The Cowboys are running out of steam at the worst time
Bob Self/Florida Times-Union / USA TODAY NETWORK Plus the unconvincing Vikings, the shoddy Chiefs. and more winners and losers from Week 15. It was a bad week for teams convincing us of their resumes as we hurtle towards the playoffs. In Minnesota the Vikings are expecting an award for mounting the biggest comeback in NFL history against the worst coach in league has ever seen, and the Chiefs are wanting us to ignore that it took overtime to beat the sad-ass Texans â but what Dallas did manages to trump them both, because they lost. Itâs not so much that the Cowboys fell to the Jaguars on Sunday. Hell, Jacksonville is a team on the rise and one to watch in 2023, itâs more that Dallas is a team that deserved faith, and have managed to more or less squander it over the last two weeks. This team showed weakness in Week 14 when it almost lost to the Texans, a team that shoots itself more in the groin repeatedly, and then followed up with this loss to Jacksonville. Second place in the NFC East should have been slammed shut, and now thereâs a chance (albeit small) that either the Giants push their way past the struggling Cowboys and into the playoffs. Dak Prescott may have been trending for much of the afternoon on Twitter, as heâs want to do following Cowboys loss, but it was especially pointed considering he threw the game-ending interception. Itâs a rough spot to be in, always has, always will. Prescott will be eternally critiqued for Dallasâ failings, regardless of what happens around him. The truth is, this is a man whose entire team is crumbled around him and let the Cowboys down at the worst possible time. Sure, Prescott threw two interceptions including the game-ending pick, but whereâs the outrage over Tony Pollard and Ezekiel Elliot combining for 35 touches for 128 yards? What about the defense, who outside of Micah Parsons allowed Trevor Lawrence to operate out of a clean pocket for much of the afternoon? Where are this teamâs receivers not named CeeDee Lamb? Weeks ago when Prescott was set to return from injury we discussed the Cowboysâ path to victory in 2022, and it was relatively simple: Keep playing good defense, control the ground game, and donât as the QB to play hero ball. Now weâre staring down a reality where Prescott is being asked to do too much, and the weaknesses of this roster are showing as a result. Dallas simple doesnât have what it takes to be a Super Bowl team, not this year. The AFC is too good from top to bottom, and outside of demolishing Minnesota, thereâs not really a signature win on their record. Even then, the Vikings have shown themselves to be a tremendously flawed team (which weâre going to talk about in a little bit). This team will find a way into the playoffs. These struggles aside, Dallas is still better than the surrounding competition in the NFC, and that should be enough to coast into the postseason â but they are no longer a team to watch. This is another Cowboys season full of promise and excitement, only to plummet back into mediocrity when the games matter the most. Itâs a shame, because the Cowboys are a team thatâs good enough to achieve so much more, but the loss to Jacksonville exposed weaknesses other teams can exploit. If you can stop the run and force the Cowboys into 3rd and 5+ situations, the offense doesnât really have a way to adapt. Couple this with strong zone blocking and Dallas isnât equipped in the secondary to stop a halfway decent quarterback from picking them apart. Trevor Lawrence is breaking out, but heâs not quite at the point yet where you can compare him to some of the teams Dallas will need to beat to make a playoff run. Maybe theyâll find a way to put this back together, but it sure isnât seeming like it. Loser: The Vikings I donât know the last time two teams punched their playoff tickets in the same week while looking so unconvincing doing it. Minnesota and Kansas City arenât losers because of one week of football, but what Week 15 showed in terms of these teamsâ playoff chances. Sure, this could have just been a trap game for all concerned â but the issues run a little deeper than that. Take Minnesota, for instance. Their raw record would indicate theyâre one of the best teams in the NFL, but every advanced stat points to the Vikings being a textbook one-and-done team when they reach the playoffs. Minnesota is 5th in the NFC, according to Pro Football Referenceâs simple rating system (SRS). Their defensive SRS of -1.7 lingers among non-playoff teams as one of the worst in the conference too. There is a chasm in points differential (PD) between the Vikings (+2) and the top three teams in the NFC in Philadelphia, San Francisco and Dallas â all of whom have PDs of over 100+. Nearly losing to the Colts on Saturday was indicative of how this team struggles to do things easily. They are primed to be exposed by top competition and these âskin of my teethâ wins might be exciting now, but they show a fragile house
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Plus the unconvincing Vikings, the shoddy Chiefs. and more winners and losers from Week 15.
It was a bad week for teams convincing us of their resumes as we hurtle towards the playoffs. In Minnesota the Vikings are expecting an award for mounting the biggest comeback in NFL history against the worst coach in league has ever seen, and the Chiefs are wanting us to ignore that it took overtime to beat the sad-ass Texans â but what Dallas did manages to trump them both, because they lost.
Itâs not so much that the Cowboys fell to the Jaguars on Sunday. Hell, Jacksonville is a team on the rise and one to watch in 2023, itâs more that Dallas is a team that deserved faith, and have managed to more or less squander it over the last two weeks. This team showed weakness in Week 14 when it almost lost to the Texans, a team that shoots itself more in the groin repeatedly, and then followed up with this loss to Jacksonville. Second place in the NFC East should have been slammed shut, and now thereâs a chance (albeit small) that either the Giants push their way past the struggling Cowboys and into the playoffs.
Dak Prescott may have been trending for much of the afternoon on Twitter, as heâs want to do following Cowboys loss, but it was especially pointed considering he threw the game-ending interception. Itâs a rough spot to be in, always has, always will. Prescott will be eternally critiqued for Dallasâ failings, regardless of what happens around him.
The truth is, this is a man whose entire team is crumbled around him and let the Cowboys down at the worst possible time. Sure, Prescott threw two interceptions including the game-ending pick, but whereâs the outrage over Tony Pollard and Ezekiel Elliot combining for 35 touches for 128 yards? What about the defense, who outside of Micah Parsons allowed Trevor Lawrence to operate out of a clean pocket for much of the afternoon? Where are this teamâs receivers not named CeeDee Lamb?
Weeks ago when Prescott was set to return from injury we discussed the Cowboysâ path to victory in 2022, and it was relatively simple: Keep playing good defense, control the ground game, and donât as the QB to play hero ball. Now weâre staring down a reality where Prescott is being asked to do too much, and the weaknesses of this roster are showing as a result.
Dallas simple doesnât have what it takes to be a Super Bowl team, not this year. The AFC is too good from top to bottom, and outside of demolishing Minnesota, thereâs not really a signature win on their record. Even then, the Vikings have shown themselves to be a tremendously flawed team (which weâre going to talk about in a little bit).
This team will find a way into the playoffs. These struggles aside, Dallas is still better than the surrounding competition in the NFC, and that should be enough to coast into the postseason â but they are no longer a team to watch. This is another Cowboys season full of promise and excitement, only to plummet back into mediocrity when the games matter the most. Itâs a shame, because the Cowboys are a team thatâs good enough to achieve so much more, but the loss to Jacksonville exposed weaknesses other teams can exploit. If you can stop the run and force the Cowboys into 3rd and 5+ situations, the offense doesnât really have a way to adapt.
Couple this with strong zone blocking and Dallas isnât equipped in the secondary to stop a halfway decent quarterback from picking them apart. Trevor Lawrence is breaking out, but heâs not quite at the point yet where you can compare him to some of the teams Dallas will need to beat to make a playoff run.
Maybe theyâll find a way to put this back together, but it sure isnât seeming like it.
Loser: The Vikings
I donât know the last time two teams punched their playoff tickets in the same week while looking so unconvincing doing it. Minnesota and Kansas City arenât losers because of one week of football, but what Week 15 showed in terms of these teamsâ playoff chances.
Sure, this could have just been a trap game for all concerned â but the issues run a little deeper than that. Take Minnesota, for instance. Their raw record would indicate theyâre one of the best teams in the NFL, but every advanced stat points to the Vikings being a textbook one-and-done team when they reach the playoffs.
Minnesota is 5th in the NFC, according to Pro Football Referenceâs simple rating system (SRS). Their defensive SRS of -1.7 lingers among non-playoff teams as one of the worst in the conference too. There is a chasm in points differential (PD) between the Vikings (+2) and the top three teams in the NFC in Philadelphia, San Francisco and Dallas â all of whom have PDs of over 100+.
Nearly losing to the Colts on Saturday was indicative of how this team struggles to do things easily. They are primed to be exposed by top competition and these âskin of my teethâ wins might be exciting now, but they show a fragile house of cards that could blow over at any moment.
Loser: The Chiefs
Iâm inclined to give a little more leeway to Kansas City this week, only because there are signs this was more of a blip on the radar than a trend. Still, thereâs a concerning reality about the the Chiefs this season, and thatâs the quality of opponents theyâve faced. The Chiefs have played one of the softest schedules in the NFL this season at -1.0. Meanwhile the Bills, considered to be their biggest competition in the AFC, hold the same record with a +1.3 strength of schedule rating.
That worries me for the postseason and indicates that this team is much weaker than past iterations.
Winner: Zay Jones
Itâs easy to overlook receivers in Jacksonville, but Zay Jones is quietly having one of the NFLâs best breakout seasons and on Sunday he kicked the door down. Signing with the Jaguars the same day as Christian Kirk, Jones got lost in the shuffle during the news cycle â but thus far heâs been the fan better return on investment for Jacksonville.
Against Dallas he asserted himself by catching six passes for 106 yards and three touchdowns. Overall heâs been almost on par with Kirk in performance this season among the Jaguarsâ receivers, and has been getting just as many targets from Trevor Lawrence.
With two more years left on his contract itâs looking more and more like Jones was the steal of free agency.
Winner: Chaos
The playoff picture is absolute anarchy with the finish line of the regular season in sight. The amount of teams in the hunt right now is absolutely absurd, with only four teams being eliminated from contention so far and five playoff spots stamped.
This means that with three games left there are still 10 playoff spots available, and 23 teams with a path into the postseason. This might be easy for some, and more difficult for others â but look at Carolina, for example. The Panthers STILL have control of their destiny at 5-9. and just need to win their final three games to make the playoffs.
There are stories like this around the entire NFL and itâs going to make for an incredible final few weeks as the dust settles.
