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The prevailing theme from Saturday night's 19-16 defeat to the New York Jets that officially ended their faint NFC East title hopes is one of what could've been, but those are wasted thoughts for Cowboys fans. The reality is this: Dallas is 4-10 with many more issues than Tony Romo's inability to stay healthy—even though that's obviously a big one.
The lowly state of the division may have kept Dallas holding on to hope, but these words uttered by Romo before the season have been regrettable for some time, as NFL on ESPN showed:
The loss of Romo has crippled the Cowboys all season, and that's never been more evident than it was Saturday night. Matt Cassel played so poorly through his first eight throws that he was replaced by Kellen Moore, who went 15-of-25 in his place after having never thrown an NFL pass.
Moore showed the type of moxie previously unseen in a Dallas backup this season, but inevitably doomed the Cowboys' chances of keeping a late lead, throwing three interceptions on the night. He may have played well enough to warrant starting in Week 16, but that's a very small silver lining to take from Saturday.
The steady presence of Dez Bryant would ideally help any Dallas quarterback thrive, but a foot injury intervened earlier in 2015. The Cowboys have since tried to establish Bryant with little success, which was readily apparent again Saturday as he only caught four of nine targets.
To add to the frustration, the Cowboys were able to run the ball well against a big and physical Jets front—21 team carries for 133 yards. But with Dallas' run game running dry when the Cowboys needed it most, their fans got a harsh reminder of what their identity truly is.
Undoubtedly, that's moving the ball through the air with Romo and a reliable passing attack. That obviously hasn't been there this season, and the results have been predictable as the Cowboys have gone from playoff contenders to top-pick contenders, per Dane Brugler of CBS Sports:
The Cowboys optimist will state with conviction how they will be fine next year with a healthy Romo, and a top-10 pick in the draft will only douse gasoline on those flames of blind excitement. But it's hard to fully take in this 2015 season without asking questions beyond that.
For starters, what's the real identity of this offense? Any strong identity will overcome the loss of a star player even as important as Romo, but the Cowboys haven't had that—it's not primarily on the ground, even though it perhaps should be.
Do the Cowboys have the right personnel in the backfield to fuel an offense that needs consistent ground success? Darren McFadden has been a pleasant surprise this year, but the loss of a workhorse like DeMarco Murray—who was a master of icing games—is a constant reminder of something the Cowboys have missed as much as anything this season.
McFadden's success really only amplifies the fact that this Cowboys offensive line is dominant. Without an effective quarterback to balance things out, though, that line is nullified, resulting in the type of lost season Dallas is having.
The defense has been much improved, but it's hard to ignore the unit's inability to close out games as well. Saturday night's loss is the sixth close defeat in 2015 that can be attributed to the Cowboys defense giving up a key score late.
Even with such a staunch defense compared to recent seasons, defenders on the edge haven't been making plays to help the cause. Unbelievably, the Cowboys logged their first interception by a cornerback all season Saturday, as Tim Cowlishaw of the Dallas Morning News noted:
Even amid all of those questions, there remain plenty of people who feel exactly like ESPN's Mike Greenberg:
The health of Romo and Dallas' success have been intertwined over the course of his career, but it's reaching the point where that can't be the only thing a franchise is dependent upon to win. Romo will be 36 when next season begins, and as he gets up there in years, the Cowboys have an ever-increasing need for some quarterback insurance.
Finding serviceable backups hasn't worked, and there are only so many temporary band-aids you can put on this wound. It's beyond time for Jerry Jones and Co. to go after a mid-round draft pick who they believe can develop into the franchise's next leader under center under Romo's wing—but even that isn't a solution that would benefit the team in the near future.
With Romo likely headed to injured reserve after being eliminated from contention, as Drew Davison of the Fort Worth Star-Telegram reported, at least the Cowboys have a couple of games left to see if they can catch lightning in a bottle with Moore:
What it boils down to is the Cowboys live and die by the health of a single player. And even when that player is doing his thing, a lot of other issues have to be resolved in order to truly contend—as Cowboys fans have been all too familiar with during the Romo era.
With Romo getting up there in years, the clock is quickly expiring on an era that has produced many wins and much promise, but little in the way of Super Bowl contention. There comes a time when the franchise as a whole must look in the mirror and realize the other problems that are contributing to constant mediocrity.
If it doesn't do that and do it soon, Dallas threatens to continue backpedaling in a league that requires problems to be fixed with swiftness.
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