- Joined
- Apr 7, 2013
- Messages
- 120,189
Cowboys master art of the comeback
Cowboys emerge from mediocrity and blown leads with winning expectations
Updated: December 15, 2014, 3:17 AM ET
By Jean-Jacques Taylor | ESPNDallas.com
PHILADELPHIA -- The music blared from the back of the Dallas Cowboys' locker room, where several defensive starters rapped in unison.
The Cowboys, winners of consecutive December road games, were celebrating the season's most important win in a month known much more for recent Cowboys failures than successes.
But this wasn't a giddy locker room in which the players were surprised by their success; this was more about a quiet satisfaction that accompanies a job well done because they had prepared to win.
"This team feels like we should win," quarterback Tony Romo said. "Part of it is growth and due to experience and having success. We get in these games, we feel very comfortable because we have multiple people we can rely on to do their job play in and play out."
Orlando Scandrick, emerging as this defense's heartbeat, sat on a wooden stool in front of his locker trying to figure out whether the Cowboys could still get the No. 1 overall seed.
Wow.
The Cowboys, a team picked by most knowledgeable prognosticators to finish below .500 after three straight 8-8 seasons, have won 10 games for the first time since 2009 and lead the NFC East by one game over the Philadelphia Eagles.
It's enough to make you wonder if we're living in an alternate universe.
Dallas 38, Philadelphia 27.
The Cowboys don't need any help to make the playoffs. If they beat the Indianapolis Colts on Sunday and Washington Redskins in the final game, they'll win the NFC East title for the first time since 2009.
But if they lose either one of their final two games, the Cowboys could miss the playoffs despite an 11-5 record.
The Cowboys don't need help to make the playoffs because coach Jason Garrett has taught this team to fight every play of every game, and he has convinced them that fighting through adversity is part of every game.
The Cowboys, who led 21-0 four seconds into the second quarter, trailed for the first time, 24-21, on a 1-yard touchdown run by Darren Sproles midway through the third quarter.
This is when we've seen countless Cowboys teams fade since Garrett became the head coach eight games into the 2010 season.
This team has proved it's different.
It rallied from 21-0 to beat the St. Louis Rams in Week 3, it rallied from 10-0 to beat the Seattle Seahawks in Week 6 and it rallied from 21-10 to beat the New York Giants last month.
Each occurred on the road, so there was no panic when Romo led his team onto the field, and he didn't deliver any motivational speeches on the sideline or in the huddle.
"In Seattle, they came back. We were on the road. They were hooting and hollering, and the place was going crazy," Romo said. "You put your head down and go execute.
"You gotta make some plays and [a] couple of guys have to step up, but you don't let whole environment and the way things have gone affect you."
The Cowboys drove 78 yards in eight plays, silencing the rowdy throng of foul-mouthed Eagles fans, on a 2-yard run by DeMarco Murray to take a 28-24 lead.
Then, the defense, which had yielded four straight scoring drives, forced a turnover.
J.J. Wilcox made a juggling deflection of a tipped pass at the Philadelphia 40. Four plays later, Bryant caught a 25-yard touchdown pass -- his third of the game -- as the Cowboys took a 35-24 lead.
The Cowboys blew a 26-3 halftime lead at home to the Green Bay Packers last season in a game quarterback Aaron Rodgers didn't play, and they had blown a fourth-quarter lead on several occasions under Garrett because they didn't play the game the right way.
Now they do.
Murray finished with 81 yards on 31 carries. He carried eight times for 12 yards in the fourth quarter, milking precious time off the clock.
The Cowboys kept the ball for 41:55 minutes and limited Philadelphia's offense to 54 plays. Philadelphia ran 77 plays in its 33-10 win over Dallas on Thanksgiving Day.
A rested defense contributed three sacks and two turnovers in the fourth quarter.
Enigmatic linebacker Bruce Carter's leaping interception with 1:57 left ended Philadelphia's final drive.
When it was over, Garrett shook a few hands and hugged Carter before playfully slapping him on the side of his helmet. Romo held the game ball snugly and fist-bumped a couple of teammates, but there was virtually no pomp and circumstance.
A quiet confidence exists within this team. These Cowboys expected to win, and they acted like it when the game ended.
Cowboys emerge from mediocrity and blown leads with winning expectations
Updated: December 15, 2014, 3:17 AM ET
By Jean-Jacques Taylor | ESPNDallas.com
PHILADELPHIA -- The music blared from the back of the Dallas Cowboys' locker room, where several defensive starters rapped in unison.
The Cowboys, winners of consecutive December road games, were celebrating the season's most important win in a month known much more for recent Cowboys failures than successes.
But this wasn't a giddy locker room in which the players were surprised by their success; this was more about a quiet satisfaction that accompanies a job well done because they had prepared to win.
"This team feels like we should win," quarterback Tony Romo said. "Part of it is growth and due to experience and having success. We get in these games, we feel very comfortable because we have multiple people we can rely on to do their job play in and play out."
Orlando Scandrick, emerging as this defense's heartbeat, sat on a wooden stool in front of his locker trying to figure out whether the Cowboys could still get the No. 1 overall seed.
Wow.
The Cowboys, a team picked by most knowledgeable prognosticators to finish below .500 after three straight 8-8 seasons, have won 10 games for the first time since 2009 and lead the NFC East by one game over the Philadelphia Eagles.
It's enough to make you wonder if we're living in an alternate universe.
Dallas 38, Philadelphia 27.
The Cowboys don't need any help to make the playoffs. If they beat the Indianapolis Colts on Sunday and Washington Redskins in the final game, they'll win the NFC East title for the first time since 2009.
But if they lose either one of their final two games, the Cowboys could miss the playoffs despite an 11-5 record.
The Cowboys don't need help to make the playoffs because coach Jason Garrett has taught this team to fight every play of every game, and he has convinced them that fighting through adversity is part of every game.
The Cowboys, who led 21-0 four seconds into the second quarter, trailed for the first time, 24-21, on a 1-yard touchdown run by Darren Sproles midway through the third quarter.
This is when we've seen countless Cowboys teams fade since Garrett became the head coach eight games into the 2010 season.
This team has proved it's different.
It rallied from 21-0 to beat the St. Louis Rams in Week 3, it rallied from 10-0 to beat the Seattle Seahawks in Week 6 and it rallied from 21-10 to beat the New York Giants last month.
Each occurred on the road, so there was no panic when Romo led his team onto the field, and he didn't deliver any motivational speeches on the sideline or in the huddle.
"In Seattle, they came back. We were on the road. They were hooting and hollering, and the place was going crazy," Romo said. "You put your head down and go execute.
"You gotta make some plays and [a] couple of guys have to step up, but you don't let whole environment and the way things have gone affect you."
The Cowboys drove 78 yards in eight plays, silencing the rowdy throng of foul-mouthed Eagles fans, on a 2-yard run by DeMarco Murray to take a 28-24 lead.
Then, the defense, which had yielded four straight scoring drives, forced a turnover.
J.J. Wilcox made a juggling deflection of a tipped pass at the Philadelphia 40. Four plays later, Bryant caught a 25-yard touchdown pass -- his third of the game -- as the Cowboys took a 35-24 lead.
The Cowboys blew a 26-3 halftime lead at home to the Green Bay Packers last season in a game quarterback Aaron Rodgers didn't play, and they had blown a fourth-quarter lead on several occasions under Garrett because they didn't play the game the right way.
Now they do.
Murray finished with 81 yards on 31 carries. He carried eight times for 12 yards in the fourth quarter, milking precious time off the clock.
The Cowboys kept the ball for 41:55 minutes and limited Philadelphia's offense to 54 plays. Philadelphia ran 77 plays in its 33-10 win over Dallas on Thanksgiving Day.
A rested defense contributed three sacks and two turnovers in the fourth quarter.
Enigmatic linebacker Bruce Carter's leaping interception with 1:57 left ended Philadelphia's final drive.
When it was over, Garrett shook a few hands and hugged Carter before playfully slapping him on the side of his helmet. Romo held the game ball snugly and fist-bumped a couple of teammates, but there was virtually no pomp and circumstance.
A quiet confidence exists within this team. These Cowboys expected to win, and they acted like it when the game ended.