Plankton
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There’s winning, and there’s misery.
- Bill Parcells
The quote above sums up the end result of the NFC Divisional Round matchup between the Green Bay Packers and the Dallas Cowboys.
In a game that went down to the very last second, and one where both teams left it all on the field, the zero-sum game that is football left one team a winner, and another team in misery, the dreams of a special, magical season up in smoke.
And, if one thinks that the Good Lord doesn’t have a cryptic sense of humor, the Dallas metropolitan area was under a tornado watch following the game.
In the 34-31 classic that played out at AT&T Stadium on Sunday, it featured a seminal performance by Aaron Rodgers, an exhilarating comeback authored by Dak Prescott, near redemption by Dez Bryant, and ice water running through the veins of Mason Crosby.
With a day to chew on this bitter defeat, the reactions have ranged from dismay with the officiating, questions about play calling, debate about whether spiking the ball on the game tying field goal drive was a poor move, and other examples of rationalization. But, let’s be clear about this. What this game boiled down to was the mantra for the Cowboys’ season.
Finish The Fight.
The Cowboys brought plenty of fight to the proceedings on Sunday, rallying from a 21-3 first half deficit, and a 28-13 fourth quarter margin. But, the problem in the game, and the reason why the Cowboys didn’t advance to their first NFC Championship game in 21 seasons is a failure to finish.
The scoresheet for the game is remarkably similar between the two teams, and reflects an even contest. Yardage, first downs, third down efficiency, yards per play, turnovers were all basically a wash. But, there are two critical places that aren’t, and those ultimately decided the game.
The Packers had one more possession than the Cowboys.
The Packers scored four touchdowns, and the Cowboys scored three.
Finishing was the key in this game, and the Cowboys just didn’t finish enough. Finish drives on offense, finish the Packers off when they got them in second and third and long situations, and making a final stand on the last drive with the game on the line.
If you are Jason Witten, who was the same reliable pass catcher that he has been in his career, but has slipped badly in blocking, you cannot allow Micah Hyde, a man that you outweigh by 70 pounds, to run through your block and sack Prescott on the first drive of the game. That sack helped kill a promising drive, and lead to a field goal.
If you’re Prescott, you cannot get too tempted by throwing the ball down the field on third and short, and instead focus on converting the first down and keep the drive alive. His throw following the Hyde sack to Bryant was heavily contested by Packer double coverage, and had little chance to be completed.
If you’re the Cowboy defense, under siege by a razor-sharp Rodgers, you cannot allow yourselves to be caught substituting personnel on a third and five, and gift them a first down by having 12 men on the field.
If you’re Jason Garrett, you can’t pass up a potential free kick by Dan Bailey, where he would not face a rush, and can run up to the ball (like a kickoff) and kick it from 72 yards away at the end of the first half. There was nothing to lose in trying it, and those potential points would have been helpful.
If you are the defense, you also can’t have as poor a tackling game as you had, with Brandon Carr and Anthony Brown both having poor efforts in tackling and allowing big gains as a result.
If you’re Bryant, you can’t allow Hyde to jump inside you to intercept the hitch pass to Cole Beasley that nearly allowed the game to get away from the Cowboys in the second half.
If you’re Byron Jones, you need to track Jared Cook all the way to the sideline when Rodgers was rolling left, leaving a small window, but one large enough for Rodgers to convert the biggest play of the game, the dagger that set up the winning field goal by Crosby.
The ability to finish was key in this game. And, the inability of the entire team to do this consistently throughout cost the Cowboys a shot at the Falcons next week.
What has been a magical season for the Cowboys now has met its end at the hands of the Packers. While similar in that the Cowboys 2014 season was also ended in heart breaking fashion by the Packers, this one is different in a number of ways. Having been the top seed in the NFC, and the Packer defense coming into the game decimated by injuries, there’s a greater degree of disappointment in a loss like this. On the flip side, with the roster significantly younger, with franchise cornerstones in Prescott and Elliott added this season, the Cowboys have what would appear to be a bright future.
That being said, the NFL is a year to year league, where nothing is guaranteed or promised. The Cowboys will look a good bit different next year, with 17 pending free agents, and Tony Romo’s next employer to be determined. The team will need to focus their energy on adding difference makers on defense, both on the pass rush as well as the secondary. As was on display yesterday, the defense is high on effort, and low on overall talent and playmaking. When facing the elite quarterbacks that playoff teams tend to have, the deficiencies in those areas become much more glaring.
Today was a day that came far too early for the 2016 Dallas Cowboys – exit interviews and the cleaning out of lockers. A season that was made possible by a determined team that fought their way into the number one seed in the playoffs, was ended due to the inability to finish when they absolutely needed to.
And for the Cowboys, it is misery.
Other notes on the game:
- Bill Parcells
The quote above sums up the end result of the NFC Divisional Round matchup between the Green Bay Packers and the Dallas Cowboys.
In a game that went down to the very last second, and one where both teams left it all on the field, the zero-sum game that is football left one team a winner, and another team in misery, the dreams of a special, magical season up in smoke.
And, if one thinks that the Good Lord doesn’t have a cryptic sense of humor, the Dallas metropolitan area was under a tornado watch following the game.
In the 34-31 classic that played out at AT&T Stadium on Sunday, it featured a seminal performance by Aaron Rodgers, an exhilarating comeback authored by Dak Prescott, near redemption by Dez Bryant, and ice water running through the veins of Mason Crosby.
With a day to chew on this bitter defeat, the reactions have ranged from dismay with the officiating, questions about play calling, debate about whether spiking the ball on the game tying field goal drive was a poor move, and other examples of rationalization. But, let’s be clear about this. What this game boiled down to was the mantra for the Cowboys’ season.
Finish The Fight.
The Cowboys brought plenty of fight to the proceedings on Sunday, rallying from a 21-3 first half deficit, and a 28-13 fourth quarter margin. But, the problem in the game, and the reason why the Cowboys didn’t advance to their first NFC Championship game in 21 seasons is a failure to finish.
The scoresheet for the game is remarkably similar between the two teams, and reflects an even contest. Yardage, first downs, third down efficiency, yards per play, turnovers were all basically a wash. But, there are two critical places that aren’t, and those ultimately decided the game.
The Packers had one more possession than the Cowboys.
The Packers scored four touchdowns, and the Cowboys scored three.
Finishing was the key in this game, and the Cowboys just didn’t finish enough. Finish drives on offense, finish the Packers off when they got them in second and third and long situations, and making a final stand on the last drive with the game on the line.
If you are Jason Witten, who was the same reliable pass catcher that he has been in his career, but has slipped badly in blocking, you cannot allow Micah Hyde, a man that you outweigh by 70 pounds, to run through your block and sack Prescott on the first drive of the game. That sack helped kill a promising drive, and lead to a field goal.
If you’re Prescott, you cannot get too tempted by throwing the ball down the field on third and short, and instead focus on converting the first down and keep the drive alive. His throw following the Hyde sack to Bryant was heavily contested by Packer double coverage, and had little chance to be completed.
If you’re the Cowboy defense, under siege by a razor-sharp Rodgers, you cannot allow yourselves to be caught substituting personnel on a third and five, and gift them a first down by having 12 men on the field.
If you’re Jason Garrett, you can’t pass up a potential free kick by Dan Bailey, where he would not face a rush, and can run up to the ball (like a kickoff) and kick it from 72 yards away at the end of the first half. There was nothing to lose in trying it, and those potential points would have been helpful.
If you are the defense, you also can’t have as poor a tackling game as you had, with Brandon Carr and Anthony Brown both having poor efforts in tackling and allowing big gains as a result.
If you’re Bryant, you can’t allow Hyde to jump inside you to intercept the hitch pass to Cole Beasley that nearly allowed the game to get away from the Cowboys in the second half.
If you’re Byron Jones, you need to track Jared Cook all the way to the sideline when Rodgers was rolling left, leaving a small window, but one large enough for Rodgers to convert the biggest play of the game, the dagger that set up the winning field goal by Crosby.
The ability to finish was key in this game. And, the inability of the entire team to do this consistently throughout cost the Cowboys a shot at the Falcons next week.
What has been a magical season for the Cowboys now has met its end at the hands of the Packers. While similar in that the Cowboys 2014 season was also ended in heart breaking fashion by the Packers, this one is different in a number of ways. Having been the top seed in the NFC, and the Packer defense coming into the game decimated by injuries, there’s a greater degree of disappointment in a loss like this. On the flip side, with the roster significantly younger, with franchise cornerstones in Prescott and Elliott added this season, the Cowboys have what would appear to be a bright future.
That being said, the NFL is a year to year league, where nothing is guaranteed or promised. The Cowboys will look a good bit different next year, with 17 pending free agents, and Tony Romo’s next employer to be determined. The team will need to focus their energy on adding difference makers on defense, both on the pass rush as well as the secondary. As was on display yesterday, the defense is high on effort, and low on overall talent and playmaking. When facing the elite quarterbacks that playoff teams tend to have, the deficiencies in those areas become much more glaring.
Today was a day that came far too early for the 2016 Dallas Cowboys – exit interviews and the cleaning out of lockers. A season that was made possible by a determined team that fought their way into the number one seed in the playoffs, was ended due to the inability to finish when they absolutely needed to.
And for the Cowboys, it is misery.
Other notes on the game:
- As maligned as the crowd at AT&T Stadium has been since it opened in 2009, they were fantastic on Sunday. It was the fifth game that I have been to down there, and it was very loud, especially after the game was tied.
- The degree of Packer fans in the stadium was not high. Maybe 10% at best, from what I could gather.
- The NFL needs to seriously think about doing away with the all-star refereeing crews. Tony Corrente and gang had a very tough game, and did not look to be on the same page throughout.
- I’m not going to get into specific calls, and use those as a contributing factor to the outcome of the game, but I will pick at one call. The penalty on Anthony Brown for pass interference was the wrong call. Yes, it was a penalty, but as the ball was not released when Brown grabbed Ty Montgomery, it should have been a five-yard defensive holding penalty instead of interference. A similar call against the Cowboys, when Bryant was hauled down by LaDarius Gunter, was ruled a hold.
- Bryant looked like the Bryant of old, absolutely wearing out Gunter. When the teams played two years ago, the Packers shaded Bryant with a safety for all but three plays in the game. On Sunday, they largely left him one on one with Gunter or Damarious Randall. It was a curious ploy by Dom Capers, and it nearly cost him.
- It was interesting the number of snaps that Clay Matthews and Julius Peppers were not on the field. Capers spotted his two pass rushers a significant amount of snaps during the game, and it makes you wonder how healthy they were.
- For those lamenting the spiked ball with :48 seconds remaining, watch Terrance Williams on the replay. He was completely out of breath, and had his hands on his knees. The spike did not cause the problems with time being left on the clock. Beasley going out of bounds stopped the clock as well, and were it not for Nick Perry batting down Prescott’s third down pass, Bryant had a shot at his third touchdown of the day (he was inside of Gunter with the middle of the field completely wide open). Yes, the desire would have been for the Cowboys to have a shot at scoring with the remaining time on the clock, but focusing on the spike when the two subsequent plays resulted in the clock being stopped is grasping at straws.
- I suppose in a number of years, I can look back at this and say that I witnessed a classic game in person. Right now, it feels like I have had my heart ripped out. And, walking nearly a mile back to my car afterward in driving rain was an appropriate metaphor for my feelings afterward.
