ARLINGTON, Texas – Here is what's hard to swallow about this one.
The Cowboys tried. They really did try.
Why, they could have shown up here effortlessly after Saturday night's team meeting when head coach Brian Schottenheimer informed them, as if they didn't realize already, the Eagles beating the Commanders to reach 10-5 with two games to play mathematically eliminated the Cowboys from even their 1 percent chance of qualifying for the playoffs.
They could have then just mailed it in here Sunday afternoon against the Los Angeles Chargers, who came in here with a lot to play for, knowing now that since they beat the Cowboys and if the Colts lose to the 49ers Monday night, they will clinch a wild-card spot in the AFC with an 11-4 record with two games to play. And they still have a chance to win the AFC West title if they win out over the final two games, the last one against the division-leading Broncos.
But at least the Cowboys didn't airmail this one in.
And this is in no way an attempt to soften the reality of the Cowboys sitting here now with a 6-8-1 record with two games to play, the first now four days away on Christmas, a road game against the Washington Commanders at FedEx Field, a scheduling bah-humbug. Nor to ignore failing to win the final two games against the lowly Commanders and the finale at the New York Giants to reach at least 8-8-1 would saddle the Cowboys with the ignominious stigma of finishing with consecutive losing records for the first time in 23 years, having last done so from 2000-02 with three consecutive 5-11 seasons.
Nobody wants that on their watch, and the Cowboys gave no quarter in their effort to avoid this 34-17 loss to the Chargers before 92,740 folks with AT&T Stadium infiltrated with a lot of those in powder blue as the Cowboys once again reminded us of why they are in this 2025 disappointing position.
But how they tried just about everything defensively to interrupt this trend of ineptitude after that momentary pause during the resurgent three-game winning streak to pull above .500 for the first, and now only, time this season at 6-5-1. Because during this current three-game losing streak, longest of the season, the Cowboys have given up 44, 34 and 34 points, a ridiculous 112-point total, coming to a 37-point average. And that has their 15-game total ballooning to a 30.3-point average against, on pace with two games to play for the worst mark in the franchise's 66-season history by nearly a point.
Defensive coordinator Matt Eberflus, supposedly these final three games a referendum on his future employment, did about everything imaginable with his defensive scheme. He played a four-man line and five-man line. He played zone on the back end and man to man. He played a cover 2. He tried to blitz with linebackers and off the slot with cornerbacks. Even blitzed with a five-man line to get pressure they sorely needed to control Chargers quarterback Justin Herbert.
Out of desperation, the Cowboys even played cornerback Trevon Diggs against their better judgment after learning Thursday evening veteran corner DaRon Bland would be out for the rest of the season needing foot surgery yet again. If they had not activated Diggs off IR-return and lost him for the remainder of the season – presumably wanting to keep him healthy for future roster decisions – they would have gone into these final three games with a bunch of cornerbacks with no more than this being their second season in the NFL. So Diggs played for the first time in nine games.
Why, even Flus went from calling the defensive plays from the sideline to the coaches box to grab a better view of what's going on this fourth day before Christmas.
Made no difference. None of it. Herbert blistered the Cowboys by completing 23 of 29 passes for 300 yards, two touchdowns and a QB rating of 132.8. With 9:45 left in the second quarter and the Chargers up only 14-10, he was a perfect 158.3. Seriously.
The Cowboys also played all these players so many were calling to see more of since they had nothing playoff-tangible to lose: defensive linemen Perrion Winfrey, James Houston and Dante Fowler; linebackers Logan Wilson, Shemar James and Marist Liufau; and even got cornerback Trikweze Bridges some defensive snaps, too.
Made no difference. The Cowboys never sacked Herbet once, meaning now just one sack during this three-game losing streak, and five QB hits this game. Worse, Herbert scrambled out of the pocket or made good on the Chargers' version of a "tush-push" for 44 rushing yards and one touchdown on eight carries, adding to the Chargers total of 152 yards rushing. Even worse, consider that coming into the game Herbert had been sacked 49 times this season with 16 in the previous four games.
The Cowboys, bageled.
"We need to affect the passer more, especially when you're playing tight man to man and there're guys running across the field. You've got to affect him and make him make some off-target throws," Schottenheimer said, knowing Herbert completed a phenomenal 79.3 percent of his passes. "And we didn't do a very good job of that today."
In fact, a gosh awful job.
Then offensively, in an attempt to better protect Dak Prescott, and knowing not only starting left tackle Tyler Guyton would miss his fourth consecutive game (high ankle sprain) and that even though the recent three-game starter in his place Nate Thomas was listed as fully practicing – he gutted through a painful shoulder that sidelined him at the end of the Minnesota game – and in attempt to improve protection, they moved Pro Bowl left guard Tyler Smith to left tackle and inserted T.J. Bass in at left guard.
Solid move. Dak's only sack came at the end of the first half when trying to extend the play with the final seconds ticking off. Even though the Cowboys scored just 17 points, all in the first two quarters, Dak threw for 244 yards and two touchdowns but was robbed of a third on a pitiful holding call on Smith. That wiped out a second touchdown pass to Ryan Flournoy, who had his mother and aunt in the audience, the 10-yard penalty on third down leading to a field goal instead.
George Pickens finished with seven catches for 130 yards and his first touchdown in four games while Lamb's six for 51 meant the big two had 13 catches for 181 yards and a touchdown. They became just the eighth pair of Cowboys receivers to each put up 1,000 yards in the same season and the first since 2019.
That penalty hurt bad. So did these two plays, the Chargers having such a hard time containing the likes of Lamb and Pickens, who were repeatedly burning their man coverage attempts. That caused the Chargers to resort to playing a cloud coverage with their two safeties playing 15 yards off the line of scrimmage and backing their corners off at least 5 yards to keep everything in front of them. And both plays occurred with the Cowboys trailing just 24-17 late in the third quarter after forcing the Chargers to punt for the only time in the game, having finished their other six full possession with four touchdowns and two field goals. There was some momentum shifting.
The first came when facing third-and-five at the Chargers 20-yard line with 3:12 remaining in the third quarter. The Cowboys were seemingly moving at will, covering 61 yards in just seven plays. False start, CeeDee, minus-5. Now third-and-10 and facing a blitz, Dak hit Pickens on the sideline only to get pushed out of bounds a half-yard short of the first down.
The Cowboys elected to go for the fourth-and-half yard, knowing kicking a field goal was not going to get it done when the Cowboys were struggling with a Chargers offense that had previously scored no more than 22 points in three of their previous four games, and that 31 in the one they scored more was against the Raiders.
Well, the Cowboys will be sick when they go back to look at Hunter Luepke getting stopped for minus-1, Schottenheimer saying he liked the call, "trying to run a little belly" they had previously in other games executed so successfully. But of all things, Chargers defensive tackle Jamaree Caldwell, all 340 pounds of him, fell forward to the ground on the inside run, only for Luepke to trip over him heading into the hole. No bueno.
"It was a huge, huge play in the game," Schottenheimer said. "It stopped momentum. It was a seven-point game at that time, 24-17. And again, the guy did a nice job, and Hunter couldn't really get his pads square to get in behind the deuce spot."
Nope, nor his feet, tripping over those 340 beached pounds.
And even though the Chargers ate up the next 8:18 driving for a field goal (27-17), here came the Cowboys again, driving to the Chargers 49-yard line on their next possession, only for center Cooper Beebe to false start when facing third-and-4. Now they had third-and-9 with the Chargers playing that deep zone, first-down prevent defense. Dang, two incompletions followed.
Ball game.
"At the end of the day, we didn't play good enough to win on really any phase," Schotty said, yet knowing they left no player unturned. All 48 guys hit the field for at least one snap, including backup quarterback Joe Milton getting in long enough for a 10-yard scramble only to lose a fumble at the end once they had thrown in the towel.
Yep, all this sort of encapsulating this entire season now gone awry. Owner Jerry Jones labeled this 6-8-1 with two games to play – the 16th coming in four days on Christmas with no playoff sugar plums dancing on the horizon – this way when asked if he thought this team underachieved:
"Yes, from what we expected, what we thought, absolutely. We all underachieved."
And the worst part, at least Sunday afternoon for this bunch against the Chargers with nothing playoff tangible to gain, they tried their darndest. Didn't mail it in. And still got beat by 17.
Ugh.
