Six yards. Four plays and 27 seconds on the clock.
That was all that stood between the Cowboys on Sunday and a signature, season-defining victory.
And they literally backed away from the moment.
A sack, an incomplete pass, and a delay of game penalty. Suddenly first-and-five at the six turned into third-and 26 at the 27.
The final play of the game was a pass completed four yards short of the endzone.
To be sure, that final set of downs was badly misplayed and denied the Cowboys’ bid for a comeback win.
But this wasn’t the reason why Dallas lost to the Eagles 28-23. There were several other reasons at play.
The one bright spot was Prescott is doing much better protecting the ball and running when nothing is available down field.
Too Many Errors
Yes, the refs seemed to favor the Eagles a lot on Sunday. But they weren’t the reason why the Cowboys lost.
Passes that should have been caught – looking at you Michael Gallup.
Passes that should have been thrown into the endzone, not short of it, are partly to blame too.
If the fourth quarter pass to Schoonmaker gets thrown a few inches higher it would have carried him in.
Instead, replay ruled that he was just short.
The final pass to Lamb needed to go into the endzone, not four yards short. Especially when no one was there to block for him.
Mike McCarthy also gets a share of the blame.
On the fourth down pass to Schoonmaker that was inches short, why was Dallas not kicking a field goal there?
Down 11, they needed two scores to tie, one being a field goal. On the road take the points, every single time.
Dallas didn’t, then chased points with a failed 2-point try later.
A field goal there, along with the touchdown – even with the missed 2-pointer – and Dallas is only down 28-26.
Then they’d have just needed a field goal when they got the ball back with 46 seconds remaining.
McCarthy wanted to show he had a bigger pair than Nick Sirianni. He may have let his machismo get in the way of a Dallas win.
The Defense
Dallas’ defense played well, but had one drive that they failed to get off the field on third down that the Eagles turned into a score.
The Eagles converted a second-and-23 on three straight pass completions with Dallas’ defense playing way too soft.
We used to call that the “Prevent Victory” defense.
The defense forced three fumbles but failed to recover any of them. Philadelphia went on to score touchdowns after two of them.
The Aftermath
The Cowboys did not make a move prior to the trade deadline. Jerry Jones proclaimed the Cowboys were good as is.
Obviously, they aren’t.
In addition to failing to get into the endzone at a critical juncture, Schoonmaker wiped out a huge gain with a holding penalty.
Instead of first-and-10 at the Eagles’ 27, Dallas had first-and-15 at midfield. They punted three plays later.
Likely three points off the board at least, if not seven, just midway through the third quarter.
The defense had holding and offsides penalties that hurt as well.
It’s a common refrain with Dallas that extends beyond this season. They are an undisciplined team and usually at the worst possible times.
Dallas’ offensive line is still a question. Terrance Steele did not have a good game at all.
If only Dallas had addressed the offensive line in the draft and acquired a veteran tight end last week.
Sunday might have been different if Dallas had addressed its weaknesses.
The Cowboys are still not getting it done in the big games. But at least they weren’t blown out of the stadium like they were in San Francisco.
The season is not over. The Cowboys – barring a complete meltdown – will make the playoffs.
But they need to find a way to start winning these games instead of coming up just short.