Image: DMN: Sturm: Tony Romo's play on Thanksgiving wasn't only Cowboys gamble that didn't pay off

jobberone

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Sturm: Tony Romo's play on Thanksgiving wasn't only Cowboys gamble that didn't pay off

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Dallas Cowboys wide receiver Dez Bryant (88) stands on the sideline during the second quarter of their game against the Carolina Panthers on Thursday, November 26, 2015 at AT&T Stadium in Arlington, Texas. (Ashley Landis/The Dallas Morning News)

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Published: 27 November 2015 11:27 AM
Updated: 27 November 2015 12:38 PM

Looking back, the Miami game showed us what this 2015 Dallas Cowboys team was supposed to look like. The offense compliments the defense and the defense fits perfectly with its offense. The blue print is clear - ball control which leads to game control. Both sides of the ball get in their right spots to play downhill. It all made sense for about 3 hours in 2015.

Unfortunately, 3 hours is going to be it.

Four days later, the Cowboys had to play an opponent that would not be quite so accommodating with the hopeful narratives. This was a legitimate heavyweight through the first 3 months of the campaign, and therefore Carolina was going to be prepared and ready to force the Cowboys into deeper waters to see if this team can swim.

The results were ugly and on display for the football world to see.

The conclusion was another Thanksgiving rout by the road team - now 3 of the last 4 years where the holiday showcase was a laugher before the halftime show could play to a lifeless Death Star. In 2012, Washington held a 28-3 lead at the half. In 2014, the Eagles had the Cowboys down 23-7. And this year, the Cowboys might have been fortunate that it wasn't worse than 23-3 at the half. When you add up those 6 quarters of football and see a score-line of 74-13, you don't even know where to begin and how to analyze it. This goes for writers and broadcasters, but I imagine the same is true for players and coaches even more. There is just something about this holiday that is causing the Cowboys to look horrendous in the big NFC showdowns.

One theory, of course, is the health of Tony Romo - as if the guy didn't already have enough arrows being shot at him. In 2014, in the debacle against the Eagles that ended up being just a mere speedbump on the way to a great season, he looked out of sorts all day and much of it was explained by the fact he did not take a pain-killing shot to deal with his back injury and also with the short week just couldn't get his body into form for the quick turnaround that a 4-day break allows.

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Super_Kazuya

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74-13 ouch. JG took what was typically a Cowboys thanksgiving homefield advantage and turned it into a complete embarrassment.

I think Troy also pointed out a couple of years ago that ever since Thursday Night football came along, the Cowboys and Lions lost the edge of being the only team to regularly play on that day. Additionally, the league has made every effort, when possible, to put them on the road the Sunday before. Clearly, the advantage is long gone.
 

DenCWBY

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I didn't realize until now but with Romos questionable future, this probably takes Witten, Lee and a few other vets out of any chances for a Super Bowl in their careers at least with Dallas. I could never see Witten in any other uniform.
 
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JoeyBoy718

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Too bad Romo won those games for us. Might cost us a shot at drafting his replacement.
 

Hawkeye19

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Too bad Romo won those games for us. Might cost us a shot at drafting his replacement.

I have a feeling that Cassel will actually play pretty well down the stretch. He's been in the system for a couple months now-- knows the personnel, and all the pressure is gone.

Wouldn't surprise me to see us win 3 of 5 and end the season at 6-10.
 

Stash

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Another excellent article that does a great job of summing up several contributing factors to this nightmarish season.
 

yentl911

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This league is parity personified. We could easily be 7-4 right now - each game is just a play this way or a play that way. Last year everything went right for us until the botched no-catch call in Green Bay and this year everything that could go wrong has.

We will have a decent draft pick position next year, we just had a solid draft and we have some good young players. Its not all roses in the garden but the team isn't in purgatory either.
 
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