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The Cowboys have 10 days to address some major plot holes before they host the Los Angeles Rams at AT&T Stadium.
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Dallas Cowboys quarterback Dak Prescott (4) tries to get off a pass as he is hit by Chicago Bears outside linebacker Aaron Lynch (99), resulting in a ruling of intentional grounding, during the second half of an NFL football game at Soldier Field on Thursday, Dec. 5, 2019, in Chicago. (Smiley N. Pool/The Dallas Morning News)(Smiley N. Pool / Staff Photographer)
By Michael Gehlken
12:30 AM on Dec 6, 2019
CHICAGO — Jerry Jones wants a storybook season.
Right now, he knows, the plot is too repetitive.
“It’s leveled out here,” Jones said Thursday. “It’s losing, losing, losing. I’m not trying to be funny here, but the point is that we’ve got a win a football game. I don’t care what the standings are. I don’t care what the numbers are.”
Once upon the time, the Cowboys traveled to Illinois and were shellacked at Soldier Field. They failed to convert nine straight third downs after opening with four straight conversions. They missed another makeable field goal. They finally forced turnovers that comically made no tangible difference in a 31-24 loss to the Bears.
This is not the Brothers Grimm fable that Jones envisioned.
It’s just grim.
Maybe one day, this saga suddenly turns as the Cowboys hope. They stay the course. No coaches on their staff are fired midseason. No kicker is cut. They keep chipping away, win a weak NFC East and manage to get hot in January.
Maybe.
But today, that sure seems like a tall tale.
Today, it’s difficult to imagine that status quo is the protagonist in Jones’ story. It hasn’t been to date.
Dazed and confused: Not only are the Cowboys lost, they don’t seem to have anything left to give
Brett Maher became the first NFL kicker in four seasons to miss 10 field goals in the same season. Most concerning is the distance at which he has missed. A 42-yarder sailed wide right Thursday in the second quarter. He is now 1-of-5 from between 40 and 49 yards.
He also misfired on a directional kickoff. That sailed out of bounds for an illegal procedure.
“There’s a lot of football left,” Maher said Thursday. “The team is obviously not where we want to be. I feel like I’ve left a few out there, too. Just keep moving forward.”
But should there be a lot of football left for Maher on this team?
Should major changes be made somewhere?
The Cowboys have 10 days until they host the Los Angeles Rams at AT&T Stadium. During this period, perhaps, they can decide if they’re right to believe the current process will right itself or explore whether they are veering dangerously into the territory of expecting a different result by repeating the same action.
Dallas, after all, has lost three straight and seven of 10.
“We’ve got to start showing our fans, but more importantly ourselves, that we can do the things to win the games,” Jones said. “It’s hard to do it when you’re extending possessions and you make mistakes on third down. It’s hard to do it when you create penalties. It’s hard to do it when you miss field goals that, the last two games, have shown up. We got down there at the end and looked up and we had a chance, potentially. But we really would’ve had a chance both of the last two games if we kicked our field goals.
“Well, that’s ‘if’ stuff. We’re not playing well enough to actually get close enough so at the end of the game we could actually tie one or win it at the last minute. You’ve got to be able to do it in the NFL. We’re not doing that right now. We’re not a team that’s capable of doing that. We’ve got to see if we can get it together for the Rams.”
Yes. We shall see on Dec. 15.
But what before then? What will change?
Maher said repeatedly Thursday that he feels “fine” and isn’t concerned about whether he will lose his job. The Cowboys worked out three free-agent kickers this week before electing to stick with Maher.
“I feel like I did a good job staying in my lane this week,” Maher said. “I feel like I hit every ball pretty well tonight. I’ll put my head on the pillow tonight feeling good about what I did this week and moving forward.”
It’s difficult to imagine everyone leaves this Cowboys season happily ever after.
Dallas Cowboys quarterback Dak Prescott (4) tries to get off a pass as he is hit by Chicago Bears outside linebacker Aaron Lynch (99), resulting in a ruling of intentional grounding, during the second half of an NFL football game at Soldier Field on Thursday, Dec. 5, 2019, in Chicago. (Smiley N. Pool/The Dallas Morning News)(Smiley N. Pool / Staff Photographer)
By Michael Gehlken
12:30 AM on Dec 6, 2019
CHICAGO — Jerry Jones wants a storybook season.
Right now, he knows, the plot is too repetitive.
“It’s leveled out here,” Jones said Thursday. “It’s losing, losing, losing. I’m not trying to be funny here, but the point is that we’ve got a win a football game. I don’t care what the standings are. I don’t care what the numbers are.”
Once upon the time, the Cowboys traveled to Illinois and were shellacked at Soldier Field. They failed to convert nine straight third downs after opening with four straight conversions. They missed another makeable field goal. They finally forced turnovers that comically made no tangible difference in a 31-24 loss to the Bears.
This is not the Brothers Grimm fable that Jones envisioned.
It’s just grim.
Maybe one day, this saga suddenly turns as the Cowboys hope. They stay the course. No coaches on their staff are fired midseason. No kicker is cut. They keep chipping away, win a weak NFC East and manage to get hot in January.
Maybe.
But today, that sure seems like a tall tale.
Today, it’s difficult to imagine that status quo is the protagonist in Jones’ story. It hasn’t been to date.
Dazed and confused: Not only are the Cowboys lost, they don’t seem to have anything left to give
Brett Maher became the first NFL kicker in four seasons to miss 10 field goals in the same season. Most concerning is the distance at which he has missed. A 42-yarder sailed wide right Thursday in the second quarter. He is now 1-of-5 from between 40 and 49 yards.
He also misfired on a directional kickoff. That sailed out of bounds for an illegal procedure.
“There’s a lot of football left,” Maher said Thursday. “The team is obviously not where we want to be. I feel like I’ve left a few out there, too. Just keep moving forward.”
But should there be a lot of football left for Maher on this team?
Should major changes be made somewhere?
The Cowboys have 10 days until they host the Los Angeles Rams at AT&T Stadium. During this period, perhaps, they can decide if they’re right to believe the current process will right itself or explore whether they are veering dangerously into the territory of expecting a different result by repeating the same action.
Dallas, after all, has lost three straight and seven of 10.
“We’ve got to start showing our fans, but more importantly ourselves, that we can do the things to win the games,” Jones said. “It’s hard to do it when you’re extending possessions and you make mistakes on third down. It’s hard to do it when you create penalties. It’s hard to do it when you miss field goals that, the last two games, have shown up. We got down there at the end and looked up and we had a chance, potentially. But we really would’ve had a chance both of the last two games if we kicked our field goals.
“Well, that’s ‘if’ stuff. We’re not playing well enough to actually get close enough so at the end of the game we could actually tie one or win it at the last minute. You’ve got to be able to do it in the NFL. We’re not doing that right now. We’re not a team that’s capable of doing that. We’ve got to see if we can get it together for the Rams.”
Yes. We shall see on Dec. 15.
But what before then? What will change?
Maher said repeatedly Thursday that he feels “fine” and isn’t concerned about whether he will lose his job. The Cowboys worked out three free-agent kickers this week before electing to stick with Maher.
“I feel like I did a good job staying in my lane this week,” Maher said. “I feel like I hit every ball pretty well tonight. I’ll put my head on the pillow tonight feeling good about what I did this week and moving forward.”
It’s difficult to imagine everyone leaves this Cowboys season happily ever after.