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Cowboys 'Get to Suck On That All Week!' Jerry Jones on Loss to Washington; Top 10 Whitty Observations

Dak Prescott off, running game stuffed in regular-season finale that bodes ominous for Wild Card Playoff game.

Richie Whitt

Not exactly sure what the Dallas Cowboys were looking for Sunday in Washington. But I guarantee what they saw wasn't it.

10. Deja Boo - Dominated by Washington on offense, defense and special teams, this confidence-shaking 26-6 loss was eerily reminiscent of the Cowboys' 2007 finale in D.C.

That year they entered with a 13-2 record and nothing to play for, used their starters only sporadically and lost to an 8-7 Washington team. "No biggie," we all shrugged. Until, that is, they lost their first playoff game to the Giants two weeks later. 

The score Sunday: 26-6. The score 15 years ago: 27-6.

Leave it to optimist owner Jerry Jones to believe this will somehow be inspirational.

Said Jones after the debacle: “We get to suck on that all week. If that doesn’t make you get ready to play in six or seven days, nothing else will.”

9. Fickle Football - The Philadelphia Eagles' victory over the unmotivated Giants continued one of the most remarkable streaks in the history of the NFL: 18 consecutive different champions in the NFC East. There hasn't been a repeat winner since Philly in 2003-04. Since then, the Cowboys have won the title six times - '07, '09, '14, '16 '18 and '21 - without successfully defending.

8. Snooze-Button Special - The Cowboys gave lip-service all week to how important it was to win this likely meaningless finale. Their special teams play, however, embodied a team going through a sleepy walk-through. Punter Brian Anger bobbled a clean snap at Dallas' 19. Pro-Bowl kick returner KaVontae Turpin muffed a punt that bounced off his facemask at the 15. Kicker Brett Maher hooked an extra point. 

Against a quality opponent in a playoff game, this game would've been 24-0 at halftime. But against the Commanders' JV - which missed two field goals and an extra point and threw an end-zone interception - it was only 13-6 after Dak Prescott squeezed a touchdown to CeeDee Lamb in the final seconds of the second quarter.

7. Downward Spiral? - On Nov. 20 the Cowboys pulverized the 8-1 Minnesota Vikings, 40-3. With a complete domination of a Super-Bowl contender, they improved to 7-3 and served notice that they were a legitimate threat. 

Or so we thought. 

Since that game the Cowboys are 5-2 but have looked nothing close to super. The five wins: trailing the Giants at halftime, trailing the Colts after three quarters, needed a last-minute 98-yard drive to beat the Texans, needing a last-play incompletion to hold off Gardner Minshew and the Eagles, and slugging their way to a victory over Tennessee and raw quarterback Josh Dobbs. 

Too early to draft an obit, but did the Cowboys peak before Thanksgiving?

6. The Parsons Problem - Micah Parsons in his first 11 games: 12 sacks. Micah Parsons in his last six games: 1.5 sacks. 

It's not only his production, it's his body language and seeming lack of energy. He's often been caught by TV cameras - even in the pulsating win over the Eagles on Christmas Eve - staring blankly into space on the bench. And Sunday he was wincing and grabbing at his left hand, on which he wore a protective club a week ago. 

Said Micah after the game, challenging the Cowboys to "look in the mirror'': "These type of performances just can't happen." 

We think he was referring to the team's performance, and not just his.

5. Troubling Tune-ups - The Cowboys’ late-season luck is all fine and good, but it’s not exactly preparing them for what’s to come on Wild Card weekend. In the last three weeks they've faced backup quarterbacks Minshew (Eagles), Dobbs (Titans) and rookie Sam Howell (Commanders) before – ready or not – getting reacquainted with a guy named Tom Brady (Buccaneers). 

Oh, and they also got a broken-down Ryan (Colts) and a weird two-headed nothing (Texans). 

Last time the Cowboys beat a quarterback who'll be playing in the postseason: the Giants' Daniel Jones on Thanksgiving. 

The last time Dallas played Brady in Tampa was the 2021 season opener, when it coughed up 379 passing yards and four touchdowns.

4. Good Dak - Prescott's touchdown pass to Lamb was the 166th of his career, passing Troy Aikman on the Cowboys' all-time list. Only Tony Romo (248) has thrown more.

3. Very Bad Dak - Last Thursday Prescott promised about this game: "We’ve got to win. The focus first and foremost is to win. Play well, yes, and build momentum.” 

Yikes. 

Instead, Prescott had perhaps his worst game in the NFL. He threw a Pick Six to cornerback Kendall Fuller (one play after almost throwing a Pick Six to Kendall Fuller). He overthrow an open Lamb for what should have been a touchdown. He produced a career-low completion percentage of 37.8 (14 of 37). He threw an interception in his seventh consecutive game, the most by a Cowboy since Vinny Testaverde in 2004. As a rookie in 2016, Dak threw four interceptions in 16 starts. This season - in 12 starts - he threw a league-high 15. 

Said Prescott: “I got to get better at it. Simple as that. This won’t continue.”

2. Revolting Vibes - Watching newly signed, stop-gap cornerback Trayvon Mullen get repeatedly beat for completions is one thing. Watching the Cowboys' first-team offense struggle mightily to move the ball is another. 

Especially on the ground. And it's more trend than outlier. 

They averaged only 2.7 yards per rush in a sluggish win over the Titans last week and another alarming 2.4 against the Commanders. Granted starting center Tyler Biadasz was out (he should be back next week), but Prescott getting stuffed on a 4th-and-1 quarterback sneak late in the game was embarrassing. 

In their last 59 hand-offs, the Cowboys have gained only 151 yards - and that includes 19 in garbage time Sunday and a 23-yard run by Malik Davis against Tennessee.

1. Finale Flop - In an essentially meaningless game, the Cowboys didn't need to look like a team that has won five Super Bowls. But neither did they want to look like The Three Stooges.

Said future HOF guard Zach Martin: Zack Martin: “If we do this again next week, we’ll be sitting at home.”

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Richie Whitt
RICHIE WHITT

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