4 reasons Cowboys will beat the Jaguars in Week 15

3. Cowboys Were Embarrassed in Week 14

Week 14 was supposed to be another easy win for Dallas. They had just dropped 54 on the Colts, with 33 of those points coming in an 11-minute period. And this time, they were facing a one-win franchise that has major issues on defense.

On paper, it should have been a landslide. But they don’t play the game on paper.

Houston came into this one with something to prove. They were showing more energy throughout the game than Dallas did and some of the hits — especially from Jalen Pitre — were hard enough to be felt through the T.V.

Dallas deserves credit for stepping up at the end, especially their defense. After Dak Prescott threw a late pick at his own four-yard line, the Texans should have been able to seal the win. But then DeMarcus Lawrence made a huge stop on third down that pushed Houston back two yards. A fourth-down stop then got them the ball back, and a narrow win ensued.

Even though the wins all count the same, there’s no way Dallas wasn’t embarrassed by this outing. And they’ve shown in the past they respond well following a forgettable performance.

Take, for example, what they did to the poor Minnesota Vikings in November. After losing a two-touchdown lead in a defeat at the hands of the Green Bay Packers, they won 40-3 against Minnesota, as they dominated in every facet of the game.

Another example was in 2021, when they lost 30-16 to the Denver Broncos, and Mike McCarthy decided to rub it in and embarrass his own players. McCarthy gave them all a bottle of “Monkey Butt,” which they could use to help with the chafing from getting their butts kicked the week before. His tactic worked, as Dallas took it out on the Atlanta Falcons in a 43-3 win.

So while the narrow win in Week 14 was frustrating, it could end up being a very bad thing for the Jaguars.