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Well folks, here we are.
In a contest where the Cowboys appeared to right themselves as the game wore on, they forgot about the last five minutes of the game. After taking a 12-point lead on a huge touchdown to Dez Bryant, the Cowboys defense made mistake after mistake, penatly after blown coverage and let Eli Manning bring the Giants back for a final-minute victory.
There were so many points of this game to be either frustrated with or elated by, what more representative way for the game to end than a blocked field goal following the opposing coach icing Dan Bailey. Jason Pierre-Paul rose high over backup center Kevin Kowalski and got his mitt on the ball to keep the Cowboys from forcing overtime.
The Cowboys are now 7-6 and although technically tied for first place, are seeing their roller coaster of a season on a down turn at the worst possible time. One of the biggest mistakes by the Cowboys happened when they had the opportunity to run out the clock. On a third and five with just over two minutes remaining, Romo had Miles Austin wide open for a clinching first down and possibly more, and simply overthrew him. Another play that fought for top honors was DeMarcus Ware lining up in the neutral zone when the Giants fumbled a snap and did their best Cowboys impersonation. Not that there's much doubt the Giants would have overcome the long down and distance.
Safeties to start the game, fumbles to end the first half, and missed opportunities will allow every single stale storyline about this team's ineptitude to be retold over and over. And the truth is, how can you even argue? The defense was abused time and time again. Just when the offense looked to be clicking, they couldn't get a first down to close out the game. On top of it all, injuries ruled the day.
We'll have more coverage, but for now this is all I can muster. I'm scrapping my entire writeup.
I can't reiterate enough how much we all need to respect the rules of BTB in the comment section. Our disappointment is just as heavy, and our patience just as short. RESPECT EACH OTHER AND WATCH YOUR LANGUAGE.
This one sucks.