November not month to remember
For many years, I have fought the good fight, railing against the evil forces of “Didn’t = Couldn’t.” I’m talking about the sports argument segment of society that states so emphatically that Tony Romo couldn’t lead a team to a Super Bowl or Mike D’Antoni’s full-throttle offense couldn’t win an NBA title or the Rangers couldn’t win a World Series with the pitching they had when they won pennants in 2010 and 2011.
Those things did not happen. That’s very different from saying those things could not have happened.
Now we have folks insisting, as we move past the quarter-century mark of failure, that the Cowboys can’t win a Super Bowl with Dak Prescott in charge or Mike McCarthy sort of in charge or Jerry Jones way too much in charge. Those talking points gained steam as the Cowboys lost three of four games in November to slide uncomfortably from 6-1 to 7-4.
Let me present you with the good news first, a belated “something to be thankful for” on this holiday weekend. Losing three of four games is not in itself any kind of death knell when it comes to Super Bowl seekers. The Tampa Bay Bucs did it last year and the Kansas City Chiefs did likewise in 2019. In fact, 13 of the 55 Super Bowl winners have lost three out of four games or worse (the 2011 Giants lost four straight before correcting course against, umm, the Cowboys) and still captured those Lombardi trophies.
I realize it sounds like I am now making the converse argument (something has happened before, therefore it will happen again). By no means am I suggesting Dallas is in tip-top shape. Without question, the Cowboys have harmed their position. They just haven’t sealed the lid on the coffin by losing to the Broncos, Chiefs and Raiders this month.
Oddly enough, while Denver coach Vic Fangio pronounced himself as the one who found the key to beating the Cowboys, two more clubs produced their own blueprints in less than a week. Denver showed you can disguise coverage on defense and run on Dallas all day. Kansas City told the world you can have the fewest sacks in the league and still open a path to Prescott that leads to five sacks and no Cowboys touchdowns. Las Vegas said just spin the roulette wheel in search of one big play after another and you can amass 600 yards in offense and penalties.
It appears there are more ways to beat Dallas than there are conspiracy theories floating around Dealey Plaza. At least we won’t have to listen to any more cockiness from the Cowboys saying, “I hope every team plays us this way.”
They’re all playing you differently, and they’re all working!
The Cowboys own an endless array of excuses for skidding into December this way, now looking much more like a No. 4 seed forced to host the loser of the Rams-Cardinals race than a potential No. 1 seed breezing through wild-card weekend on a bye. Key players that have been missing at wide receiver and defensive end should return to the mix next week. That will provide significant help.
McCarthy mostly produced playoff teams in Green Bay. While McCarthy has won 64 percent to 67 percent of the time in September, October and December, his teams are below 45 percent winners (27-35-1) in the month of November. This 1-3 stretch mostly came from out of nowhere and demonstrated an inability to perform against the more unfamiliar teams in the league.
The good news is that it’s all NFC opponents the rest of the way, mostly within the division. The more disturbing news is that the Cowboys’ month to forget has allowed Philadelphia and Washington to believe they are back in the NFC East race.
And the Eagles, in particular, may be right.