“Just what I thought I was out. They pulled me back in”. What better way to describe the Week 15 matchup between the Dallas Cowboys and Los Angeles Rams? It was utter domination by the Cowboys and a much-needed, confidence building 44-21 victory.
I honestly don’t know what to make this team. The past month or so they’ve been playing some of the worst football I’ve seen from any NFL team and then they come out and finally beat a team above .500. It’s completely mind-boggling, especially considering the Cowboys and Rams were trending in different directions.
Maybe this is just them teasing us once again, but if they can continue play like this they could be a team to be reckoned with in the postseason. In order to do that though they have to beat the Philadelphia Eagles next week. But let’s not talk about that now. Let’s get to this week’s edition of The Good, The Bad, and The Ugly.
The Good
It wasn’t easy to decide what to put in this category. The Dallas Cowboys pretty much dominated the entire game, so identifying one aspect from this Week 15 matchup with the Los Angeles Rams seemed unfair. That’s why I think the good this week for the Cowboys was the overall collective energy and effort they finally played with. It was completely unexpected considering how lethargic they’ve been for over a month.
Just about everybody stepped up their game this week. Ezekiel Elliott ran with the passion we haven’t seen much of this year. The defense tackled and executed the game plan to near perfection. Even Brett Maher’s replacement, Kai Forbath, was a breath of fresh air in the kicking game. If they can continue to play like they did Sunday afternoon against the Rams, they could be a team to be reckoned with in the postseason. Of course, they have to take care the Philadelphia Eagles next week first.
The Bad
I’m going to be honest and tell you I have absolutely no idea what to put in this category. This was as near a perfect game as I’ve ever seen from the Dallas Cowboys. Instead of copping out though I guess I would have to say the bad for the Cowboys against the Rams is the fact we will have to hear about how this could end up saving Jason Garrett’s job. You know, that this is the catalyst game that gets them back on track and pushes them far into the postseason.
I don’t know how all of you feel about Jason Garrett, but I’m personally ready to move on. That’s actually hard for me to say because I’ve been a JG supporter. The time has come though for some new blood. Garrett has had his chance as the head coach to do something with this team over the past decade, but has been average at best. I don’t know who that next HC will be, although I do know it shouldn’t be Jason Garrett. Not even if he takes them all the way to the Super Bowl.
The Ugly
Again, I really had a hard time thinking of something to put in this category. The only ugly I could think of was kicking the opening kickoff out of bounds by Kai Forbath and the one later in the fourth quarter with three minutes left in the game. That wasn’t exactly getting off on the right foot so to speak. It’s probably not the way he wanted to start his time with the Dallas Cowboys, especially knowing how Cowboys Nation has felt about the kicking situation here recently.
Luckily for Forbath though, he was able to redeem himself. He made all of his extra point kicks as well as all of his field goal attempts. It was a breath of fresh air considering what we’ve been through with Brett Maher this season. Hopefully he can continue to be just as reliable as he was Sunday afternoon in Week 15. Of course, he may want to work on his kickoffs to avoid kicking them out of bounds from now on.
