Why the Dallas Cowboys needed to lose against the Giants

Down to 11-2, the Dallas Cowboys were embarrassed by the Giants, but are only getting started. Here is why America’s Team needed to lose so they could win.

At the end of the day, the Dallas Cowboys are still 11-2.

They are still in the driver’s seat. They are the masters of their own destiny. There are several teams that do not share that type of power.

You may now breathe.

Now, I won’t pretend that losing the New York Giants for a second straight time is something to sneeze at. That ball club displayed the Cowboys’ flaws on a national televised stage for the world to see.

It’s embarrassing, but not at all unexpected.

Here’s why:

• The Giants are fighting for the playoff lives

• It’s a rivalry game

• All great winning streaks (11 for the Cowboys) come to an end

Sure, it’s easy to use excuse after excuse. Like, how about the slippery carpet? How about the weather? The cold? On and on and on…

But none of that matters.

The reality is this: the Cowboys did lose, and the chances of Dallas facing a Giants team for a third time is a real possibility now. You can dial up excuse after excuse but the truth is the New York Giants owned the Dallas Cowboys this year.

A 0-3 record against this New York squad isn’t a sexy thing to think about, but it’s something the Cowboys must ponder about now rather than later.

In fact, I think a loss was more beneficial than the Cowboys walking over the Giants to claim the NFC East and a first-round bye. Sure, those things would have been nice to lock up. But no team wants to enter the tournament only to leave after one game because of complacency.

And if the Cowboys can’t learn from last Sunday night, their winning streaks and patches of Cinderella stories mean nothing when the month turns to January. It’s better to fix something in December than troubleshoot the problem in March when the team is on to the next season.

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By losing 10-7 to the Giants, the Cowboys now have an opportunity to fix:

• …The communication between Dak Prescott and Dez Bryant.

• …Dez Bryant, who needs to become more 2014 Dez Bryant.

• …Dak Prescott’s abilities to adjust to defensive schemes.

• …Learning how to lose, so that they can learn how to bounce back, something that hasn’t happened since the month of September.

• …A stalling offense that was anemic in their last two outings against the Vikings and Giants.

• …An offense that has been bailed out by (wait for it…) the defense who has played impressively with mid-level talent.

The loss to the New York Giants is one small dent on the Cowboys record standings, but the weight of the game should shift the team’s feet back down to Earth after a franchise record-setting of 11 consecutive wins.

The saying goes: you can’t win them all.

And that’s a perfectly fine line, I think, for teams playing in December. It’s what you do in the months after that defines a team, and the ones who go on to win big things are the ones who learned from the losses.

Next: Cowboys Dak Prescott, Dez Bryant not ready for playoffs

The Dallas Cowboys will have a chance to redeem themselves this Sunday night against another team fighting for a playoff ticket, just like the Giants.

Let’s see what these Cowboys have learned (read: fixed) against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers before it’s too late.

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Why the Dallas Cowboys needed to lose to the Giants

By Michael H. Vu | Dec 13, 2016

Down to 11-2, the Dallas Cowboys were embarrassed by the Giants, but are only getting started. Here is why America’s Team needed to lose so they could win.

More from The Landry Hat