The Loser Papers - 2014

[Deadskins]

It's that time again, Redskins fans. Time to crank up the presses for another season of TLP, the thread to read when you want to hear the other side of the story. For the uninitiated, The Loser Papers brings you articles from the Redskins' vanqished foes' home-town newspapers. Only here will you read about how they woulda, coulda, shoulda won, if only... Well, not so much this week, but in the future, I can assure you, there will be a lot of that. I apologize for not getting this edition out yesterday, but it's been so long since the presses were rolling, that we had to perform maintenance to remove the cobwebs and dust. So, without further ado, I bring you what I hope to be the first of many editions this season. From the pages of The Florida Times-Union:

Sad-sack day for Jaguars in 41-10 loss to Redskins
By Ryan O'Halloran Sun, Sep 14, 2014 @ 10:12 pm


Associated Press
Jaguars quarterback Chad Henne is sacked by Redskins linebacker Perry Riley during the first half of Sunday's game in Landover, Md.

LANDOVER, MD. | Nearly 45 minutes after a Jaguars defeat more embarrassing than any of last year’s eyesores, defensive end Red Bryant remained in uniform, staring into his locker and contemplating what had transpired Sunday at FedEx Field.

Bryant knew as soon as he signed in mid-March that playing for the Jaguars would be different from Seattle. A younger roster. Instability at several key positions. Less talent.

Bryant can deal with the setbacks that occur during a building process. It’s the lack of tackling, blocking and overall want-to during the Jaguars’ 41-10 loss to the Washington Redskins that had him steaming, other players embarrassed and coach Gus Bradley disappointed.

“We have to get back home and work our [butts] off because that wasn’t good enough,” Bryant said. “And it had nothing to do with coaching. We have to take ownership as players to get it fixed.

“We lost in all phases. Nobody can point a finger at anybody else. They can only point at themselves and ask, ‘What can I do as a man to get better?’ ”

One good thing for the Jaguars: They’ll have to try hard to make things worse.

The Jaguars were outgained 449-148, had only eight first downs to the Redskins’ 32 and ran only 48 offensive plays. They were run out of the stadium by a Redskins offense that was without quarterback Robert Griffin III (ankle) and receiver DeSean Jackson (shoulder), both of whom exited in the first quarter.

The Jaguars are 0-2 for the third straight year and have been outscored 75-10 in their last six quarters of play.

Embarrassed, Gus?

“No, not embarrassed; more disappointed we didn’t perform like we’re capable of,” Bradley said. “But our locker room is a strong group and they know — all of us know — that we’re held accountable, and we have to stand up, face it and attack it.”

Veterans like Bryant stood up to it after the game, lamenting every aspect of the destruction. The whole roster will face it Monday at EverBank Field when they watch the train wreck that will double as game tape. And the entire football operations side of the franchise better attack it or this season could unravel.

What the Redskins did to the Jaguars was worse than anything Seattle, San Diego or San Francisco did to the Jaguars last year. Much, much worse, in fact. Those teams made the playoffs; the Redskins won three games last year, have a new head coach (Jay Gruden) who has a new offense, started the game without emerging tight end Jordan Reed, then lost Griffin and Jackson.

And the Jaguars who endured last year know the product they displayed was unacceptable, unwatchable and unexplainable.

Linebacker Paul Posluszny: “This was a big step backward. Really disappointing.”

Defensive tackle Sen’Derrick Marks: “We didn’t do anything right.”

Cornerback Will Blackmon: “They did whatever they wanted.”

The offense couldn’t run (25 yards rushing — second-fewest in team history), couldn’t block (team-record 10 sacks allowed) and went three-and-out on six of their 12 possessions. The defense couldn’t cover another tight end (Niles Paul had eight catches for 99 yards) and failed to create a turnover.

Only a 63-yard Marcedes Lewis touchdown catch prevented a first-half skunking, cutting the Redskins’ lead to 21-7. But two touchdowns might as well been 20 touchdowns with the way the Jaguars’ offense was — or wasn’t — functioning.

The game was out of reach. The quarterback getting battered. The team needing some kind of spark. Why didn’t Blake Bortles get called from the bullpen in the second half?

Even as the Jaguars spent the game replacing their right tackle, center, Otto linebacker, tight end and No. 2 cornerback because of injuries or performance, Bradley said it was “never a consideration” to give Bortles a shot.

Bradley could have made the switch with a dual purpose: Get Bortles his first regular-season snaps and give Chad Henne a lifeline (one of survival) so he would be upright to start next week against Indianapolis.

A quarterback change might not alter the course of this season, but it could give a floundering team a spark. Just look at the Redskins for Exhibit A. Cousins replaced Griffin on their second series and tattooed the Jaguars (22 of 33 for 250 yards and two touchdowns).

“Nothing about what we put out there says we’re getting better or we’re working to get better,” Marks said. “We have to accept that and say, ‘What the heck do we have to do to change it?’ ”

Said Posluszny: “This is going to be a great challenge for us to move forward. We’re going to be disappointed, but we have to find a way to learn from it.”

In Bryant’s view, the notion the Jaguars can play the Youth Card is hogwash.

“We can’t keep using the excuse of, ‘We’re a young team,’ ” he said. “Every man has to do some soul searching.”

http://members.jacksonville.com/sports/ ... s-redskins

[langleyparkjoe]

I love the losing papers.. thanks bruh

[Deadskins]

It's been too long, but we finally have cause for a second edition of TLP. From the pages of The Tennessean:

Titans collapse in closing minutes
Jim Wyatt, jwyatt@tennessean.com 7:48 p.m. CDT October 19, 2014


(Photo: Brad Mills / USA TODAY Sports )
Redskins kicker Kai Forbath (2) and tight end Logan Paulsen (82) celebrate after kicking the game-winning field goal as time expired against the Titans on Sunday.

LANDOVER, Md. – When the Titans took the field with the lead in the closing minutes, quarterback Charlie Whitehurst envisioned the game ending with a kneel-down and a win.

It didn't happen.

When the offense failed to eat up enough clock, it was linebacker Derrick Morgan's chance to visualize the finish – the Titans slamming the door on the Redskins and celebrating a victory.

"A turnover on downs, or a long missed field goal," Morgan said. "That's how it was supposed to end. That's how it should have ended."

But it didn't.

Instead, another Titans game finished in nightmare fashion. The Redskins survived a battle of bad teams on Sunday at FedEx Field, winning 19-17 with a field goal as time expired.

Titans (2-5) allowed a winnable game to slip from their grasp and are off to their worst start since 2009, when they started 0-6. The Redskins (2-5) snapped a four-game losing streak.

"Every game is critical for us with where we are. The thing we have to do is play better than we did today," Titans coach Ken Whisenhunt said. "We just didn't make enough plays at the end unfortunately. But we shouldn't have come to that position."

With Whitehurst starting in place of Jake Locker (right thumb) for the second week in a row, the Titans managed to hang around.

When Whitehurst connected with Derek Hagan for a 38-yard touchdown with 7:41 remaining, the Titans led 17-16 and looked like they might eke out back-to-back wins. A blocked field goal in the closing seconds allowed them to beat the Jaguars last Sunday.

On this day, however, the Redskins blew past the Titans defense like a fence-jumper at the White House.

Behind backup quarterback Colt McCoy – who replaced a struggling Kirk Cousins at halftime – the Redskins moved 76 yards on 10 plays in just 3:14. Kai Forbath then kicked a 22-yard field goal on the final play of the game.

The Redskins celebrated. The Titans were left to answer for their mistakes.

A pass interference penalty on cornerback Jason McCourty was a killer on the final drive. It gave the Redskins the ball at the Tennessee 7 with 38 seconds left, and no one else stepped up to make a play in crunch time.

"It is frustrating," McCourty said. "As a defense we have to do a better job of getting off the field. I can't get a penalty on that drive. … It hurts. You play decent the whole game, and then you can't get off the field. We have to be able to finish and come out with a win."

Until the final drive, the defense had limited the Redskins to field goals except for one inexcusable gaffe – McCoy's short throw that wide receiver Pierre Garcon turned into a 70-yard touchdown. Cornerback Blidi Wreh-Wilson missed a tackle and safety Michael Griffin took a bad angle, allowing what should have been a small gain become a major play.

The offense was making enough mistakes to prevent the Titans from taking control, however, and a special teams blunder – Dexter McCluster muffed a punt –led to a Washington field goal.

And just when it seemed like the Titans might finally take control – getting the ball back with 5:32 to play – they went three-and-out. A holding penalty on center Brian Schwenke crippled prospects for a time-consuming drive to run out the clock.

"I felt like I cost this team the game with that penalty," Schwenke said. "If we're at first-and-10 we could've started to run the clock out and the game ends with us taking a knee."

In reality, the loss wasn't on Schwenke, who had two penalties. It wasn't on McCourty. It wasn't on Whitehurst, who was far from spectacular but did enough for the Titans to win.

There were enough mistakes – and blame – to go around the locker room.

"We dug a hole, and we keep saying each and every week what we are going to do," Griffin said. "But sooner or later, we have to turn that into action, myself included. It's frustrating. The last six years we've had a losing season. It's almost like déjà vu, saying the same thing every year. It's really getting old."

http://www.tennessean.com/story/sports/ ... /17575941/

And:

Don't confuse bad football with bad luck
David Climer, dclimer@tennessean.com 12:35 a.m. CDT October 20, 2014


(Photo: Brad Mills / USA TODAY Sports )
Redskins wide receiver Pierre Garcon scores on a 70-yard pass play against the Titans in the second half.

At some point, these things have to start evening out for the Titans, don't they?

Don't they?

Maybe not.

Bad football tends to lead to bad karma and bad luck. And with five losses in their last six games, the Titans are among the NFL leaders in bad football.

Sunday was more of the same. A Washington team that had won only once — against Jacksonville, no less — in its six previous games took advantage of the Titans' typical late-game fade to win 19-17.

What now? Your guess is as good as mine. The Titans play at home against Houston before an open date at midseason. With a 2-5 record and with no momentum to speak of, any hope of a push for the playoffs is a pipe dream.

For those keeping score, the Titans' last trip to the postseason was 2008. That was three head coaches ago.

Yes, I know the Titans have been hit with a number of injuries, including quarterback Jake Locker's slow-to-heal thumb. Sorry, but that's life in the NFL. Washington has been playing without quarterback Robert Griffin III since Week 2. They don't let you call a timeout and wait for everybody to heal.

With Griffin out and Kirk Cousins ineffective in the first half, Washington coach Jay Gruden went to Colt McCoy. And the Titans immediately made McCoy look like the second coming of Joe Theismann.

McCoy's first pass was a 70-yard touchdown to Pierre Garcon. But it wasn't like McCoy walked in and delivered a perfect bomb to a well-covered Garcon. It was a short route and a quick throw — the kind of play that should get you seven or eight yards, tops.

But Titans cornerback Blidi Wreh-Wilson was playing well off Garcon and whiffed when he rushed in to make the tackle. Then safety Michael Griffin took a bad angle and Garcon outran him to the end zone.

Meanwhile, Locker's absence for the second straight game put Charlie Whitehurst into the huddle. The best thing Whitehurst has going for him is a firm understanding of the nuances of Ken Whisenhunt's offense thanks to the season they spent together in San Diego in 2013.

That, plus he is a low-mileage quarterback. He's spent the bulk of his nine-year pro career as a backup. Sunday marked his third start of the season but just the seventh of his career.

The Titans struggled to get into an offensive flow — again. They managed only 102 yards in the first half and just 236 for the game.

It went beyond lousy numbers. The Titans burned two timeouts in the first quarter because of communications issues that had the play clock ticking low. Combined with Whisenhunt's unsuccessful challenge of an official's call, the Titans were out of first-half timeouts by the start of the second quarter.

Even when the Titans had everything mapped out perfectly, things went awry. At one point in the third quarter, Whisenhunt had a great play called — a screen pass to the left — against a Washington blitz. But the Titans failed to execute it when Whitehurst's pass, which was slightly high but catchable, skipped off the hands of running back Bishop Sankey.

It was just another play in just another game but it was a telling sequence. For a team with such a small margin for error, the Titans can't afford such lapses in execution.

Despite all that, the Titans had their chances. They took a 17-16 lead at the 7:41 mark of the fourth quarter when Whitehurst hit Derek Hagan on a 38-yard touchdown pass.

Shortly thereafter, the Titans defense forced a punt, putting the offense in position to work on the clock. But a holding penalty against center Brian Schwenke on first down took the Titans off-schedule and Whisenhunt went conservative with his play calls. After three straight runs, the Titans punted the ball back to Washington with 3:14 to go.

That was plenty of time.

As if Washington needed any help, the Titans contributed to their own demise. On a day where they committed 11 penalties, none was bigger than a pass interference call against cornerback Jason McCourty in the closing minute.

With Washington teetering on the edge of Kai Forbath's field goal range, quarterback Colt McCoy aimed a deep pass down the right sideline toward DeSean Jackson. As Jackson accelerated, McCourty grabbed his left arm. The resulting flag moved Washington to the Tennessee 7.

Three plays later, Forbath kicked the winning field goal as time expired.

Speaking of expiring, what's the expiration date on this season?

http://www.tennessean.com/story/sports/ ... /17583601/

[cowboykillerzRGiii]

Lmao! Fun to get a look at the other end of a losing team. They seriously thought walking into Washington and leaving with the W was gonna be easy business.. that sucks. I cant wait until we are feared again.

Ill take the W though!!!

[emoses14]

Lmao! Fun to get a look at the other end of a losing team. They seriously thought walking into Washington and leaving with the W was gonna be easy business.. that sucks. I cant wait until we are feared again.

Ill take the W though!!!

Don't worry, he'll be back soon.

[Deadskins]

Ahh, the sweetest of all TLP editions comes from the heart of Texas. Let's get right to the fun. From the pages of the Dallas Morning News:

Gassed and overmatched: Cowboys' defense exposed in loss
Rick Gosselin
rgosselin@dallasnews.com
Published: 27 October 2014 11:19 PM
Updated: 28 October 2014 02:16 AM

(Tom Fox/The Dallas Morning News)
Dallas Cowboys running back DeMarco Murray (29) is brought down by Washington Redskins free safety Ryan Clark (25) after a big third quarter run at AT&T Stadium, Monday, October 27, 2014.

ARLINGTON — The Cowboys don’t ask their defense to win games. They just ask their defense to compete.

It’s the job of Tony Romo and the offense to win games. That’s where all the money and talent is on the Cowboys. It’s the job of the offense to control the ball, control the clock, protect this defense and win games.

Because the more this undermanned defense plays, the more it gets exposed.

The Washington Redskins exposed that unit Monday night, pushing the Cowboys around for 409 yards with a third-string quarterback in a stunning 20-17 overtime victory that brought this magic carpet ride through September and October to a crashing conclusion.

The Cowboys fell to 6-2 and saw their first-place lead in the NFC East over the Philadelphia Eagles trimmed to a half game.

The Cowboys’ offense had done a fine job of protecting its defense through the first seven weeks. The less this defense played, the better it played. Fresh legs were productive legs.

With NFL rushing leader DeMarco Murray controlling the weekly tempo with his own legs, the Dallas defense had to play only 18 minutes against Tennessee, 22 minutes against Seattle, 25 against New Orleans and 26 against the Giants. And the Cowboys won all four of those games.

But asked to play 32 minutes in regulation against the Redskins, the Cowboys’ defense became gassed and overmatched.

Colt McCoy, making his first NFL start since 2011, played like he was back on campus at Texas, completing 25 of 30 passes for 299 yards. DeSean Jackson ran past Sterling Moore for a 49-yard completion in the first half and zipped past Brandon Carr for a 45-yard catch in the third quarter.

Big plays, little plays — the Cowboys had no answer on defense for the 91/2-point underdog Redskins.

Twice Washington drove 80 yards for touchdowns — pushing the number of 70-yard-plus scoring drives against the Cowboys this season to 10. Six of them have been for 80 yards or more.

Not only did the offense fail to protect the defense, the offense hurt its defense. Three times Tony Romo was sacked for double-digit yardage on third downs, tilting the field position in Washington’s favor with longer punts and shorter fields.

And when Romo wasn’t getting sacked in the first half, the Cowboys were committing turnovers — forcing the defense to trot back onto the field after brief sideline respites. DeMarco Murray and Joseph Randle both lost fumbles in the first half.

The defense hung in there in the opening 30 minutes, limiting Washington to five first downs and 127 yards. But the usually potent Dallas offense could manage only a touchdown for a 7-3 halftime lead. The Cowboys owned the clock in the first half, asking their defense to play less than 13 minutes.

But the Cowboys let the Redskins hang around and would wind up paying for it.

The tables turned dramatically in the second half. The Redskins held onto the ball for 11 minutes in the third quarter and nine minutes in the fourth, leaving the Dallas defense gasping for air and groping desperately for big plays — but not finding any.

The Redskins marched 80 yards following the second-half kickoff for the go-ahead TD on a short run by Alfred Morris. Washington pieced together another 80-yard touchdown drive at the close of the third quarter and start of the fourth, capped by a 7-yard quarterback draw by McCoy.

After winning the overtime coin toss, the Redskins moved 58 yards with little resistance for the game-winning field goal by Kai Forbath. McCoy completed a 23-yard pass to Pierre Garcon over Moore and a 16-yard lob to tight end Jordan Reed over Bruce Carter along the home sideline.

The Cowboys did collect a season-high three sacks, including two by tackle Henry Melton, and safety J.J. Wilcox intercepted McCoy in the red zone to snuff out a first-quarter possession.

But the more this defense was asked to play, the more it struggled. And that’s on the offense. Big brother let little brother down on this night.

http://www.dallasnews.com/sports/column ... n-loss.ece

[riggofan]

Looking forward this all morning - thanks! I spent three hours listening to the entire redskins monday morning qb show today too. Enjoyed every minute of it. I loved how Kevin Sheehan refused to entertain any discussion of "mccoy/rgiii what if?" today. Plenty of time for that - enjoy the win today!

[Deadskins]

Here's another, also from the Dallas Morning News:

After stunning loss, where do Cowboys go from here?
Tim Cowlishaw
wtcowlishaw@dallasnews.com
Published: 27 October 2014 11:08 PM
Updated: 28 October 2014 06:41 AM

(G.J. McCarthy/The Dallas Morning News)
Dallas Cowboys quarterback Tony Romo is sacked and injured by Washington Redskins inside linebacker Keenan Robinson during the second half of their game Monday, October 27, 2014 at AT&T Stadium in Arlington.

ARLINGTON — This is how it happens. This is how the balance of power shifts and how fortunes change in today’s National Football League.

The Washington Redskins produced a stunning 20-17 overtime upset Monday night as the Dallas offense failed to produce so much as a first down in its only possession of the extra period.

But the defeat itself was nearly overshadowed by the loss of Tony Romo, who was helped from the turf and taken to the locker room in the third quarter, only to return late in the fourth quarter.

After he returned, he was shaky and so was the team. The Cowboys were forced to punt near the end of regulation after a Romo fumble was rescued by DeMarco Murray. Then the offense was stopped on a fourth-and-3 desperation incompletion that had no chance for success in overtime, ending the game and the Cowboys’ win streak at six.

This is how it happens.

One moment Cowboys owner Jerry Jones is being interviewed by ESPN's broadcasters, telling the world how this retooled offensive line is “really, frankly, what Tony Romo deserves.”

Two plays later, Romo is supine on the turf, having taken a knee from linebacker Keenan Robinson in the small of his back.

“He just caught me pretty good,” Romo said. “I think even if I hadn’t had back surgery, I would have felt that one. It was just a direct shot.”

It was the fourth of five sacks for Romo, the second most the Redskins had produced in any game this year and the most Dallas has allowed.

Yes, these Redskins (3-5) sacked Chad Henne 10 times in Week 2, but that was Jacksonville. This was the team with the NFC’s best record and the NFL's longest win streak on its way to ... somewhere special.

“They were able to get pressure on the quarterback, get us behind the chains,” coach Jason Garrett said. “You have to do the things that winning teams do.”

The Cowboys did not.

Much of the feeling that this would be a winning team escaped AT&T Stadium as Romo was tended to by trainers Britt Brown and Jim Maurer and orthopedist Dr. Drew Dossett, who performed Romo’s offseason back surgeries.

While Romo was gone, Weeden would get his first playing time and lead Dallas to a tying touchdown on a 25-yard pass to Jason Witten, left unattended by the Washington defense.

With the score 17-17 and just over four minutes to play in the fourth quarter, the crowd cheered as Romo was seen back on the sidelines throwing passes. X-rays of his back did not reveal any damage, and Romo said after receiving a shot, he felt good to go.

Sure enough, after the Dallas defense forced Washington to punt, Romo trotted onto the field to try to save the day with the ball at the Dallas 3-yard line.

But the Cowboys' efficiency was gone. They got only as far as the 34 before being forced to punt, sending the game to overtime.

In the extra period, following Kai Forbath's 40-yard field goal, the Cowboys needed three points on their first possession to extend the game or a touchdown to close it out for their seventh straight win.

Murray gained 8 on first down, giving him 141 on the night. You figured he would just pile up more yards as the team worked its way down the field.

But a pass to Murray went for a 1-yard loss, and Romo’s third-down pass for Witten was broken up by linebacker Perry Riley. On fourth-and-3 at the Dallas 27, the Cowboys had no choice but to go for it under the league’s revised overtime rules.

The play was a disaster. Romo looked as if he would get sacked, then fired an off-balance pass that had no real chance of getting to Dez Bryant as Bashaud Breeland — a rookie cornerback who played an exceptional game — swatted it away to seal the upset.

At the season’s halfway mark, Murray has 1,054 yards rushing and is poised to make Cowboys history. But what about his quarterback?

Romo has played somewhere between good and great ever since halftime of the season opener against San Francisco. But the suspense about his surgically repaired back and his staying power as a 34-year-old quarterback in a violent league came roaring back to life Monday night.

“Obviously, Tony’s our quarterback,” Garrett said. “If Tony’s healthy and ready to go, he’s going to play.”

Was he really healthy or just functioning on pain relief late Monday night? Will he be healthy Sunday when the NFC’s only 6-1 team comes to town?

I don’t have that answer. Neither does Garrett nor anyone else.

http://www.dallasnews.com/sports/column ... m-here.ece

[Deadskins]

A win this good deserves more coverage, so from the pages of the Star-Telegram we present:

Cowboys’ 6-game winning streak comes crashing down
By Clarence E. Hill Jr.
chill@star-telegram.com

(Star-Telegram/ Richard W. Rodriguez)
Dallas Cowboys quarterback Tony Romo (9) heads to the locker room after a 17-20 loss to the Washington Redskins in an NFL football game at AT&T Stadium Monday, October 27, 2014.


ARLINGTON — The Dallas Cowboys saw their six-game winning streak come to an end in a 20-17 overtime loss to the Washington Redskins on Monday night at AT&T Stadium.

Former Texas Longhorns star Colt McCoy completed 25 of 30 passes for 299 yards to lead the Redskins (3-5). Kai Forbath won it on a 40-yard field goal in overtime when quarterback Tony Romo couldn’t get a first down on their only series.

It was the Cowboys’ first loss since a 28-17 season-opening setback to the San Francisco 49ers.

But while the Cowboys lost the game, they might have won the war in terms of their overall goals for the season.

The Cowboys (6-2) remain in first place in the NFC East and remain a top playoff and possible Super Bowl contender — something that was in question early in the third quarter when Romo lay crumpled on the field after taking a knee to the back on a sack from blitzing linebacker Keenan Robinson.

Romo stayed down for several minutes before being gingerly helped off the field by trainers. He was taken to the locker room for testing and X-rays.

Considering he underwent back surgery 10 months ago after suffering a herniated disk, there was a huge question about Romo’s immediate future and the team’s hopes for continued success.

Romo, however, returned to game with 1:52 left in the fourth quarter to huge cheers from crowd, after seemingly talking the medical staff into letting him back in the game, giving the Cowboys and their fans a sigh of relief.

“You feel like you dodged one,” Romo said of the injury. “He just caught me pretty good. It felt like some knee or elbow that hit me perfectly. It was a direct shot.”

Romo took a pain-killing injection to be able to play. He will be evaluated again Tuesday, but the Cowboys believe there will be no long-term damage.

Said owner Jerry Jones: “It’s a back contusion, obviously, he was back out here. We knew there were no structural issues when they gave him the X-rays. I was very concerned the fact that he laid there as long as he laid there. After we looked at the play and saw that there was a knee kind of to the side of the back, then we felt better about it.

“We got him in here and looked at it real carefully, everybody felt better about it. But he was certainly limited when he first got in here, but he loosened it up real good and went back out.”

This, however, would not be another of Romo’s patented comebacks like he did in 2012 against the 49ers, when he battled through a punctured lung to lead the Cowboys to victory.

He did the same when he initially injured the back in December, playing through pain in his back and legs to lead the Cowboys to a 24-23 victory and keep their season alive.

Romo underwent back surgery before the season-ending, winner-take-all battle for the NFC East title against the Philadelphia Eagles.

On Monday night, however, Romo was unable to lead the offense to a score on the final drive of regulation.

And then after the Redskins took the lead on a field goal on the first drive of overtime, Romo and the offense sputtered.

An 8-yard run by DeMarco Murray was followed by a pass for a 1-yard loss and two consecutive incompletions to tight end Jason Witten and Dez Bryant.

Romo’s injury and the loss overshadowed what was another strong game from Murray, who rushed 19 times for 141 yards and caught four passes for 80 yards.

It was Murray’s NFL-record extending eighth consecutive games with at least 100 yards. But Murray also took possible points off the board with a second-quarter fumble 10 yards from the end zone.

It was the fifth fumble of the season and an unnecessary one, as it came after a 36-yard catch and run while he was trying to run over four defenders.

It was one of two lost fumbles for the Cowboys in the first half, as backup Joseph Randle lost the other.

“The fumbles early on hurt us,” coach Jason Garrett said. “We really have to understand how to handle those situations. Murray is a physical runner. He has a great will and determination, but he has to go down and protect the ball.”

The Cowboys defense finally broke through with three sacks, including two by tackle Henry Melton.

But the Cowboys couldn’t unravel the pesky McCoy, who rallied the Redskins to 17 points in the second half and overtime.

McCoy directed an 80-yard scoring drive to open the second half and also capped an 80-yard scoring drive at the beginning of the fourth quarter with a 7-yard touchdown run.

“They were able to move the ball,” Garrett said. “We made some good stops but not enough.

Backup quarterback Brandon Weeden was solid in place of Romo, completing 4 of 6 passes for 69 yards, including a 25-yard touchdown pass to Witten to tie the game at 17 at the 9:36 mark of the fourth quarter.

But it’s Romo’s team, and he came back in when he was declared ready to go.

“It was a medical decision,” Garrett said. “His health is our No. 1 concern. It seemed like he was going to be able to function. Tony is our quarterback. If he is healthy and ready he is going to play.”

Romo came back but the Cowboys were unable to solve the Redskins’ blitz packages that harassed him all night with five sacks, including two by safety Brandon Meriweather.

“I played the game long enough to know [I could play],” Romo said. “I felt like it was painful, but I felt I could deal with it. I have done that before. You just play football.”

Romo said the team is going to have to learn from the Redskins game as teams will likely use the same blitzing strategy going forward, likely starting Sunday against the Arizona Cardinals (6-1).

Instead of a showdown between the only two one loss teams in the NFC, the game has been reduced to an opportunity for the Cowboys to get back on track.

They are just glad they will get to do so with Romo still under center.

Jones is confident the Cowboys can come back, especially since Romo's injury wasn't as serious as initially feared.

"This is a hard working bunch," Jones said. "They've got a lot of resolve. We are fortunate that we didn't lose Romo. That's something to be thankful for. It would surprise me if we don't take what we learned from this. We’ve got a serious and a good team coming in here in the Cardinals. We'll see how quickly we can bounce back. There is no doubt we will put the work in."

http://www.star-telegram.com/2014/10/27 ... .html?rh=1

And

Cowboys’ defensive unit didn’t get job done
By Art Garcia
Special to the Star-Telegram

ARLINGTON — On a night the when Tony Romo was knocked out, the defense tried to pick up the Dallas Cowboys.

They did at times Monday night, but with the game on the line the Cowboys couldn’t slow down the Redskins when it mattered most in a deflating 20-17 overtime loss.

“At different times I thought our defense did a really good job, other times not as good,” Cowboys coach Jason Garrett said. “I thought [the Redskins] had fairly good balance and were able to move the ball. We made some good stops, but not enough.”

The stops in the first half weren’t there down the stretch, as quarterback Colt McCoy led the Redskins to 17 points after halftime. The Texas-ex who came into the season as Washington’s third-stringer completed 25 of 30 passes for 299 yards.

That’s the third-most passing yards given up by the Cowboys this season.

Garrett said his team was ready for McCoy, who rallied Washington past Tennessee the previous week after replacing Kirk Cousins.

“He played the second half of last week’s game,” Garrett said. “We saw some of him in action in the preseason. There’s certainly enough tape. We had a good feel for how he was going to play and what they were trying to do.

“I thought they did a good job running the football and then getting the stuff off the run, the play-action stuff. They took some shots down the field. He did a good job making the throws and they made the plays on the other end.”

No play was bigger than McCoy rolling to his left and deftly dropping a floater into Jordan Reed’s hands down the sideline. Kicker Kai Forbath drilled a 40-yarder four plays later that proved the game-winner.

The Cowboys’ defense did a much better job in the first half. The Redskins had a pair of golden chances to score in the first quarter thanks to their special teams and defense, but would manage only three points.

A 37-yard punt return run by Andre Roberts had Washington set up at in Cowboys’ territory. Despite the field position, the Redskins were held to Forbath’s 44-yard field goal.

Washington blew an opportunity to add to its lead after recovering a fumble on the Cowboys’ 25-yard line. Two plays later, McCoy threw into double coverage in the end zone and was picked off by safety J.J. Wilcox.

“The fumbles early on hurt us,” Garrett said. “I thought our defense did a really good job on the one sudden change when they had the ball in the plus-territory.”

The Cowboys finished with three sacks, with Henry Melton getting two and Jeremy Mincey getting the other.

http://www.star-telegram.com/2014/10/28 ... t-get.html

[HEROHAMO]

Oh yeah!!!! LMAO!!!!! Thanks DS!!!!

I think Christmas has come early this year!!!!

[cowboykillerzRGiii]

There has to be more!!! LOVE IT!!!