MITCHELL, Florida – It aches, truly, really hurts, this one.
Not at all like the other road defeats, nope, not at all like the 42-10 in San Francisco. It was nothing like the Cowboys’ 31-10 victory in Buffalo the Sunday before, as if they had crossed Niagara Falls in a barrel. Not at all like the thrilling 28-23 loss at Philadelphia, however.
Not at all like any of those.
Nope, in this one the Cowboys gave it their all. played assiduously. demonstrated some mettle. Never let anyone to convince you that this Cowboys team lacks physicality. Indeed, they were.
This one hurts, as Dak Prescott put it. Particularly in the way that we lost one, as you mentioned.”
started this game well against the Dolphins, who were leading the AFC East Division. had a lull in the middle of the game and lost 19–10. but made a heroic comeback in the fourth quarter, scoring 10 straight points to take a 20-19 lead with 3:37 remaining.
Ultimately, though, the defense needed one more stop because it appeared as though Santa Claus was prepared to deliver gifts to the former NFC East Division leaders. One fewer turnover and, naturally, one fewer possession inside the 20 without a touchdown were both necessary for the offense.
So, in a thrilling game on Christmas Eve at Hard Rock Stadium, Dolphins 22, Cowboys 20, Jason Sanders finishes the game with his fifth field goal, a chip shot from 29 yards out.
What a jerk.
The Cowboys are now officially a half-game behind the Philadelphia Eagles (10-4), who will take on the Giants on Christmas Day, after sliding to 10-5.
The Cowboys are experiencing their first losing streak of games this season; it’s the first since they fell to Kansas City two days ago on November 21, 2021, and then to Vegas four days later on Thanksgiving; it’s also the first since they bounced back from ten straight defeats to win the next game.
Why, after 39 games, for the first time.
Cowboys head coach Mike McCarthy bemoaned, “We have to play better than we did today because you have to play above it on the road, and road warriors we will be,” following the team’s fifth road defeat.
This is what the Cowboys were missing. Tyron Smith, left tackle, is hardly a Pro Bowl type player, but that doesn’t mean his absence is to blame for all of these issues. However, DC Vic Fangio determined they couldn’t handle Dak Prescott playing it straight after the Cowboys destroyed the Dolphins defense on the opening two drives of the game. They immediately began blitzing nonstop.
For the most of the following two quarters, the Cowboys were in disarray. Why the Cowboys trailed 16–7 in the third quarter after having gained 154 yards in the first quarter alone and only nine more yards after that. They fought so hard to keep Dak safe.
Four job losses is a terrible enough situation. However, he was struck 12 more times, without reference to The Twelve Days of Christmas.
Then there were multiple plays that changed the game, just like in the Buffalo game.
After winning the toss and gaining possession of the ball, the Cowboys executed a play that I have been harping on: they methodically drove to a first-and-goal at the one, consuming 7 minutes, 38 seconds of the opening quarter. Additionally, Dak mishandled the pass to rookie fullback Hunter Luepke since there were two running backs in the alignment. Even worse, Luepke finds himself in the end zone. The issue was that he was without the ball, as Brandon Jones of Miami recovered at the 2. Seven points are still on the field as a result.
McCarthy remarked, “The one giveaway was costly,” with the 11-4 Dolphins just one win away from winning their first division championship since 2008.
As the first quarter came to a close, the Cowboys appeared to force a third-and-like seven play, and Micah Parsons was penalized for roughing Tua Tagovailoa with a late hit, plus fifteen yards. At that point, the team was still ahead 7-6. At the 4, first and goal, which resulted in a touchdown for Miami.
Just a horrible phone call. Dean Blandino, the Fox officiating analyst, even went so far as to add, “The defender has to be within two steps,” which is slang for striking after the release. “I just don’t see a foul there.” When Greg Olsen, the game analyst, commented, “I’m, not sure what he’s supposed to do,” it was evident that Parsons was moving so quickly and with such velocity that the play was continuing.
Head referee Shawn Hochuli reportedly told Parsons, “You should have pulled off,” followed by Micah pointing out
In this instance, Dak ran 14 yards for a first down on third-and-11 at the 25 to the 11 before the Cowboys penalized him five yards for an illegal shift. This is what took place. CeeDee Lamb, who caught four passes for 93 yards in the first quarter, including a 49-yard touchdown catch-and-run, checked with the line judge to make sure he wasn’t offsides. It seemed like a gesture to scooch back. He took a half step. However, as he was doing so, tight end Jake Ferguson started to move, and the flag was raised—which was not precisely the intention of the regulation, as Dak later acknowledged, acknowledging he had “no idea” why the call was made. Still, though.
Thus, the Cowboys were suddenly third-and-16 at the 11 instead of first-and-10 at the
However, the grit appeared. After Dak completed eight of 13 throws for 69 yards and Brandin Cooks’ game-winning eight-yard touchdown pass, the Cowboys scored the next ten points to take a 20-19 lead. It was their longest scoring drive of the season.
It was “Dak doing his thing,” Cooks added.
A defense that had so far come close to a heroic performance needed one more stop over the last 3:27 to restrict the NFL’s best scoring team to just one touchdown and four field goals, or 19 points. Unable to pull it off, the Dolphins were boosted on the opening play of the drive by a 15-yard facemask penalty on linebacker Damone Clark.
Heartbreak. Why the Cowboys defense limited the Dolphins to just one score this season, making them only the third club to accomplish so overall. The Dolphins had only been limited to less than 20 points by two other teams. Even though both of these teams entered the game with a 10-4 record, the Dolphins had a total yardage edge of 375 to 339. After Buffalo outran them for 266 yards, the Cowboys held Miami under 100 yards rushing, leading 97–91. To Dak’s 253, Tua threw for 293.
Only a play this, a play that. Just one more stop. Would have made a great getaway for Christmas Day. would have freed them from the “road” monkey’s grasp. would have required the Eagles to maintain a certain pace on Monday afternoon.
But with the Eagles entering Monday’s game on a three-game losing streak, the Cowboys need division support once more, just as they have recently. Otherwise, if the Eagles win the East and the Cowboys don’t, they will have to travel to begin the playoffs once more. They will probably play the champion of the NFC South, Tampa Bay, who is currently at 8-7 and has a one-game lead over the 7-8 Saints and Falcons with two games remaining.
similar to maybe last year.
Demarcus Lawrence declared, “We got to win, point blank, period, regardless of whether we road or home.” “We failed to emerge victorious today.
“This isn’t the last time you guys will see us. Nothing is there to hang our heads (down).