Let me start by saying that Tony Romo continues to prove that he is one of, if not the toughest player in the league. His heart and desire to compete when he is 100% is incredible, as is his pain threshold.
That being said, allowing him to come back into the game cost this team a shot at winning.
Romo was completely compromised out there. He could not move as he is normally capable of, and did not have the strength to drive the football down the field. The Commanders, and most specifically, Jim Haslett, knew this, and crowded the line of scrimmage, daring Romo to hang in there long enough to throw the ball down the field. By product of his physical limitations and the blocking scheme disadvantage due to the numbers being sent on blitzes, they could not make the Commanders pay. The Cowboys were very fortunate to not lose in regulation when Romo fumbled on the Brandon Meriweather blitz, but Kerrigan couldn't locate and handle the ball.
Give the Commanders credit - Haslett completely ate Linehan's lunch tonight. Linehan did not adjust to the Commanders pressure schemes on long yardage passing situations, and gave up too many QB hits as a result. They also allowed Dez Bryant to become a complete non-factor in the game. Just a poor job by the offensive coaching staff in adjusting to what was taking place. The line was terrific in run blocking, but did not adjust well to the blitzes at all. Murray had a perplexing, uneven game - outstanding running the ball, and made great plays in the passing game, but yet another fumble to kill a scoring drive, and his missed pickup of a blitz nearly cost them the game in regulation. Randle showed some decent things, but laying the ball down deep in Cowboy territory is no way to earn more carries.
Defense tonight was very spotty. The pass rush, despite getting three sacks, was largely non-existent, and McCoy never had to speed up his play. He was under control, cool and confident. The Cowboys largely held the Commander running game in check, but the Commanders were smart and kept themselves out of long yardage situations by utilizing short dump off passes. Barry Church and Rolando McClain probably had their worst games of the season tonight - way too many missed tackles. It was interesting seeing Henry Melton playing LDE on passing downs - obviously, Selvie has not produced, and they need to get better rushers on the field. Spencer looks like he is missing a gear that he may not get back. The effort is there - the results are not.
Overall, the Commanders team played like they wanted it more, and their coaching staff outcoached the Cowboys tonight, specifically Jim Haslett over Scott Linehan. This sets up a short week before meeting a good team in Arizona, with the possibility of Romo, Justin Durant and Ronald Leary being less than 100% or missing the game altogether. Not a good situation.
