Cowboys Country

Cowboys 'Kick Ass,' Get 'Extremely Sorry!' Apology From ESPN

Ryan Clark had negative expectations for the Dallas Cowboys on Sunday afternoon but was promptly proven wrong.

Geoff Maggliocchetti

ARLINGTON - The Dallas Cowboys are trying to get on a role ... and are collecting apologies along the way.

In Week 11, they not only conquered the Minnesota Vikings last Sunday afternoon, but they also conquered the expectations of NFL defender-turned-ESPN-analyst Ryan Clark.

Like many after the Cowboys lost a late lead against the Green Bay Packers in last Sunday's visit to Lambeau Field, Clark didn't think the Cowboys would fare well against the NFC North-leading Vikings. He went as far as to place the Cowboys in "all heaps of trouble" leading into the anticipated showdown at U.S. Bank Stadium, especially after the Vikings stole a thrilling victory from the Buffalo Bills the week prior. 

Dallas instead defied expectations to the tune of a 40-3 shellacking that not only firmly placed momentum back on their side in the latter stages of the season but besowed the Vikings their first home loss of the season. It was also the Cowboys' largest margin of victory on the road in franchise history and their first by at least 30 points since Oct. 2017. 

To his credit, Clark returned to ESPN's "Get Up!" program on Monday morning and spared no apology, his mea culpa encompassing nearly every aspect of a dominant Dallas defensive effort. 

"(Defensive coordinator) Dan Quinn, Joseph Whitt Jr., the defensive back coach, Jayron Kearse, Donovan Wilson, Micah Parsons, Trevon Diggs, I was wrong! I am extremely sorry!" Clark declared. "What you did was you looked at the film and you said you know what? You're going to have to beat me doing things you can't do. I'm going to put Micah Parsons on the line and allow him to rush your tackle ... I'm going to allow Trevon Diggs, who hasn't tracked any receiver other than A.J. Brown the entire year, to track Justin Jefferson."

"I though it was great by the Dallas Cowboys in the fact of the way that schemed and the timely ways they dialed up their coverages. But, more importanly, they ran, they hit, and they were not scared. They stepped on this field to prove a point, and that point was proven."

The Cowboys (7-3) allowed only 183 yards on Sunday and shut down some of their most prominent offensive weapons. Jefferson was limited to 33 yards on a trip of receptions while Cousins was sacked seven times. Parsons, Dorance Armstrong, and Sam Williams had two each in the dominant triumph, which also limited Minnesota (8-2) to 159 passing yards (54 coming from backup quarterback Nick Mullens after Cousins was mercifully pulled from the carnage).

"I keep on getting that Michael Jordan meme in my head," Clark joked, referring to the internet sensation of the NBA legend referring to incidents he "took personally" during the events depicted in the 2020 documentary "The Last Dance." 

Dallas won't have to wait long to prove more doubters wrong as the Cowboys are facing the annual holiday short week as they'll battle the New York Giants on Thanksgiving afternoon (3:30 p.m. ET, Fox). 

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Geoff Maggliocchetti
GEOFF MAGGLIOCCHETTI

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