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The Dallas Cowboys entered their Thanksgiving Day game against the Buffalo Bills seemingly in a win-or-else place, especially at head coach.
Jason Garrett came under fire from Jerry Jones after the team lost to the New England Patriots last week and responded in extremely disappointing fashion. While we normally focus on five winners and five losers from every Cowboys game, this contest produced only losers.
Here are the 10 that stood out most.
Loser: Jason Garrett
You cannot have your team this unprepared when you’re in the situation that he has been in. You just cannot.
This was a miserable performance by the Cowboys, short week or whatever. Garrett knew that his team had to perform if he wanted to keep his job and he managed to come out and put on what might have been the flattest performance of the season.
One of the hallmarks of Jason Garrett’s career has been that his team has never quit on him. We talk about that all of the time.
On Thursday, these Cowboys were not up to the task.
Loser: Kellen Moore
Some might feel that it’s unfair to single out a first-year offensive coordinator, but Kellen Moore’s group was pathetic against Buffalo. Sean McDermott has made a living off of hurting the Cowboys on the field and he did so again on Thanksgiving Day.
Moore’s offense didn’t score any touchdowns in New England. They barely did against Buffalo. That’s unacceptable.
Loser: Dak Prescott
We’ve seen stellar football from Dak this season, but there was really none of it on Thursday. The offense as a whole had a great opening drive but after that they disappeared.
Dak was hurried, rushing things, and making really poor decisions. He had a great run late in the second half where he tried to motivate the team, but it was too little too late.
When you’re the quarterback you have to do more.
Loser: Sean Lee
This was one of the worst games that Sean Lee has ever played for the Cowboys.
Filling in for Leighton Vander Esch is hardly an easy thing and to be fair Lee did a great job of it against the Giants a few weeks ago, but he was run all over by various members of the Bills.
It’s time for the Cowboys to move on from a lot of people, Sean Lee probably included.
Loser: Xavier Su’a-Filo
Count me as someone who believed in XSF replacing Connor Williams, but that was not the case against the Bills. Literally, immediately as he came into the game, Su’a-Filo got beat badly on a play that was costly for the Cowboys.
We’ve talked so much about how this team has a ton of depth. It was tested on Thursday and failed.
Loser: Jaylon Smith
When you get paid, the expectations rise. Jaylon Smith was supposed to be a star for the Cowboys this season and while he’s certainly had moments that flashed, he has been disappointing overall.
Josh Allen was all over the middle of the field. Smith was not.
Loser: The NFC East
This division is terrible. Utter garbage.
Somehow, the Dallas Cowboys can still win it. Unbelievable.
Loser: The idea that this is a really talented team
There are many who believe that the Cowboys are one of the most talented teams in the NFL. They’ve definitely played like that at times, but they certainly aren’t showing it lately.
Nobody is denying that coaching is hindering what the group is able to do collectively, but a group of truly talented players wouldn’t be getting handled the way that they have lately.
We have overrated them.
Loser: Jerry Jones
Ultimately it all rests here, doesn’t it? Jerry Jones was quoted throughout the week in saying different things about Jason Garrett, but it was his decisions that led the team to sticking with him for as long as the Cowboys did.
Jerry talked an awful lot this past week about how he wanted to see his team win. He painted himself into a bit of a corner with those comments, what will he do now that the team has lost again?
In nine years the Cowboys have never won consecutive games on Thanksgiving Day under Jason Garrett. That’s a bit of a microcosm of who they’ve been throughout his tenure.