The Dallas Cowboys rode into Miami hoping to lasso the Dolphins but instead were pulled into the sea until they lost consciousness.
Instead of celebrating Christmas with an 11-4 record, first place in the NFC East, and the second seed in the NFC, the Cowboys received coal in their stocking.
Miami’s K Jason Sanders booted five field goals through the uprights, including the game-winner from 29 yards away to send Dallas packing with a 22-20 loss.
In a two-point game that came down to the last second, several moments in the game could have swung either way.
Today I want to look at three plays that could have changed the outcome of the game if they had gone in the Cowboys’ favor.
Tony Pollard’s Redzone Snafu
Much was made of the decision last week from Mike McCarthy to win the toss in Buffalo and defer to the second half.
Buffalo drove down the field and took a 7-0 lead before the Dallas offense even saw the field.
Playing from behind, the offense never gained any traction, eventually getting blown out by James Cook and the Bills.
This week the Cowboys again won the toss, but McCarthy learned from last week’s mistake and chose to take the ball.
It turned out to be a great decision, and his efforts were nearly rewarded with a 7-0 lead.
The key word there is “nearly”.
Dak Prescott drove his offense down the field to the Dolphins’ one yard line on an opening drive that featured a key fourth down conversion.
We all know the play that squandered the drive was the failed handoff between Prescott and FB Hunter Luepke, but that play should have never happened.
On the previous play facing a 2nd & 1 from the two yard line, the call was an option play to the left to Tony Pollard.
Pollard took the pitch and it was a race to the pylon.
I’m not sure what Pollard saw on that play, but it appears he felt he wasn’t going to win that race to the pylon, and he chose to cut it inside.
It wasn’t a strong cut to the inside, but instead was more of a slow spin and a simple arm tackle was able to keep him out of the endzone.
On the very next play with a 1st & Goal at the one-yard line, the call was a dive play to short yardage back and fan favorite Hunter Luepke.
I jumped out of my seat seeing him fall forward into the endzone, but the problem was that he didn’t have the ball.
The ball lay on the turf like a Christmas ham in the oven, and the Miami defense pounced on it to end the threat.
A touchdown there would have done wonders for the confidence of the offense, and in a two-point loss, those points were premium.
Micah Parsons’ Questionable Penalty
Later in the first half and nursing a 7-6 lead, the Cowboys’ defense was tasked to stop the Dolphins’ two-minute offense before the half.
A tall task for any team, Dallas’ path was made more difficult by a ticky-tack roughing the passer penalty called on Micah Parsons.
Miami had already driven the ball inside the Cowboys’ ten yard line with under 30 seconds to go in the half.
Pass rush and tight coverage led to an incomplete pass to force a 3rd & 1 from the nine yard line.
However, there was a yellow hankie on the field.
Star pass-rusher Micah Parsons was called for roughing the passer, and I don’t believe it was the correct call.
It was a bang-bang play, and considering Parsons is blatantly held on almost every play, you’d think the officials wouldn’t throw a flag on such a close judgment call.
I think we should know better than to expect Parsons to get the benefit of the doubt in any situation, and Sunday proved that once again.
That penalty set up the Dolphins with a 1st & Goal from the Cowboys’ four yard line, and Tua Tagovailoa would throw a touchdown to Raheem Mostert to give Miami a 13-7 lead at the half.
There’s no guarantee the defense would have kept Miami out of the endzone, but I’ll defer to the fact that the penalty led to Miami’s only touchdown of the game.
Look at the scope of the rest of the game where Dallas forced five field goals and draw your own conclusion.
Screen to Gallup Goes Nowhere
In the second half, Dallas found themselves trailing 16-7 early in the 3rd quarter.
Needing a spark on offense, Prescott heaved a deep pass up the right sideline that was high-pointed by second-year WR Jalen Tolbert for a 45-yard gain into Miami territory.
Surely the Cowboys were thinking touchdown after starting a drive with a chunk play into opponents’ territory.
Anyone watching was also thinking the same, but we would all be equally disappointed.
The Cowboys faced a 2nd & 7 from the Miami 21 yard line, and then the wheels fell off like we’ve seen so many times before.
Instead of ending a promising drive with a touchdown to cut the lead to 16-14, a poor decision by Prescott would send Dallas backward.
McCarthy called a double wide receiver screen play where Prescott had to choose between Michael Gallup or CeeDee Lamb.
Strangely, Prescott chose Gallup over the more dynamic playmaker, and the play resulted in a four-yard loss.
On 3rd & 11, Prescott escaped the pocket and scrambled to the right for a first down inside the Dolphins’ 20 yard line.
Not so fast. A flag on the field for a questionable illegal shift negated the play and instead forced a 3rd & 16.
Dallas wouldn’t convert and settled for a Brandon Aubrey field goal for a six-point deficit.
As I mentioned earlier, points were at a premium, and squandered opportunities on the plus side of the field are usually the reason teams lose the close games.
There’s no guarantee that a 16-14 deficit instead of a 16-10 deficit would change how the rest of the game played out, but it was a factor in the result.