The Dallas Cowboys dug themselves a quick 14-point hole against the Arizona Cardinals, then lost quarterback Jon Kitna to injury, before losing a Christmas night game, 27-26. The Cowboys first drive of the game ended in disaster when Miles Austin slipped on a route; the Cardinals picked off the pass and took it to the house for six points. Things didn't get any better when Arizona repeated the trick on the next drive and the Cowboys found themselves down 14 points. The Cowboys chances grew dimmer when quarterback Jon Kitna was injured in the second quarter. Kitna managed to finish the drive which resulted in a Jason Witten touchdown, but could go no further in the game.
Second-year quarterback Stephen McGee took over and actually managed to throw a late touchdown to Miles Austin that put the Cowboys ahead 26-24 with just over a minute to go. At that moment, it looked liked in spite of all the Cowboys mistakes in the game, they were actually going to pull out a victory. Then, the Cowboys reverted to 2010 form.
David Buehler blew the extra-point to keep the lead at two points instead of three. Then, the Cowboys defense, which had played well all game, failed to keep the Cardinals inept offense from moving into field-goal range. The Cowboys gave up a first down on fourth and 15, and they missed two potential sacks on the Cardinals drive. The inevitable happened when the Cardinals kicked the game-winning field goal.
Dallas wasn't ready to play this game. This one could potentially hurt Jason Garrett's chances of being the coach in 2011. The Cardinals were playing really bad football having dropped a game last week to the terrible Carolina Panthers. A Dallas team on the rise should have been able to win this game. They weren't ready, and then when they finally rallied to take the lead, they couldn't hold it.
The Cowboys should have received a Christmas gift, instead, the Grinch stole their Christmas.