Sunday’s Cowboys-Jaguars battle in the swamp had all the makings of a trap game before kickoff, but none of those same makings when Dallas was swarming, up 27-10, and beginning to pull away midway through the third quarter.
Things changed on a dime when Trevor Lawrence rediscovered a path the end zone with a quick strike before the Jacksonville defense stepped up, smothered Dak Prescott, and forced him into a game-changing turnover deep in his own territory. Even an illegal block on the interception return couldn’t halt Jacksonville’s momentum; two more unanswered touchdowns followed, giving the Jags a four-point lead.
All that meant was that it was time for Prescott and Co. to engage in the same way they had the week prior against the Houston Texans. The Jaguars are a more formidable foe, but none of that mattered now. One drive to go win a game. One drive to give yourself a chance. What have you got?
Unfortunately, it took a few more drives than that to get to an answer here. Noah Brown’s wave goodbye to the crowd with 3:02 remaining discounted the Jaguars offense’s ability to regroup. It discounted Kellen Moore’s ill-advised third down throw with a chance to salt away the win late after Jayron Kearse’s forced fumble. It discounted the randomness of the game of football, where a tipped ball can turn into a walkoff while you’re busy blinking.
The Cowboys lost a game they should’ve won Sunday afternoon in Jacksonville, and turned these would-be heroes into footnotes.
JACKSONVILLE, FLORIDA – DECEMBER 18: Dak Prescott #4 of the Dallas Cowboys hands off the ball to Ezekiel Elliott #21 during the first quarter of the game against the Jacksonville Jaguars at TIAA Bank Field on December 18, 2022 in Jacksonville, Florida. (Photo by Courtney Culbreath/Getty Images)
3. Dak Prescott
Forget the earlier interception that, yes, turned the game on its head. Dak Prescott was at his very best on the final scoring drive in this one.
He converted on not one, but two short keepers to sustain the offense’s momentum. He found CeeDee Lamb in space to get Dallas near midfield and ignite their progress. And, of course, he spun out of significant trouble on 3rd & 6 near the red zone and delivered a perfect strike to Noah Brown, who secured Prescott’s laser and gave Dallas the lead.
Discount the competition all you want. Look down on the Houston Texans and Jacksonville Jaguars, two below-average defenses. But whether it was 98 yards or a clock-chewing counter jab after Jacksonville had stolen all momentum, Prescott made winning plays two weeks running, and timed them perfectly to result in maximum drama.
The Minnesota Vikings keep getting credit for digging up “the will to win,” don’t they? Never mind that they went down 33-0 to the Colts; they stirred up something at halftime and regrouped.
Prescott won’t get the same credit because of a wayward bounce on the final drive of overtime. Disaster.
2. Noah Brown
Noah Brown’s second touchdown of the day, coming on 3rd & 6 after a Tony Romo-esque Prescott spin move (I learned that from you,dad!), was the single biggest offensive play of the game for Dallas, saving a time-consuming drive from sputtering out at the last second.
Unfortunately, Brown’s score is now going to be buried in a pile of criticism and injury concerns.
The symbol of the end of this contest will not be Brown’s diving grab, but rather his premature wave to the Jacksonville crowd, which only served to awaken and embolden them.
With only 3:02 remaining, Lawrence somehow got not one, but two chances to win the game in regulation, nearly reaching field goal range before losing the ball, then winnowing a pass through Donovan Wilson’s hands to set up the game-tying kick.
Brown’s skills were on full display Sunday, as evidenced by his six catches for 49 yards and two scores. Forget Odell Beckham Jr. and TY Hilton; there’s genuine ability here to supplement Dallas’ offensive attack in January.
His poise and composure were not, though, undermining his own heroics with an unnecessarily confident gesture before the clock ran out. Thanks to the events that unfolded after his ill-timed wave, the Cowboys are now almost guaranteed to be playing their crucial January football on the road.
And, of course, Brown came up small as the clock expired, too, tipping the game-losing interception to a hungry Jaguars defense. Tough play, but … one he could’ve come down with that further papered over his hard work from the fourth quarter.
1. Jayron Kearse
The competitor in Trevor Lawrence believed there were even more yards to gain after he’d spun out of a sack around midfield and sprinted towards the glowing green “field goal range” line with all three timeouts remaining.
The shoulder of Jayron Kearse felt differently.
With Lawrence midway through disintegrating the defense on what felt like a disheartening final stand, Kearse jarred the football loose after one final ill-advised juke left the QB vulnerable to a big hit. After so many spectacular moves, Lawrence spun into contact, and Kearse was ready to deliver the wood. A little bit of fumble luck later, and the ball belonged to the Cowboys once again.
Kearse survived a pregame injury scare last week against the Texans, then nearly secured the win this time around with the defensive play of the game. A defense that lost Donovan Wilson, Leighton Vander Esch and Dorance Armstrong over the course of this roller coaster of a game needed a hero down the stretch, and Kearse stepped up right when Lawrence was beginning to feel himself the most.
It’s just a terrible shame this extremely fortuitous bounce was equalized by a tipped ball that went in the opposite direction.
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