’ path to victory was simple — win the championship rounds.
They started winning in the fourth quarter. The Cowboys were entering the last few rounds of a massive fight and somehow figuring out solutions to their problems. Whether it was putting up points, making key stops, or both, the Dallas Cowboys were figuring out the final hour of a three-hour battle. They were no longer going quietly into the night with a trail of tears and frustration.
Rather, they started putting scoring drives together. They started shutting down games with big takeaways and making huge stands.
In other words, they were finding ways to win and then following those paths to victories. They were, in effect, finally living up to their motto and finishing the fight.
Last night, in their biggest game of the season, that exact model reappeared. Two teams meet, and one has absolutely tried to build something as physical and as dominating as their guests. The sides spend several hours punishing each other and fighting for every inch. Skirmishes take place all over the field and the toll taken on the bodies is sometimes too much to watch twice. This was as physical an affair as you can imagine. It likely demonstrates why teams that play in the wild-card round seldom survive through a Super Bowl. Being asked to play while your next opponent sips cocoa is an absurd disadvantage. The Rams and Saints certainly earned their privilege, along with the right to host during the next round. But you could see all night that the survivor of this Dallas-Seattle street-fight was going to be wearing the bruises to their next affair.
In the end, however, like those games that helped the Cowboys get to this division title and the opportunity to host a playoff game, they did not have things sorted entering the fourth quarter. Not by any stretch. They trailed 14-10, the offense was eight drives into their make-or-break performance and had five punts, a missed field goal, and 10 points to show for it. The opening drive of the game was decent, the final drive of the half was huge, but otherwise, the disposition, execution, and conservatism of this Jason Garrett/Scott Linehan offense suggested that they just wanted to get to the final 15 minutes with a chance to win. Their first 46 plays on offense sought very little adventure and seemed more like an exercise in avoiding turnovers than one to maximize points.
That particular style of offense did nothing to calm the nerves of the 94,000 fans on hand last night. In fact, that style does very little to make the offense look comfortable. For now, though — and maybe as long as Jason Garrett is the head coach — this is the style they choose to play. They wish to ask the opponent to join them in a slug-fest on both sides of the ball, where Dallas believes they can win the line of scrimmage in both directions. Perhaps it is the early rounds of the fight where they work the body and soften the resolve of their opponent, knowing what lies ahead in the final round. In the fourth quarter.
Tim Heitman-USA TODAY Sports
Whatever the reason, when the switch flips to the final quarter and football players at every level throw four fingers in the air, the 2018 Dallas Cowboys find another level. Maybe the fact that they are one of the youngest teams in football helps them dig a little deeper, finding a little more juice or power left to make that final play. We can debate how it happens, but it is definitely happening. In this unlikely two-month stretch of fantastic football that has salvaged everything from the season to perhaps the Jason Garrett coaching era, the Cowboys rose up. And last night was a perfect encapsulation of that stretch. They went to the fourth quarter down 14-10 and left with the “W.” This has happened too many times to suggest it is a coincidence.
These Cowboys know how to win games, and their recipe seems largely based on blasting you in the mouth with all of their might until you no longer can hold on. Saturday night, the freight train known as Ezekiel Elliott and his QB sidekick Dak Prescott led the Cowboys. And they were the last team standing.
Make no mistake, those Seahawks are incredibly worthy adversaries. You only feel comfortable declaring victory over Russell Wilson only when the clock has reached zero. He proved yet again last night that the only force capable of slowing him down is a coaching staff that repeatedly runs into a brick wall. If you have serious questions about the blatant conservatism in the Cowboys’ offensive brain trust, take a look at the Seahawks model. Yes, it did get them to this point of the season, so our outcome-based logic can offer some blanket of protection for Pete Carroll and Brian Schottenheimer to a point. But last night, Seattle walked into AT&T Stadium believing they had the best playmaker in the building playing QB, and yet they seemed to only use his ridiculous accuracy on downfield throws as a last resort. 166 of his 233 passing yards came on five dime throws downfield that made you shake your head in disbelief. Beyond that, Seattle seemed to limit his day to an incredibly pedestrian: 13 for 22 for 67 yards. He was their only chance and thankfully, Seattle wasn’t going to deviate much from their season-long plan even though the Cowboys stonewalled just about every run Seattle tried. Over this three game series in the last 13 months, the Cowboys have faced 93 Seattle running plays for just 262 yards (2.8 yards a carry).
Jerome Miron-USA TODAY Sports
Down by four points, the Cowboys needed to generate some late offense. We assume that the simple change of direction did not inspire the team to seek out Amari Cooper downfield or finally give in to the popular idea of Prescott using his legs to find opportunities, but both things happened in the fourth quarter. That final frame featured only two Prescott completions, but they both went to Cooper for 61 of his 106 total yards. His acquisition is a huge reason reason this team is still playing, and he has proven to be the dominant No. 1 wide receiver that they needed. This was his tenth game as a Cowboy, and his line here (60 catches, 831 yards, six touchdowns) has already matched Dez Bryant’s entire 16-game 2017 campaign (69 catches, 838 yards, six touchdowns). He has been well worth his price, and is even younger than Prescott.
The first of Prescott’s late completions was a 34-yard strike into a soft secondary that was cleared out by Blake Jarwin and led to the Cowboys’ first touchdown of the second half. The second came off a lovely play-action fake design that went for 27 yards. He was, however, charged with an interception on another play-action throw to Noah Brown on which Seattle linebacker K.J. Wright seemed to clearly interfere, but drew no call. Wright ran through Brown on an underthrown pass as you will see happen in the secondary, but you surely never see the offender allowed to not only interfere, but then to keep the interception that he magnificently hauled in. It was absolutely worthy of a penalty, but a great play nevertheless. So great that it almost flipped the entire game on its ear. Instead of the Cowboys getting a first-and-goal near the end zone, the Seahawks took over with 9:34 to go, down just 17-14. At that moment, much of the stadium was visibly nervous.
Here we must once again credit the defense for standing tall. Seahawks right guard DJ Fluker deciding to run through Jaylon Smith from behind near the pile also didn’t help Seattle’s chances, as he drew an unnecessary roughness penalty that put Seattle in a deep hole that would only end in a punt. Like we saw in the game against New Orleans, the Cowboys’ defense and their stadium seemed to rise up in concert late, providing all the support needed to hold a score in place.
Dallas received the punt holding on to a three-point lead with 7:20 to play. The game was in their hands and they simply had to win the line of scrimmage for one more drive. We have certainly discussed at great length the issues with this offensive line; injuries and inexperience have knocked Dallas off its perch of 2014-2016, where the best offensive line in the league had stars on its helmets. Some may hold on to that belief, but it takes everything they have to run the football in a four-minute drill, especially against a front as good as Seattle’s.
However, between Elliott capping off his 169-yard evening, a few flags that went the Cowboys’ way (there is no way were the referees were letting KJ Wright get handsy twice), and the wisdom of staying in bounds, Dallas was now on the verge of closing the deal if they could cash in on one more red zone trip.
3rd and 14. 2:33 to go. Up just a field goal.
The Cowboys quarterback cannot go a day without every football enthusiast within 100 miles of The Star in Frisco questioning his credentials. He is the topic of conversation even when he shouldn’t be. He is reminded constantly about how this franchise has produced a Mount Rushmore of legendary QBs and that most of his own fans don’t believe he measures up. And yet, in situations like this, he has consistently figured out a way.
While I question the wisdom of settling in this spot with a QB draw because you are certainly begging Seattle to remain in the game if it doesn’t work, Dak Prescott made it work. He needed 14 yards, and as you watch replays you wonder how in the world he ever got close to that marker, let alone past it. Bobby Wagner is perhaps the best tackler in the NFL and he has him in his sights with six yards to spare. Yet Dak busts through Wagner’s arm tackle with the conviction of a man who will not be denied. He had plenty of help on this play and by the end, the Cowboys had moved the chains and won the night. It is a play we will remember for a long time.
A few minutes later, after Tyler Lockett busted loose yet again against a “safe” zone coverage for 53 yards, Cole Beasley fielded a awkward attempt at an onside kick to seal the first playoff win of the “21-4” era. The Cowboys have now won 33 of the 50 games since the start of the 2016 season and the draft that brought Elliott, Prescott, Jaylon Smith, Maliek Collins, and Anthony Brown all to town in one massive haul. They have won in this key spot against a team with a coach and quarterback who can boast of a stronger resume than any NFC contender over the last decade.
The Cowboys will now nurse their injuries and rally for a chance to win in the divisional round for the first time since January 7, 1996. They will be substantial underdogs next week and will need something pretty special to keep their season alive, but we will have plenty of time to figure that out once their opponent is decided.
For now, in what is most certainly the final home game of a season where they went 8-1 at AT&T Stadium, it is appropriate to credit them for living up to their own motto.
On Saturday night, like so many others in these last two months, they did finish the fight. They did outlast their opponent. They did land the last scoring blows. In other words, there is nothing flukey about their wins. They have a very basic recipe they follow very well, and they proved they could do it in the post-season.
They play winning football these days. And last night, they finished another fight.
