Cowboys owner Jerry Jones and head coach Jason Garrett (left to right) – Image — Kevin Terrell / AP
The Cowboys, win or lose, always leave football fans with plenty to talk about the morning after.
They’re the team fans love to hate but their brand is almost impossible to ignore. For the third straight year, Forbes has them listed as the most valuable franchise in professional sports.
But lately they’re more known for the headlines off the field than on it.
Sunday night, their decision not to go for it on fourth and 1 in overtime was mind-boggling. The reason head coach Jason Garrett gave afterwards wasn’t much better.
There was 5:40 left in overtime of the Cowboys’ Sunday night game against the Houston Texans. Dallas has the ball in Texan territory, on the 42-yard line, game tied 16-16. On fourth and 1, instead of going for the first down, Garrett decides to punt the football back to Houston.
The Cowboys wound up losing the game to the Texans, 19-16.
Welcome to … the morning after
Scoring is up in the NFL this season, quarterbacks are making big plays with their arms. But, like former NFL offensive lineman and current ESPN analyst Damien Woody argues all the time on Twitter, it’s getting to be ridiculous that teams can’t even run the football for one yard.
Dallas has one of the best offensive lines in football. They also have one of the best running backs in the game, Ezekiel Elliott. Okay, if that’s not enough, the Cowboys have 6’2”, 235-pound Dak Prescott at quarterback. These are the playmakers on the team.
But instead of trusting his playmakers to find a way to get one yard, Garrett put the game in the hands of his defense. Garrett, the former NFL quarterback-turned-offensive coordinator-turned-head coach, that guy.
“Yeah, it was a long one,” Garrett said after the game. “You know, we had a 3rd-and-2 and we didn’t make much on it and we just felt like at that point in the game, the way our defense was playing, the idea was to pin them down there.”
The idea worked, somewhat. Dallas pinned Houston on their own 10-yard line. But eight plays later they were kicking the game-deciding field goal.
The Cowboys, The Truth, And What’s Best For Their Business
The key play in that winning drive for Houston was quarterback DeShaun Watson’s pass to wide receiver DeAndre Hopkins. From playmaker to playmaker, Hopkins made the catch and turned it into a 49-yard gain to setup the winning field goal.
The keyword there? .. playmaker.
Cowboys head coach Jason Garrett shaking hands with running back Ezekiel Elliott – (Image: Getty)
Houston, with the game on the line, went to their playmakers. Dallas went conservative.
Instead of taking advantage of losses by the Eagles and Giants, earlier in the day, they joined their division rivals in the loss column.
It begs the question; how much longer will Cowboys’ owner Jerry Jones keep Garrett as his head coach?
Dallas, for all their fanfare, all their publicity about being “America’s Team”, is still taking up space in the land of mediocrity. It’s been that way for quite some time now.
Jones, the businessman, is a heavyweight with the Cowboys and their brand. But when it comes to Garrett, he’s handled him with kid gloves.
Food For Thought
The organization’s estimated worth, according to Forbes, is $4.8 billion. But this is a team which has made the playoffs only three times in the last 10 years.
Jones did comment afterwards to the media, on Garrett’s overtime decision.
“We were getting outplayed,” Jones said. “It’s time for risks at that particular time.”
Jones does that a lot, he gives his thoughts on the team’s performance, afterwards.
Garrett’s win-loss record as Cowboys head coach since taking over in 2010, is 69-57. He’s 1-2 in three playoff games. For a successful businessman, like Jones, these numbers just don’t add up.
Unless it’s more than just the numbers. Garrett hasn’t publicly questioned the team’s ownership. He doesn’t appear to have a problem with the large shadow Jones has over his leadership of the team. When the media looks for a sound bite, Jones is the face on the television screen giving the money quotes.
A good businessman is like a good chess player, they see all angles on the board. Jones could be tolerating Garrett as his head coach, because it’s the one piece on the board he has control over.
Perhaps? Food for thought.
