Recap Cowboys vs Redskins

Romo's hot streak came to an end Sunday night, along with the playoffs. Romo had 2 touchdown passes on the night but had 3 interceptions including one on their final drive that could have tied the game or even won them the game. The Cowboys scored first with a Romo to Witten touchdown pass. Morris and RGIII then got a rushing touchdown a piece. Bailey made a 48 yard field goal followed by another touchdown run by Morris. The Cowboys were then in a position to make yet another comeback. Romo hooked up with Ogletree for a touchdown and then to Harris for the 2 point conversion. The Cowboys then got the ball back and all they needed was a field goal to tie the game at least, but then came Romo's interception. Setting up another Morris run and ending the game.

What went wrong is too obvious, turnovers, and the run defense.
The front 7 of this defensive unit was missing 5 starters and Ware was in a shoulder brace for the whole game. RGIII and Morris were able to get 263 yards rushing and 4 touchdowns. The Cowboys did great in stopping the pass, holding RGIII to just 100 yards. But with all of the injuries up front the Cowboys were not able to stop the Redskins.

Romo matched his interception total for the last 8 games, he is the difference maker, if Romo throws more then 2 interceptions then the Cowboys will lose. He needed to stay perfect in this game in order for the Cowboys to win, and he messed up on the final drive.

Other than those 2 things everything else went well for the Cowboys.
They were 7-13 on third down conversions, they had 100 rushing yards, only allowed 2 sacks, were 2-2 in the red zone and only had 1 penalty for 6 yards in the entire game. Dan Bailey's 48 yard field goal was his 28th out of 30 on the season. Making that one kept Bailey perfect inside 50 yards. Looking at these stats and seeing that RGIII only threw for 100 yards looks like the Cowboys are the winners right? Proving just how much the turnovers and injuries can make a difference.

This type of loss is good for the Cowboys in my opinion. Last year the Cowboys did not seem ready to make the playoffs. This year many thought they were and so did the Cowboys. This loss will provide much fuel to the Cowboys fire. They will be angry at this loss and work to be so much better next year.

 Go Cowboys!

Injury Update

In the last game of the regular the season the defense may be with out yet another player. Line Backer Ernie Sims is questionable with a concussion. Back ups will really need to step up in this game because containing RGIII will be very tricky.

Ware, like Dez, will be playing through his injury to help make a push for the playoffs. He will be wearing a shoulder brace during the game. He is much needed for this game. Fully healthy or not he is a great leader for all of these young backups who have had to step up in recent weeks because of injuries.

Dez Bryant will be playing through his broken finger again and Demarco Murray and Jason Hatcher are both probable for this game. Hatcher will play a key role in stopping the run game and Murray and Dez are both valuable assets to this offense.

Go Cowboys!

Preview NFC East

The NFC East is the only division that does not have a team secured in the playoffs. The 2 games that feature all of the NFC East games will decide it all. Here is what to look for in the Giants game.

New York Giants vs Philadelphia Eagles

Not only do the Giants need to win, but they need the Cowboys, Vikings, and Bears to lose in order to get the final wild card. So much for defending super bowl champions. The Vikings play the Packers so they can probably get a loss from the Vikings. But the Bears play the Lions which could really go either way but the Bears have the edge in that game, and the Cowboys play the Redskins. Having all 3 of those teams lose is not very likely and the Giants might not even win this game. Vick is back in for the Eagles and we all know how he and Eli can be spectacular or terrible. In this game you could say that both are under a lot of pressure. Eli needs to win the game in order for his team to have a chance to get into the playoffs. And there are some rumors that Vick will be dropped from the Eagles roster, meaning that this game can be some what of an audition for other teams. In this case I think Eli and the Giants will not be able to pull it off. Vick will show some of his former self and shine in this game. And the Giants will not make the playoffs after winning the super bowl last year.

Prediction - Eagles Win 17-13

And I have already talked about the Cowboys and how I predict them to beat the Redskins and make the playoffs. But the Redskins will still not be out of contention for a wild card. If both the Vikings and Bears lose they would then get that last wild card spot. 

Once the playoffs are set many will be looking at the bracket and see that the NFC East teams are the 4th seed and 6th seed (If a team gets a wild card). But winning the super bowl is still very likely for any NFC East team. The NFC East can be argued as one of the best divisions in the NFC. They have 3 playoff contenders while the North and West only have 2 (I am not counting the Vikings for 6 of their wins have come against teams with losing records and they have to beat the Packers in order to get in) and the South only having 1. Meaning the Cowboys, Redskins, and Giants all play very tough teams and are more prepared heading into the playoffs. So just because they are a low seed does not mean they can not win the super bowl this year.

Go Cowboys!

NFC East Championship

The Cowboys are back in the same position as last year, win and they are in. And the Cowboys have what I think the best winning mind set heading into this game. After their 3-5 start the Cowboys have had a huge turn around and are already back at 8-7 with a chance to get into the playoffs. Through all this winning the Cowboys have dealt with many injuries on defense along with Jerry Brown's tragic car crash. The Cowboys have gotten through must win games and the pressure from this game will not effect them at all. Here is what the Cowboys need to do in order to win.

Do not allow RGIII to get too far ahead
RGIII along with Alfred Morris have one of the best rushing attacks in the NFL. The Cowboys front 7 will really need to be on their toes all game. They will need to be able to contain RGIII, stop Morris, and also watch out for the deep ball. RGIII caught the Cowboys secondary by surprise last time with a couple of big touchdown passes. Romo also needs to do his part, on Thanksgiving the Cowboys were down by a lot at half time and some how managed to fight their way back. But they just fell a little bit short. This time Romo needs to either get the Cowboys up early, or stay with RGIII. Romo has recently become very good at scoring in key moments and if the Cowboys either get up by a lot or just stay with in reach of RGIII they will have no problem winning this game.

Turnovers
Romo has been flawless since mid season and has really been the main reason why the Cowboys are in the position they are in right now. He has stopped the turnovers and has become clutch when the game is on the line. So he needs to continue not producing turnovers and the rest of the team also has to be clean. Last week the reason why the Cowboys got so far down can be pointed to Murray's fumble at their own 2 yard line. Him and the rest of the Cowboys just need to secure the ball and get down field with it. The defense also needs to make RGIII mess up. Pressure will be very key for this Cowboys defense, RGIII only has 5 interceptions all year so forcing him to make bad throws will be a huge factor in this game. Also RGIII has 12 fumbles on the year. The Cowboys pass rushers should realize that they shouldn't just go for the sack but also try and force him to fumble the ball. They could easily get a turnover off of that.

Penalties
The Cowboys need to be clean for this game. I am mainly looking at the secondary, if RGIII is going to take shots down the field the defense can not get pass interference and allow huge chunks of yardage.

I am not going to emphasize the balanced offense too much for this game. The Redskins have one of the best run defenses but one of the worst pass defenses. With Romo currently on a hot streak he could pick apart the Redskins secondary with ease.

I predict that the Cowboys will go to the playoffs and win the division. RGIII will put up a good fight but the Cowboys will hold on and get the win 28-20.

Go Cowboys!

The Pro Bowl

Jason Witten and Demarcus Ware will be going to the pro bowl yet again in their very successful careers and they have really earned it.

Jason Witten after not doing much in his first two games of the season since he was still recovering from a Spleen injury, burst on to the scene and has had a career season. He has the record for most receptions in a season by a tight end with 1 game left. And is on pace for a 1,000 yard receiving season.  He is not starting in the pro bowl but that could simply be because of his lack of the end zone. Tony Gonzalez who has less yards and receptions then Witten simply has more touchdowns there for more popularity. Witten is a for sure hall of fame player. Year after year he his Romo's go to guy, Romo can always count on him to get open and make plays for a first down.

Demarcus Ware is having yet another sack filled season, recording 11.5 sacks this season. This number may not look that amazing but he is still the leader to this defense. After Lee and Carter got hurt he has really had to step up his game to help fill in for them. Ware is one of the best pass rushers in the league, he has had this status for years, meaning that offensive lines game plan for him. They double cover him and Ware is still able to get to the Quarterback.

But 2 players from the Cowboys did not make the pro bowl but should have definitely been invited.

Dez Bryant has been left out of this years pro bowl. He can still be a reserve but he should have really been one of those top 4 receivers for the NFC. In the NFC Dez is 4th in receiving yards and second in touchdowns. And he even got 3 of those touchdowns with a broken finger that requires surgery. Dez has earned Romo's trust over the past few weeks, he is making plays and finding the end zone consistently. Dez should definitely be a reserve and be there at the next pro bowl.

Anthony Spencer is the other Cowboy who has been left out. Everybody knows how Ware is such a good pass rusher but many have thought that he is the only one on the Cowboys who could. Well ever since Spencer has come back from his injury he has been the main show for the Cowboys. Week after week he has been making plays, sacking the quarterback, and getting tackles for loss. He will be a sure pick for next years pro bowl.

Recap Cowboys vs Saints

After all of the games today this game had no effect on the Cowboys playoff chances, due to the Redskins winning and the Giants losing the Cowboys will be in yet another NFC East championship game on the last week of the regular season.

The game started off well for the Cowboys, Romo had 2 strikes to Dez Bryant in the second quarter to make it 17-14 Saints at the half. Dan Bailey got a field goal to tie the game then the Saints marched down the field to go up by a touchdown. Later on the Cowboys got the Ball back at their own 2. And this was the play that cost them the game. Murray fumbled giving the Saints the ball at the 5 and they went up by 2 touchdowns. The Cowboys then got the ball back with 4:45 left on the clock. Romo then led a scoring strike to Harris to pull them with in a touchdown. The Saints were then forced to punt and Romo led the Cowboys down to the red zone again. Then hooking up with Austin to force overtime. Overtime was terrible for the Cowboys though, they got the ball first but couldn't do anything, then the Saints came marching down. They fumbled though, the ball rolled all they way to the Cowboys 2, there was a big scramble but unfortunately the Saints came up with it and kicked an easy game winning field goal.


The defense had really its worst game of the season. Drew Brees had 446 yards through the air and 3 touchdowns, while their run game had 116 yards combined. The defense did not sack Brees once in the entire game and only had 2 hits on Brees. Ware did miss most of the game due to injury but the Cowboys still needed to disrupt Brees in order to stop him. The one time the defense was good was when they forced the Saints to punt to allow the Cowboys offense to force overtime. But they just could not stop the Saints in overtime and lost.

Murray also had his worst game since coming back from his foot injury, to go with the fact that he fumbled, he only had 40 yards on 11 carries and was the only rusher for the Cowboys. Murray fumbling gave the Saints a lot of momentum to go up big in the 4th. Luckily Romo did not have any turnovers even after being force to throw so much. But the Cowboys still need to improve their run game and Murray can not make mistakes in key situations.

The Cowboys actually did not do too bad with the penalties this game, only 5 were called for 32 yards. But the Cowboys still need to improve in this area, they gave the Saints 3 first downs from penalties. These need to stop.

The Cowboys also need to get better on converting on 3rd downs. They were only 2 for 10 which is terrible, the Cowboys need to find the end zone in key situations.

There were a few good parts of this game though. Romo had 416 yards and 3 touchdowns with no turnovers. And led his team to a touchdown with 15 seconds left to force overtime. Dez Bryant also continued to show us why he does not need surgery right now, he had 2 touchdowns to go with 224 yards receiving. And congratulations to Jason Witten, he broke the record for most catches in a single season by a tight end. He is such a great player to have on this team, Romo knows he can trust him and that is always good to have for a quarterback.

Next week is the NFC East championship game, the second in a row, the Cowboys do not want to mess up again and want revenge after losing against the Redskins on Thanksgiving.

Go Cowboys!

Offensive needs

There is all the talk about the offensive line needs and how bad it has been this year. I totally agree with this statement but people can not forget about the fact that the Cowboys do lack some depth on the rest of their offense.

The receiving corps is known for Austin, Bryant and Witten, some of the best receivers in the entire league. Bryant is already over 1,000 yards for the season and Witten and Austin could join him at this mark. Which is really amazing that one team could have 3, 1,000 yard receivers. Only a few teams have ever been able to accomplish this. You can look at this stat in a good way but then also in a bad way. Having 3, 1,000 yard receivers tells people that you have 3 very good receivers. But it also tells people that they are mainly the only people the quarter back throws too. After Austin who is at 898 yards, the next closest is Ogletree at 399. Meaning almost 70% of Romo's yards go to the top 3 receivers. Which yes if he trusts them, then why not? Well if Romo only throws to them defenses can easily defend the Cowboys against the pass. The can double coverage or and make sure they have their best guys on Austin, Bryant, and Witten. A good offense is a team that has at least 4 or 5 receivers that can go onto the field and make plays. At tight end I think the Cowboys are set, Witten only needs 6 receptions to break the record for receptions in a season by a tight end and already holds the record for receptions all time for Cowboys. There are also some quality back ups behind him that could fill in for him. But as for receiver the Cowboys should look to find another one in the draft, they could possibly pick one up in the second or third round, this would add much depth to their roster and make their receiving corps a lot better.

The run game also needs help. Murray has been very helpful to this offense and has proved he is the starter. But when he got hurt the Cowboys were hurt badly. Felix Jones was not able to do really anything for the Cowboys when Murray was out. Forcing them to rely on their passing attack which caused turn overs. The Cowboys should look to find a quality running back in the draft to take some of the load off of Murray and be able to step up when Murray gets hurt. Some backs stand out in the draft class that the Cowboys could pick up in the about the 3rd round of the draft, people like Montee Ball, or Stepfan Taylor would be great for this offense.

Over all the Cowboys have a lot to do in this draft, they need to get some solid offensive lineman, run stopping defensive lineman, and offensive weapons that can really step up.