Dallas Cowboys come up short in messy affair against New England

The Dallas Cowboys had to have known that they would have a tough one on their hands heading into Foxborough. In the end, it would be too much to handle.

The Dallas Cowboys came into Sunday’s game against the New England Patriots in a very peculiar position. They were a team picked by many to do pretty good things this season, that hasn’t quite lived up to expectations.

The defense was expected to be among the elite, and while they have played really well at times this season, there have been times when they’ve looked downright awful as well. With all those things swirling around, what makes things even more peculiar is the fact that although they have managed to win six games this season along the way to their current first-place standing in the NFC East division, they have yet to have a convincing win.

This is one of those against a good team that you expect to see from a title contender in any given year. Beating the Patriots in New England on Sunday would have definitely checked that box for the Cowboys, but they failed to get it done. Not only did the Cowboys fail to score a touchdown on Sunday, but this was also probably exacerbated by the fact that wide receiver Amari Cooper failed to record a single reception.

The Dallas Cowboys weren’t awful, they just weren’t good enough or obviously, as good as they needed to be. Outside of the no-catch situation surrounding Amari Cooper, the same can be said for just about every player on each side of the ball.

As an example, starting left tackle Tyron Smith had a few penalties, but there also wasn’t a ton of pressure consistently in quarterback Dak Prescott‘s face either. Of course several members of the secondary failed to secure what looked like they could have been possible interception opportunities.

But outside of the phenomenal play made for a touchdown by New England Rookie N’Keal Harry, there weren’t a ton of huge pass plays given up either. On the offensive side as a whole, you could also point to the weather and conditions, but that tends to come off too much like an excuse.

Regardless, this leaves the Cowboys in another awkward scenario. They should be a better team, but they are still leading in the division, although they don’t have a signature win yet this season. It is hard to project for what the future may hold because you see what they can be, but you haven’t seen them be that against a team comparable to what they might see in the postseason.

They get another bite at the apple on Thanksgiving in a classic matchup, as they go against the Buffalo Bills. The Bills aren’t a sexy team or might not be one of the first that comes to mind when you think about the contenders, but they do sport a record of 8-3 and have looked really good behind Josh Allen at times this season.

The Cowboys need to win that game and in an impressive fashion if you ask me. They still hold a lead over the Eagles in the division, but Philadelphia also has the weakest remaining schedule from here out in the entire league. Hopefully, they will be able to get it back on track on Turkey Day, which would be such a Cowboys thing to do since they have been a consistent mark of inconsistency this season.