USA Today is running an article looking back on the NFL season. They're doling out awards for things like 'Most clutch performance' and 'Most questionable decisions'.
The Cowboys figure prominently in the category of 'Most improbable comebacks', where we are involved in both examples, for better or worse.
Almost two months later, in a Week 10 game, the Cowboys dealt the Eagles' season a decisive blow, scoring two TDs in 21 seconds to land a 21-20 win after being dominated most of the game. Safety Roy Williams picked off a Donovan McNabb pass, returning it 46 yards for the second score. McNabb aggravated a hernia injury trying to tackle Williams, but the Eagles fell to 4-5 and then dropped out of the playoff race after McNabb had season-ending surgery.
Fair enough, both of those are good picks. But there are two categories the Cowboys should've been at the top of the list for, but we didn't get picked for either.
Under the heading 'Best team not to make the playoffs' they chose the Chargers. Granted this is a toss up question; the Chargers, Chiefs or Cowboys are worthy choices. The fact that we beat San Diego in San Diego didn't seem to matter, everyone blames that one on Antonio Gates not playing. Plus we beat the Chiefs late in the season, so aren't we better than those teams? Who knows, that's always a subjective question. But since the Chiefs ended up with a better record in the same division as the Chargers, shouldn't they have been the pick?
Another category where we get no love is 'Non-playoff team with most promise in 2006'. This seems perfect for the Cowboys, we were right in it until the end and with our young defense growing up and knowledge of the 3-4 scheme expanding, we look primed for 2006. So who won this category? The Miami Dolphins. Let that sink in, a team with no stability at QB shows the most promise in 2006. I absolutely can't buy that, even though I think Nick Saban is doing a terrific job down there.