Trust the process. This is what Jason Garrett
preaches every week in press conferences whatever the result – win by 20 or
lose by 20. Get better each day. Don’t
get caught up in results. The Cowboys need a new process to trust in. This one
has only led to mediocrity.
After a surprising Eagles loss to the lowly Vikings,
and Dallas jumping out to a 26-3 halftime lead over a Packers team without
Aaron Rodgers, Dallas was in prime position to retake the lead in the NFC East.
However, the team collapsed in the second half and lost 37-36. This loss had
everything America’s team has become known for: an injury riddled defense that
has made Josh McCown and Matt Flynn look like Dan Marino and John Elway, in
consecutive weeks, gave up 5 touchdowns on 5 possessions. The coaching staff
made the questionable decision to throw the football while they were leading
36-31 late in the fourth quarter in one of the few games this season where
Demarco Muarry and the offensive line had established the run game. Muarry
piled up 134 yards on 18 carries, averaging 7.4 yards per carry. Tony Romo
threw two late fourth quarter interceptions.
There were even off the field distractions with Dez Bryant walking to
the locker room before the Packers took a knee to end the game. The usually
predictable Garrett called out his quarterback in the post-game press conference
saying Tony changed the play to a throw on the critical interception that led
to the Packers go-ahead touchdown. Both
of these issues will be talked about at length on ESPN this week with the
headline “Trouble in Big D?”. The national media will question the maturity of
Dez Bryant, and the leadership of Tony Romo all week. Those are the least of
the Cowboy’s worries though.
Maybe it’s a Thanksgiving hangover, or the spirit of
giving during the holidays that makes Dallas so generous to their opponents
late in the year. The Cowboys are 7-10 in the months of December and January
under Jason Garrett. Even with all the turmoil of the past two weeks the Cowboys
still control their own destiny in the playoff race. If they win their last two
games they would get to host a wild-card playoff game in Jerry World. They travel to Washington next week to face
another backup quarterback in Kirk Cousins, and a coach in Mike Shanahan who
seems to be doing everything in his power to get fired at the end of the year.
The season will probably come down to another winner-take-all division game
this time against the Eagles at home. Based on what’s happened the last few
weeks, and the last few years, there isn’t much reason to have confidence in
this team making the playoffs. Garett calling out Romo is uncharacteristic of
him, and it’s indicative of a coach who is worried about his job. Jerry Jones
said Garett was safe next year, but that doesn’t mean anything. If he really
wanted to give him a sense of security, he would have given him a contract
extension. There is a lot on the line for Dallas in their last two games, and
for the sake of Garrett’s job, they better trust the process extra hard these
next two weeks.
Stephen Simcox
