Post by Matt Meyer | @Bluto51 on X
The Dallas Cowboys came up short against the Miami Dolphins on Sunday, losing 22-20 on Jason Sanders’ 5th field goal of the day, a 29 yarder as time expired. Dallas is now 10-5 and has fallen a game behind the Philadelphia Eagles in the NFC East with two weeks left in the regular season. The Cowboys are still in the top Wild Card spot and will likely finish there unless they win their final two games and the Eagles lose one of their final two as a sizeable favorite.
Biggest play of the game came on the final play of the first drive. After moving 74 yards in 15 plays, Dak Prescott and FB Hunter Luepke failed to execute a handoff at the Miami 1, and Dolphin safety Brandon Jones recovered. Some fans weren’t happy with the play call to hand off to Luepke, who only has 6 carries and 3 receptions this season. However, Luepke had 2 carries and 1 reception on that drive. No issue with the play call from me; don’t fumble the football. It’s that simple.
After starting from their own 2, Miami drove for a FG, but the Cowboys answered with a 49 yard TD pass to CeeDee Lamb, and after two drives, it appeared Dallas was on their way to a terrific day offensively. However, the Dolphins defense would force three straight punts, excluding a kneel down before the half, and the Cowboys wouldn’t find the end zone again until their final possession, a methodical drive going 69 yards in 17 plays, and when Brandin Cooks leaped high in the left side of the end zone to haul in an 8 yard TD pass, the Cowboys had a 20-19 lead.
Miami would have the final possession though, and they used all 3:27 left on the clock to set up Sanders for the game winning FG. Dallas’ defense held their own for the most of the game, only allowing the Dolphins in the end zone once all day and limiting Miami from hitting many long throws. Jaylen Waddle had a 50 yard reception on the Dolphins’ third play of the day, but Miami only had two other receptions of 20 or more yards. However, when Dallas needed a stop on the final drive of the game, they didn’t come through, as the Dolphins converted a 3rd and 3 and a 3rd and 2 in Cowboys territory to burn time off the clock and set Sanders up for the winning chip shot. A personal foul facemask by Damone Clark on the first play of the drive, moving the ball to the Miami 46 with 3:19 left, didn’t help. Micah Parsons also had a personal foul roughing the passer on the Dolphins’ lone TD drive just before the half, negating a 3rd and 1 from the Dallas 9, and Raheem Mostert caught a 4 yard TD pass on the next play.
I’ve got no patience for complaining about officiating. First of all, it may not have mattered. If Parsons wasn’t flagged, the Dolphins still would have had 3rd and 1 at the Cowboys’ 9. Was the Parsons penalty questionable? Just as questionable as a roughing the passer penalty called on Miami DT Christian Wilkins earlier in the first half. Parsons has been vocal this week about holding penalties not being called against opponents. Save that crap for someone else, because it isn’t for me. Breaks with officiating even out over time. Whining about it won’t change the outcome and it only makes the whiner look bad. That’s not what leaders do. That said, the Cowboys’ defense held their own against arguably the best offense in the league. Miami’s defense was equally as impressive. The Dolphins are better than I thought they were on that side of the ball, and I take Miami more seriously as a Super Bowl threat than I did before Sunday.
Dallas will look to avoid a third straight loss on Saturday at 7:15 against the Detroit Lions in Arlington. Hell will freeze over on Saturday night as Jimmy Johnson will be inducted into the Cowboys Ring of Honor, albeit more than 20 years later than he should’ve been. Nice of Jerry Jones to see fit to induct the man most responsible for building the team he owns into a dynasty.
Oh yeah, the game. Dallas will face another potent offense as Detroit is 3rd in total offense, 5th in pass offense, 3rd in rush offense, and 5th in scoring at 28 points per game. QB Jared Goff is 16 yards shy of 4,000 and he’s completed 68% of his passes with 27 TD’s, though he has thrown 10 picks and has lost a pair of fumbles. RB’s David Montgomery and Jahmyr Gibbs have combined for almost 1,800 yards on the ground, and WR Amon-Ra St. Brown is having an All Pro caliber season with 106 catches for 1,281 yards and 8 TD’s. TE Sam LaPorta has 776 receiving yards and 9 scores. Defensively, the Lions are 4th in the league against the run, but they rank 23rd against the pass and 24th in scoring defense. LB Alex Anzalone leads the team with 112 tackles, and DE Aidan Hutchinson has 6 ½ sacks on the season.
This is a good spot for the Cowboys. Detroit just clinched their first division title in 30 years and everyone all over the city has been patting them on the back. On the other hand, Dallas has lost 2 in a row and must win to have any chance to win their division. Expect points. Lots of them.
Cowboys 38 Lions 31