For all the doom and gloom that’s beset Cowboys Nation over the past two weeks, the team nearly won Sunday’s matchup with Miami. It may not have felt like it, but Dallas truly was one or two plays from escaping South Beach with a win that would have dramatically changed the narrative surrounding the Cowboys heading into the playoffs.
But if you want to pick out four plays that decided the 22-20 loss, you have to point at the mistakes that ultimately doomed Dallas. And there were plenty to choose from. Had the Cowboys come out on top, the four biggest plays would be highlights like CeeDee Lamb’s long scoring catch-and-run, Dak Prescott’s contortionist throw to Michael Gallup as he avoided a sack late, the defense’s stoning the Dolphins on a 4th down in the second quarter, a clutch catch by Jalen Tolbert in the third, or a fourth-down completion to Jake Ferguson that helped set an encouraging tone early.
Instead, it was costly penalties and a devastating turnover that ultimately proved to be the difference. Here are the four plays that best sum up Week 16’s heartbreaker at Hard Rock.
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