ARLINGTON, Texas – Success. Everyone says they want it, and they're not wrong. When it comes to having money or not having it, obviously you want it. Just like you want the food to taste good, the movie to be memorable and the joke to be funny.
As for football, you want to win the game rather than lose it, especially when you had just about every opportunity possible to do so.
But my point is, I've never seen a team that seems so afraid of success. Maybe afraid isn't the right word, but whatever it is, they're not handling any kind of success the right way.
In this case, success doesn't just mean a victory in the previous game, but what about within the game? Even having a sizeable lead in the fourth quarter is considered success in my book, and for some reason the Cowboys just can't handle it the right way.
That's really my major takeaway from a game like this. The Cowboys went into Philadelphia last Monday night and hammered a team that shouldn't be winning a lot of games. The Cowboys bullied the Eagles and won by 17, and did so in a way that gave a lot of us some hope for not only this offense to get back on track, but to play a style that seemed to be complementary for both the offense and defense.
However, whatever happens during the week, this team isn't prepared to go out and carry it over to the next game.
Just like they didn't do from the Week 2 win over the Commanders into the Ravens game in Rio. Just like they didn't do after Houston into the Tampa Bay game, and just like they didn't do once again this week despite playing a Cardinals team with a worse record, a worse quarterback and a worse group of offensive players.
But they're the Cardinals, a team and franchise that somehow has this indescribable hex over the Cowboys, and have for about two decades now. It's unreal because Arizona hasn't been a great franchise in that time. They haven't been better than the Cowboys in really any of those seasons, and Dallas was favored to win these games, just like they were again today.
But something happens with this team, especially against Arizona, when it seems like they're supposed to win. The Cowboys just can't get their mindset right to go out and take care of business.
Is that coaching? Seems like that's a good start. But then again, when you're talking about a 20-year trend, then it's all of them: Wade Phillips, Jason Garrett, Mike McCarthy and Brian Schottenheimer. All of them weren't bad coaches, but this Arizona thing is just completely out of hand.
But let's not even focus on the Cardinals because, like I said, it's 20 years of this. Everything is different except the uniforms.
But this game in particular, it's another situation where they don't seem to be in the right mindset from the start. Say what you want about the Cowboys getting the lead, yeah, but it wasn't because of the offense. At one point, they led 14-0 and had the same amount of yards as Arizona. The first score was set up by the Shemar James interception. And even with that, they had to get a fumble recovery by James Mitchell, who none of you had probably even heard of before he was in the end zone with the ball. So even the first touchdown had some miscues with it.
The Cowboys weren't sharp at all, but they still had the lead because Arizona just isn't a good team.
Then something clicked with the defense, and not a good click. Just when they have a 17-3 lead and I'm grabbing the media guide to see when was the last time they allowed only single digits in a game, a dude named Allgeier rips off a long touchdown run. Just like that, it's 17-10 and we're starting to see a resemblance of the defense we were trying to forget.
It's almost like they just can't be the type of defense we think they can be. But the Cowboys answered that on offense and scored again. OK, it's 24-10 and maybe the Cowboys are going to be a team that can handle a game like this.
But they just couldn't. And again, everyone shares the blame, but it has to start with the coaches.
That's at least what Brian Schottenheimer said afterwards. "It starts with me," he said, as most coaches do. But he has to take most of this because he's the one who talks about establishing culture. He's the one who has to get them ready to play. And being ready to play isn't a pregame speech on Sunday morning. It's the little things in the meetings on Wednesday, and how they practice each day, and how they look for different ways to attack a team that is 2-5 and shouldn't be able to beat you straight up.
Isn't that culture? Getting your mind in the right direction – not just after the losses, but after the wins. Not just after the 3-and-out drive, but after the touchdown drive, too.
This team was up 14-3 and got a fumble and couldn't go score before the half.
This team was up 14-3 after halftime and only got a field goal to pad the lead.
This team was up 27-24 after the onside kick and couldn't get a first down.
This team was tied 30-30 and couldn't complete a 10-12-yard pass to give the kicker a chance.
This team was tied 30-30 after the defense gave you a huge stop in overtime, and couldn't even get a first down.
This team had chances to build off the success that was staring them in the face, but they looked away.
And now, with another tough loss, it's looking like this season is slipping away as well.
