During the first three months of the season, when the Cowboys win a game in somewhat less than perfection fashion and we hear the coach say "It's tough to win in the NFL, we'll take it"...when some fans here get blasted for complaining about the way the team won...maybe you can take a look at yesterday and see things from a different perspective regarding those early season wins.
When a team has superior talent, like this one does, those games that are less important than the all important December games are dress rehearsals for practicing perfect execution...developing a killer instinct...keeping pressure on an opponent for a full 60 minutes. A team cannot practice that stuff during they week on their own practive field. It must be done against an opponent.
THAT is why December happens to this team. They don't practice playing a FULL focused game during the earlier part of the season.
As an example, if, early in the season, they're winning 31-10 and give up a sloppy late TD that makes the final score 31-17 some of us will complain and hear "What more do you want? Now a win isn't good enough for you?" What I want is a focused effort for a full 60 minutes so we don't have to see the breakdowns we do, time after time, in games like yesterday. If you don't practice playing a full 60 minutes during EVERY game, you'll never be able to do it down the stretch run...and that is why this team loses every big game by giving up big plays or not stepping up to make big plays 4-5 times a game. They get away with it against lesser opponents...but not against the elite or when the games are more important.
The fact that the head coach embraces the "A win is a win. It's tough to win in the NFL" philosophy, has this team doomed.
Ya can't just throw a switch in the big games if you haven't practiced your focus in all the games leading up to the more important games.
If you can beat Oakland by a score of 44 to 7 rather than 24-7, THAT is what you do. You don't win the game by a 17 point margin, when it should have been far greater and say "A win is a win"
Many people pick apart a loss like yesterday...it's the special teams...it was this play...it was that play...But if you notice, it's always a TEAM effort...yep, the special teams blew it yesterday...so did the defense when we needed them to step up...so did the offense, Barber's fumble...and as good as he was yesterday, Romo can't miss that pass to a wide open Roy Williams and Romo has to get the ball snapped before the final two minute warning.
The team is not mentally prepared to play an intense full 60 minutes because they don't do so against lesser opponents....and within that approach, the seeds for every December failing are planted.
to the OP. If I could've said it that well, I would have.