When you’re a fan of America’s team it’s hard to let go, say uncle, or tap out. But that’s exactly what we need to do in order to get on with our lives. There’s Thanksgiving, Christmas and New Year’s Eve on the horizon which will be so much more fulfilling without keeping one eye on the TV while feigning interest in Aunt Martha’s knee surgery. Now we can all just pretend to be interested while we give our undivided, and disinterested, attention to any relative yearning to be heard.
The Dallas Cowboys lost a game on Monday night that was their’s for the taking, especially when considering how eager the Titans were to gift-wrap the victory.
Tennessee turned the ball over twice to start the game and nearly a third time until it was overruled by the replay officials. Mariota looked dazed and confused while the Cowboys’ newest acquisition, Amari Cooper, caught a four-yard toss to draw first blood and put Dallas up 7-0 with six and change remaining in the opening quarter. It had the cottony-clean scent of a Cowboys’ blowout and Jason Witten was in attendance for the first time since his retirement to bask in the celebration.
Without rehashing the gory details, the Titans got it together, the Cowboys caught the lethargy and malaise that was apparently contagious from Tennessee and, when the dust settled, Dallas succumbed by the score of 28-14.
Can we all agree that it’s time for Jerry Jones to mercifully pull the plug on Jason Garrett and his regime? Do it now, do it later, but as the saying goes, “Just do it.”
Maybe then the Cowboys will have a chance to pick up the pieces and be great again. But letting go halfway through the season is difficult. Let’s face it, there are no juggernauts in the NFC East and when you think about it, Dallas is only two games back from the first-place Redskins and with a little hope and a whole lot of prayer….
Oh boy, we’re doing it to ourselves again when we swore that we wouldn’t.
We can’t give it up, we can’t tap out, and we certainly aren’t going to sit upright while listening to knee surgeries, back aches, and the achievements of our younger nieces and nephews from relatives we see once a year.
Okay, so let’s go through the grind that is the rest of the Dallas season and see if there’s any way, shape, or form that our ‘Boys can make the postseason.
Week 10 @Philadelphia – Some of the best online sportsbooks found over at Sportsbook Review are pegging the Eagles as 6 ½ point home favorites over the Cowboys. There is no better sportsbook on the planet than BetOnline and the oddsmakers there are not wavering. After an epic fail like the one experienced against the Titans, we shouldn’t expect too much brotherly love from Philadelphia. Loss.
Week 11 @Atlanta – Matty Ice and his boys are heating up and with an anticipated victory this week in Cleveland, we can expect the Dirty Birds to be on a four-win tear. Doesn’t look good for Dallas against this high-octane offense. Loss.
Week 12 vs. Washington – The Cowboys kept it close in their first meeting held in DC when they bowed 20-17 so we can expect them to render a little payback. Win.
Week 13 vs. New Orleans – It’s nice that we can entertain the Saints in our playground but Drew Brees and that roaring offense is too much. And then there’s the return of Dez Bryant too. Loss.
Week 14 vs. Philadelphia – Hopefully the Cowboys will be in much better spirits than this week when they face the Eagles and will have home field advantage to boot. Sure, we’ll mark it down as a W. Win.
Week 15 @Indianapolis – After their Week 14 win over the Super Bowl champion Eagles the Cowboys are reborn and Dak Prescott, Ezekiel Elliott, and Amari Cooper shred this poor excuse for an NFL defense. Win.
Week 16 vs. Tampa Bay – Come late December who knows who will be chuckin’ for the Bucs but let’s hope Winston is back under center so Dallas can pick him early and often. Win.
Week 17 @NY Giants – As the Cowboys enter the final week of the season they are 7-8 and the Giants are circling the drain at 3-12. Yeah, we can do this. Win.
Unfortunately Dallas fans, our crystal ball sees a pedestrian 8-8 season at best and simply not good enough to gain a postseason berth. But there’s always next year under new head coach Bill Belichick? We can dream.
