Dallas Cowboys’ performance review in the National Football League regular season – NFL Special (Part III)
Continued from part II...
Against Miami Dolphins
The Cowboys survived a nerve-wracking encounter to stretch their winning streak to four.
The second half was more interesting than the first one in this mouth-watering clash.
The Cowboys entered the third quarter with a lead, 10-6.
Shayne Graham scored a 27-yard field goal for the Dolphins, which was followed by a touchdown. The Cowboys did not score in the quarter as the Dolphins grabbed the lead.
The Cowboys got a one-point lead over the Dolphins after scoring a touchdown in the final quarter, but the Dolphins once again managed to control the lead after scoring a field goal.
However, right at the end of the quarter, the Cowboys initiated a drive and set up Dan Bailey, who sent the ball through the uprights from 28 yards to earn victory.
At Arizona
The Cowboys could not win five in a row as the Cardinals snapped their winning streak.
The Cowboys repeated the same mistakes, which they committed earlier in the season. After grabbing an early lead, they just let the opponents to overcome them.
By the end of third quarter, the Cowboys were leading 13-6. The Cardinals scored a touchdown in the final quarter to level the scores and force the game to the overtime, where they scored another touchdown to beat the Cowboys.
Against New York Giants
The Cowboys were scheduled to play last two of their four games against the division rivals, New York Giants.
When they took on the Giants for the first time, they were leading the division and a victory would have given them a decisive lead in the division ranking table, but that did not happen.
Once again, the Cowboys were tormented by their inability to secure the lead. After getting a 12-point lead, the Cowboys allowed the Giants to rally past and score two touchdowns in the final five minutes of the game to beat the Cowboys and keep the competition
in the division alive.
Romo was yet again impressive. He completed 21 passes of 31 attempts for 321 yards while throwing four touchdowns. He received a quarterback rating of 141.3, but the Cowboys defence did not support him.
At Tampa Bay
The Cowboys got their eighth victory of the season by defeating Tampa Bay Buccaneers.
They final quarter slump was evident again, but a handsome lead developed early in the game helped the Cowboys.
Tony Romo scored three passing and one rushing touchdown to give the Cowboys 28-point lead in at the end of the halftime.
The Bucs did score two touchdowns in the third quarter, but could not overcome the lead.
Romo had 249 passing yards to his credit as he got a quarterback rating of 133.9 for the game.
Against Philadelphia Eagles
The Eagles had defeated the Cowboys earlier in the season, and heading into the next matchup with them, the Cowboys owner, Jerry Jones, even reportedly said that he was scared of the Eagles.
His fears came true as the Eagles routed the Cowboys, 20-7, to set up a regular season finale between the Cowboys and the Giants as a do-or-die game for both the teams.
Against the Eagles, Romo hurt his hand and was benched by the Cowboys as a precautionary measure to keep him fit for the next game.
At New York
The Cowboys started their season at New York and played the regular season finale on the same field. This time, however, the team was different.
Sadly for Cowboys, they could not register any victory at the MetLife Stadium.
First, it was Jets who defeated them and then it was Giants, who defeated the Cowboys in the final game to qualify for the playoffs.
The Giants ended the season for the Cowboys by completely overpowering them. The final score settled at 31-14.
The Cowboys could have managed to reach the postseason, but it was their own mistakes, especially their inability to secure the lead, which forced them out. One can only hope that the Cowboys will learn from their mistakes.
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