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The Morning After Week 18 - They Left No Doubt
Dallas encountered early stumbles, react appropriately and drill Washington.
BOB STURM
JAN 8, 2024
The Dallas Cowboys fan experience is a topic that I follow with great interest and have since 1998.
Heck, I might not just follow it, I might actually run a newsletter for those who experience it to provide a community where shared experiences assist in navigating these waters.
Regardless, through this enterprise as well as my actual day job, I hear from hundreds of Cowboys fans every week. Hundreds. And I know how you feel, because many of you tell me. So, by extension, I get it.
I realize you have been in the desert a long time and because of that time wandering around with no destination, I get that many of you believe that this is where you will always be.
But, there have been a lot of signs during the 2023 season that tell us they are much closer to exiting the wilderness than they have been in a long time. They do things as a football team and as an organization that are not “typical Cowboys.”
These guys are much better positioned and much better equipped than previous iterations of Cowboys football that I remember.
So much so that whoever claimed to me that honoring Jimmy Johnson in the Ring of Honor on Dec. 30, might have been the successful unlocking of the Cowboys Curse (the alleged mysterious force that has sabotaged them for over 25 years or so) needs to be properly recognized.
They might actually be on to something.
Think about it, Jimmy stood at midfield on Saturday Night and yelled “How ‘Bout Them Cowboys!” at the top of his lungs (perhaps to undo the mystic spell) while surrounded by all the living Cowboys legends. That happened 9 days ago. Since then, we have had:
On Sunday, things had a chance to go in the wrong direction and at just the wrong time. They effectively handed Washington a lead thanks to two short fields off some errors that felt pretty self-inflicted.
First, it was that blocked field goal late in the first quarter. This was even possible because of an amazing job by Jourdan Lewis to just rip the ball away from Brian Robinson in the splashiest of splash plays to get the defense hopping. We talked about this in the game preview, which I realize was not terribly unique to say, but I said it anyway:
Back to the blocked field goal that began about 30 minutes of indigestion on the live in-game chat thread we have here at #Sturmstack. It started to feel ominous before the game even started when Zack Martin was ill and they decided to hold him out and join the other standout guard Tyler Smith in sweatsuits.
Martin is not normally on field goals, but Smith definitely is. The shifting around in the last few weeks for these field goal units is a pretty normal procedure as players fall to injury, so this is not an excuse. But, we do wonder about the lack of continuity as the blocking scheme failed miserably on this key attempt late in the first quarter when Dallas had a real opportunity to take a double-digit lead and had converted every Brandon Aubrey field goal attempt of the entire season.
The breach was in the C-Gap from the left as Terence Steele was playing left tackle (his normal spot on these field goals) and center Tyler Biadasz was on his left as sort of a wing tight end. Steele blocked down and Biadasz blocked out, leaving an almost untouched Joshua Pryor to split them and consume the kick. Surely, Biadasz has been trained to always block to the inside, but I have not heard his explanation as to where the breakdown occurred. But, it sure did.
As we know, the terror of getting a kick blocked at any level of football is that there is generally nobody on the field who can run to tackle a convoy looking to scoop and score. Washington definitely had designs of running it all the way back for a touchdown, but great credit to Bryan Anger and Aubrey for slowing things down until Chauncey Golston could tackle the ball carrier, CB Jace Whittaker at the Dallas 20-yard line.
Yet, the Commanders had their lifeline and seven plays later Robinson caught a juggling fourth-down pass play in the end zone and the game was tied, 7-7.
Moments later, Dallas again has a promising drive sabotaged by a Jalen Harris-deflected pass that ended up as a gift interception for the Quan Martin and the Commanders who again were granted lovely field position.
Again, it is just Washington. But, I want to stop here and talk about the countless ominous moments in our memories where this type of road game – one that can only be called “easy” from a standpoint that the opponent would actually benefit by losing and the coaching staff would be fired at dawn – has gone the wrong direction. Heck, it happened a few times in the last few seasons.
But, the reason so many fans have so many issues with a “win and you are in” scenario is that they lived through the Jason Garrett era. They experienced this in 2011 and lost to the Giants. In 2012 and lost to the Redskins. And then 2013 and lost to the Eagles. It seemed to break so many that have still not returned from the 8-8, 8-8, 8-8 existence that prepared many to die in the desert.
Back to our story.
After the Zack Martin scratch, the blocked field goal, the fourth-down touchdown, and the tipped interception, you could sense a trend of moments that were beginning to put everyone in an uncomfortable posture. Dallas trailed 10-7 about 23 minutes into this game and it did not appear Washington was going to make anything easy.
They want to run their trick plays, go for it on every fourth down, and fire every bullet in their guns because they had no jobs left to play for. When you know you are getting executed in the morning, there is no reason to watch your calories in your final meal.
So, this was the pivot point of peril. This was the moment to find out whether Dak Prescott and the Cowboys are NFL grown-ups or if they are still unreliable and untrustworthy. In other words, this was the chance to establish whether the stress levels of adversity should still be enough to send everyone into a full-fledged panic.
I am happy to report what you already know. This 2023 team feels different than those who came before it. And I will best demonstrate from this “must-win” game how the next eight possessions went in the game:
It was business-like and professional. It was dominant and decisive. There was no question that this is a veteran team with guys who are prepared to take the game by the scruff of the neck and snuff out any hope from any upstarts in Week 18.
That definitely isn’t assurance of the end of the Super Bowl drought, but rather an establishing of who these guys are. They have grown up in a way that shows you they have learned from missteps and do not burst into tears if they hit a little resistance.
They have a coach who expects division titles and double-digit wins that earn playoff home games. The Cowboys depth isn’t just trusted by the coaches, but given the full keys to the car when an opportunity presents itself — they can’t wait for their chance to join in the fun.
They have a QB who is not here to cautiously tip-toe through a game. Rather he is looking to fire the ball all over the field and barely ever have the ball hit the ground from an incompletion as he smashes his way to victory. Four touchdowns and another brilliant Prescott performance that had his passer rating at 124.4 and cemented the single-highest rated season of his career.
He led the NFL in touchdown passes (36) and also with a +27 in TD/INT differential that verifies yet again that he is playing the best football of his career. You may recall my vote that they wait on talking business with Prescott until the 2023 season is done and he answered with a season that was a brilliant masterpiece. If there was any question about his future, we can imagine that his season has impressed even his harshest critics.
And yes, they have a defense that took Buffalo very seriously and has responded pretty well. Despite getting banged up, especially at cornerback, the defense has done a very fine job against Miami (22 points), Detroit (19), and Washington (10). Five takeaways and six sacks is not quite enough to alert the media to dominance, but I have liked the battle level and the overall pass pressure. They now get to play two playoff games on their home fast track and the pass rush should be able to lead them.
But, before we get lost in looking ahead – and yes, the path is pretty well determined to be two home games against young quality from the NFC North – I think it is important to appreciate every step of this journey.
Dallas has earned the No. 2 seed in the NFC and has won the NFC East. Neither of those should ever be minimized. They have won 12 games for the third straight season and are now 36-15 since 2021 with a staggering home record of 21-4. Since the start of 2022, they have won 16 straight games at AT&T Stadium.
They are confident and battle-tested. They felt a fly land on their head yesterday and crushed it with a sledge hammer. (in retrospect, I would like to suggest that you should always make sure the fly has left your head before you crush it with a sledge hammer.) They have accomplished a lot and still will be said to have accomplished nothing. They have simply put themselves in a position to play in their first NFC Championship Game since they won the 1995 version against … drum roll… the Green Bay Packers.
Look who happens to be coming to town to play a former Packers coach in the stadium where he once held a Lombardi Trophy he had just won?
This is going to be a wild week, but I would love to leave you with a quote from another Packers coach, Mike Holmgren. I will never forget that 1996 Green Bay team and the long road that took them years to finally get past the Dallas Cowboys dynasty and win their own championship after a 30-year pilgrimage through the desert.
He constantly, during that run, would tell his team something that has always stuck with me.
“Success is a journey, not a destination.”
It was explained this way: achieving success is not merely about reaching a specific goal or destination, but rather it is an ongoing journey that requires dedication, perseverance, and continuous growth. Success, in its true essence, is not a fixed endpoint that one can step into and declare themselves accomplished; it is a dynamic process of self-improvement and learning. Along the journey to success, individuals encounter numerous challenges and setbacks, which test their commitment and resilience. It is through embracing these obstacles and viewing them as opportunities for growth that true success is attained.
I think about that all the time with these Dallas Cowboys. They hear the noise. They know the doubts. But, through the eyes of some of their leaders, it seems like they get this premise, even if they haven’t put it into words. It is that moment when you learn to embrace these moments and prove you have learned from your rough experiences.
We shall soon see how far that journey takes them.
Until then, enjoy a picture that probably says 1,000 words.
Mike McCarthy and Dak Prescott celebrate a divisional title and what lies ahead - Getty Images
The playoffs are next.
Dallas encountered early stumbles, react appropriately and drill Washington.
BOB STURM
JAN 8, 2024
The Dallas Cowboys fan experience is a topic that I follow with great interest and have since 1998.
Heck, I might not just follow it, I might actually run a newsletter for those who experience it to provide a community where shared experiences assist in navigating these waters.
Regardless, through this enterprise as well as my actual day job, I hear from hundreds of Cowboys fans every week. Hundreds. And I know how you feel, because many of you tell me. So, by extension, I get it.
I realize you have been in the desert a long time and because of that time wandering around with no destination, I get that many of you believe that this is where you will always be.
But, there have been a lot of signs during the 2023 season that tell us they are much closer to exiting the wilderness than they have been in a long time. They do things as a football team and as an organization that are not “typical Cowboys.”
These guys are much better positioned and much better equipped than previous iterations of Cowboys football that I remember.
So much so that whoever claimed to me that honoring Jimmy Johnson in the Ring of Honor on Dec. 30, might have been the successful unlocking of the Cowboys Curse (the alleged mysterious force that has sabotaged them for over 25 years or so) needs to be properly recognized.
They might actually be on to something.
Think about it, Jimmy stood at midfield on Saturday Night and yelled “How ‘Bout Them Cowboys!” at the top of his lungs (perhaps to undo the mystic spell) while surrounded by all the living Cowboys legends. That happened 9 days ago. Since then, we have had:
- The end of the Detroit game that seemed to be the Cowboys extracting victory from the jaws of defeat as they were somehow aided by incompetent league officials.
- The entire Arizona pounding of Philadelphia in Philadelphia to put the second seed back in Dallas’ fortuitous hands.
- The Eagles taking huge pressure off Dallas by being down 24-0 at halftime to the New York Giants in Week 18’s simultaneous divisional games to decide the crown.
- Dallas weathering a blocked field goal, tipped interception, and many trick plays from Washington and never looking even slightly rattled. They just steamrolled a bad team with so much ease that the fourth quarter was merely to allow Fox to play all of their mandatory commercials.
On Sunday, things had a chance to go in the wrong direction and at just the wrong time. They effectively handed Washington a lead thanks to two short fields off some errors that felt pretty self-inflicted.
First, it was that blocked field goal late in the first quarter. This was even possible because of an amazing job by Jourdan Lewis to just rip the ball away from Brian Robinson in the splashiest of splash plays to get the defense hopping. We talked about this in the game preview, which I realize was not terribly unique to say, but I said it anyway:
Of course, 33-10 was way off! I meant 38-10.
Back to the blocked field goal that began about 30 minutes of indigestion on the live in-game chat thread we have here at #Sturmstack. It started to feel ominous before the game even started when Zack Martin was ill and they decided to hold him out and join the other standout guard Tyler Smith in sweatsuits.
Martin is not normally on field goals, but Smith definitely is. The shifting around in the last few weeks for these field goal units is a pretty normal procedure as players fall to injury, so this is not an excuse. But, we do wonder about the lack of continuity as the blocking scheme failed miserably on this key attempt late in the first quarter when Dallas had a real opportunity to take a double-digit lead and had converted every Brandon Aubrey field goal attempt of the entire season.
The breach was in the C-Gap from the left as Terence Steele was playing left tackle (his normal spot on these field goals) and center Tyler Biadasz was on his left as sort of a wing tight end. Steele blocked down and Biadasz blocked out, leaving an almost untouched Joshua Pryor to split them and consume the kick. Surely, Biadasz has been trained to always block to the inside, but I have not heard his explanation as to where the breakdown occurred. But, it sure did.
As we know, the terror of getting a kick blocked at any level of football is that there is generally nobody on the field who can run to tackle a convoy looking to scoop and score. Washington definitely had designs of running it all the way back for a touchdown, but great credit to Bryan Anger and Aubrey for slowing things down until Chauncey Golston could tackle the ball carrier, CB Jace Whittaker at the Dallas 20-yard line.
Yet, the Commanders had their lifeline and seven plays later Robinson caught a juggling fourth-down pass play in the end zone and the game was tied, 7-7.
Moments later, Dallas again has a promising drive sabotaged by a Jalen Harris-deflected pass that ended up as a gift interception for the Quan Martin and the Commanders who again were granted lovely field position.
Again, it is just Washington. But, I want to stop here and talk about the countless ominous moments in our memories where this type of road game – one that can only be called “easy” from a standpoint that the opponent would actually benefit by losing and the coaching staff would be fired at dawn – has gone the wrong direction. Heck, it happened a few times in the last few seasons.
But, the reason so many fans have so many issues with a “win and you are in” scenario is that they lived through the Jason Garrett era. They experienced this in 2011 and lost to the Giants. In 2012 and lost to the Redskins. And then 2013 and lost to the Eagles. It seemed to break so many that have still not returned from the 8-8, 8-8, 8-8 existence that prepared many to die in the desert.
Back to our story.
After the Zack Martin scratch, the blocked field goal, the fourth-down touchdown, and the tipped interception, you could sense a trend of moments that were beginning to put everyone in an uncomfortable posture. Dallas trailed 10-7 about 23 minutes into this game and it did not appear Washington was going to make anything easy.
They want to run their trick plays, go for it on every fourth down, and fire every bullet in their guns because they had no jobs left to play for. When you know you are getting executed in the morning, there is no reason to watch your calories in your final meal.
So, this was the pivot point of peril. This was the moment to find out whether Dak Prescott and the Cowboys are NFL grown-ups or if they are still unreliable and untrustworthy. In other words, this was the chance to establish whether the stress levels of adversity should still be enough to send everyone into a full-fledged panic.
I am happy to report what you already know. This 2023 team feels different than those who came before it. And I will best demonstrate from this “must-win” game how the next eight possessions went in the game:
- Dallas - Touchdown
- Washington - Interception
- Dallas - Touchdown
- Washington - kneel down
- Dallas - Touchdown
- Washington Blocked punt, turnover on downs
- Dallas - Touchdown
It was business-like and professional. It was dominant and decisive. There was no question that this is a veteran team with guys who are prepared to take the game by the scruff of the neck and snuff out any hope from any upstarts in Week 18.
That definitely isn’t assurance of the end of the Super Bowl drought, but rather an establishing of who these guys are. They have grown up in a way that shows you they have learned from missteps and do not burst into tears if they hit a little resistance.
They have a coach who expects division titles and double-digit wins that earn playoff home games. The Cowboys depth isn’t just trusted by the coaches, but given the full keys to the car when an opportunity presents itself — they can’t wait for their chance to join in the fun.
They have a QB who is not here to cautiously tip-toe through a game. Rather he is looking to fire the ball all over the field and barely ever have the ball hit the ground from an incompletion as he smashes his way to victory. Four touchdowns and another brilliant Prescott performance that had his passer rating at 124.4 and cemented the single-highest rated season of his career.
He led the NFL in touchdown passes (36) and also with a +27 in TD/INT differential that verifies yet again that he is playing the best football of his career. You may recall my vote that they wait on talking business with Prescott until the 2023 season is done and he answered with a season that was a brilliant masterpiece. If there was any question about his future, we can imagine that his season has impressed even his harshest critics.
And yes, they have a defense that took Buffalo very seriously and has responded pretty well. Despite getting banged up, especially at cornerback, the defense has done a very fine job against Miami (22 points), Detroit (19), and Washington (10). Five takeaways and six sacks is not quite enough to alert the media to dominance, but I have liked the battle level and the overall pass pressure. They now get to play two playoff games on their home fast track and the pass rush should be able to lead them.
But, before we get lost in looking ahead – and yes, the path is pretty well determined to be two home games against young quality from the NFC North – I think it is important to appreciate every step of this journey.
Dallas has earned the No. 2 seed in the NFC and has won the NFC East. Neither of those should ever be minimized. They have won 12 games for the third straight season and are now 36-15 since 2021 with a staggering home record of 21-4. Since the start of 2022, they have won 16 straight games at AT&T Stadium.
They are confident and battle-tested. They felt a fly land on their head yesterday and crushed it with a sledge hammer. (in retrospect, I would like to suggest that you should always make sure the fly has left your head before you crush it with a sledge hammer.) They have accomplished a lot and still will be said to have accomplished nothing. They have simply put themselves in a position to play in their first NFC Championship Game since they won the 1995 version against … drum roll… the Green Bay Packers.
Look who happens to be coming to town to play a former Packers coach in the stadium where he once held a Lombardi Trophy he had just won?
This is going to be a wild week, but I would love to leave you with a quote from another Packers coach, Mike Holmgren. I will never forget that 1996 Green Bay team and the long road that took them years to finally get past the Dallas Cowboys dynasty and win their own championship after a 30-year pilgrimage through the desert.
He constantly, during that run, would tell his team something that has always stuck with me.
“Success is a journey, not a destination.”
It was explained this way: achieving success is not merely about reaching a specific goal or destination, but rather it is an ongoing journey that requires dedication, perseverance, and continuous growth. Success, in its true essence, is not a fixed endpoint that one can step into and declare themselves accomplished; it is a dynamic process of self-improvement and learning. Along the journey to success, individuals encounter numerous challenges and setbacks, which test their commitment and resilience. It is through embracing these obstacles and viewing them as opportunities for growth that true success is attained.
I think about that all the time with these Dallas Cowboys. They hear the noise. They know the doubts. But, through the eyes of some of their leaders, it seems like they get this premise, even if they haven’t put it into words. It is that moment when you learn to embrace these moments and prove you have learned from your rough experiences.
We shall soon see how far that journey takes them.
Until then, enjoy a picture that probably says 1,000 words.
Mike McCarthy and Dak Prescott celebrate a divisional title and what lies ahead - Getty Images
The playoffs are next.