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DETROIT – The Dallas Cowboys are no strangers to gut-wrenching losses during the Jason Garrett era.
There were the season-ending, playoffs-or-bust losses to division foes in 2011 and 2012. But the Cowboys limped off into the offseason after those bitter defeats. This time around, after Sunday’s 31-30 loss to the Lions, they still have half a season to go.
“You just have to respond,” Garrett said. “You have to respond each and every week. Obviously, it was a disappointing loss for our team, but it really doesn’t matter now. What matters is what we do now. It’s really important that we understand that and learn from what happened today and just move forward. We have a new challenge this week and we have to get focused on that.”
But can the Cowboys (4-4) bounce back after blowing an opportunity to move two games above .500, win back-to-back road games for the first time since 2009 and pad their lead in the NFC East?
“The best teams in the league are able to do that,” said Garrett, who has a 20-20 record since the start of the 2011 season. “Whether you win or lose on Sunday, you have to learn from the experience and go forward. We’ve done that seven times this year already and we’ll have to do it again this week.”
Garrett, however, did concede that Sunday’s loss was more emotional than most, considering the Lions rallied from a 10-point deficit in the final 6:45. Emotions ran high after the game, with Dez Bryant’s tantrums on the sideline underscoring just how frustrating it was to lose a game in such agonizing fashion.
“Well, we have a lot of competitive people on our team and you probably wouldn’t be on our team or our coaching staff if you weren’t competitive,” Garrett said. “You get 16 opportunities to compete your *** off and that’s what we try to do. We were in a great position to win that ball game and we didn’t get it done. When you put your guts out there for three hours, collectively, sometimes it’s hard to swallow those kinds of defeats.
“What we need to do as a team is learn from what just happened and find a way, in all three phases, to win this kind of game, make the plays necessary to win. They did that and we didn’t and we have to live with that. But we also have to learn from it.”
The good news for the Cowboys is that they return home next weekend to face a Minnesota Vikings team that at 1-6 is one of the league’s worst.
The bad news for the Cowboys is that they may have to face the Vikings without right guard Brian Waters, who suffered leg and tricep injuries against the Lions; cornerback Mo Claiborne, who hurt his hamstring in the game; and safety Barry Church, who also hurt his hamstring in Detroit.
But no matter who plays, the Cowboys have to get back on track quickly if they want to fulfill their goals of finishing above .500 and ending their three-year playoff drought.
Continue reading...
There were the season-ending, playoffs-or-bust losses to division foes in 2011 and 2012. But the Cowboys limped off into the offseason after those bitter defeats. This time around, after Sunday’s 31-30 loss to the Lions, they still have half a season to go.
“You just have to respond,” Garrett said. “You have to respond each and every week. Obviously, it was a disappointing loss for our team, but it really doesn’t matter now. What matters is what we do now. It’s really important that we understand that and learn from what happened today and just move forward. We have a new challenge this week and we have to get focused on that.”
But can the Cowboys (4-4) bounce back after blowing an opportunity to move two games above .500, win back-to-back road games for the first time since 2009 and pad their lead in the NFC East?
“The best teams in the league are able to do that,” said Garrett, who has a 20-20 record since the start of the 2011 season. “Whether you win or lose on Sunday, you have to learn from the experience and go forward. We’ve done that seven times this year already and we’ll have to do it again this week.”
Garrett, however, did concede that Sunday’s loss was more emotional than most, considering the Lions rallied from a 10-point deficit in the final 6:45. Emotions ran high after the game, with Dez Bryant’s tantrums on the sideline underscoring just how frustrating it was to lose a game in such agonizing fashion.
“Well, we have a lot of competitive people on our team and you probably wouldn’t be on our team or our coaching staff if you weren’t competitive,” Garrett said. “You get 16 opportunities to compete your *** off and that’s what we try to do. We were in a great position to win that ball game and we didn’t get it done. When you put your guts out there for three hours, collectively, sometimes it’s hard to swallow those kinds of defeats.
“What we need to do as a team is learn from what just happened and find a way, in all three phases, to win this kind of game, make the plays necessary to win. They did that and we didn’t and we have to live with that. But we also have to learn from it.”
The good news for the Cowboys is that they return home next weekend to face a Minnesota Vikings team that at 1-6 is one of the league’s worst.
The bad news for the Cowboys is that they may have to face the Vikings without right guard Brian Waters, who suffered leg and tricep injuries against the Lions; cornerback Mo Claiborne, who hurt his hamstring in the game; and safety Barry Church, who also hurt his hamstring in Detroit.
But no matter who plays, the Cowboys have to get back on track quickly if they want to fulfill their goals of finishing above .500 and ending their three-year playoff drought.
Continue reading...