Tag: 2024 playoffs

Tunnel of Darkness: Nightmarish Cowboys season is about to come to a close

The 2024-2025 NFL season is finally coming to an end, and it was a nightmare campaign for the Dallas Cowboys. | From @BenGrimaldi

With Super Bowl LIX on the horizon, the nightmarish 2024-25 season for the Dallas Cowboys is about to mercifully come to a close. After three straight 12-win seasons that included two NFC East titles, the Cowboys floundered through an embarrassing campaign.

The mess of a year couldn’t have been a surprise to those paying attention. It began with a disaster of an offseason where the front office decided it was better to wait and sign their best players to extensions until training camp. That mistake was compounded by the team deciding to not participate in free agency while allowing many of their own free agents to walk out the door.

It was a disappointing offseason that was made worse by Jerry Jones’ “all-in” comments. Savvy fans knew better than to believe the Cowboys were going to spend money and be aggressive in acquiring talent since it would’ve signaled a major change in organizational philosophy, but it was something that followed the team around for months leading up to the regular season.

When September arrived, things appeared to turn. The team extended quarterback Dak Prescott on opening day and blew out the Cleveland Browns in Week 1. The Cowboys’ performance provided hope that the previous six months of worrying were all for nothing.

Reality smacked the Cowboys in the face in Week 2, and the disaster many predicted was beginning. There were numerous blowouts throughout the year as the team finished 7-10 and in third place in the division. Dallas finished a putrid 2-7 at home, which included an embarrassing incident with the sun shining through the large windows and AT&T Stadium contributing to a losing storyline against the Philadelphia Eagles. The episode was made worse by Jones remaining defiant that the franchise wouldn’t draw the curtains for Cowboys games like the stadium does for other events.

The Cowboys weren’t just getting humiliated, they were finding new ways to lose. Their special teams unit blocked a punt late in the game against the Cincinnati Bengals, which turned disastrous when cornerback Amani Oruwariye tried to recover and run with it. Instead of a game-winning play for Dallas, Oruwariye fumbled the ball away and the Bengals recovered it, which led to the winning score just three plays later.

Injuries were also a theme for the Cowboys, who had many of their best players miss chunks of the season, including Prescott, defensive end DeMarcus Lawrence, and CB DaRon Bland.

As if the team’s record wasn’t bad enough, it was a season that saw the Eagles soar back to the top of the division fueled by free agency pickup of the year, running back Saquon Barkley.  Barkley, who came from another division rival, ran for over 2,000 yards. To make things worse, the Washington Commanders saw a resurgence under rookie quarterback Jayden Daniels, who looks like he’s going to be a problem for the Cowboys’ defense for years to come.

The Eagles and Commanders both finishing ahead of the Cowboys and making the postseason further stuck the knife into the craw of Jones’ organization. It also had to hurt that the top two coordinators during McCarthy era in Dallas both played big roles in the Eagles and Commanders’ success. Kellen Moore and Dan Quinn left the Cowboys and found prosperity with NFC East rivals.

The 2024-2025 season still might not have felt so bad if the postseason hadn’t been a kick in the teeth for the Cowboys as well. The team didn’t make the playoffs, but that didn’t stop the embarrassment. The Commanders beat the Tampa Bay Buccaneers to advance to the divisional round where they pulled off a major upset of the Detroit Lions, making it to their first NFC Championship game in 33 years. That left the Cowboys with the longest title game drought in the NFC.

It didn’t make things better that the Commanders’ win over the Lions meant they’d matchup with the Eagles, who got a home game as the No. 2 seed, for the right to go to the Super Bowl. When Philadelphia won that game, it marked the third Super Bowl appearance for the Eagles in the last eight years, a feat that crushes every Cowboys fan who counts the Eagles as their biggest rival.

This hasn’t been a fun season for the Cowboys, and it could hit a peak level of frustration if the Eagles win Super Bowl LIX. Hopefully that doesn’t happen, there have been too many dreams coming true for the Cowboys rivals in 2024-2025, while they have been living in a nighmare. Thankfully, the NFL season is about to end and the reset can begin.

A shot at better season in 2025 is just around the corner.

Cowboys are now NFC’s, and NFL’s laughinstock

The 2024 playoffs have reinforced almost three decades of futility that has made the Dallas Cowboys the laughingstock of the NFL. | From @BenGrimaldi

It used to be fun to mock the Dallas Cowboys and owner Jerry Jones. Heck, even their own fans love to get in on the act. It was easy to laugh at the organization’s expense when they were a winning franchise, but that’s no longer the case.

Despite there being less successful teams around the league, the Cowboys have now become the laughingstock of the NFL. They’re still America’s Team, but that’s because most football fans in America love to poke fun at the Cowboys, not root for them.

For Cowboys Nation, it’s not as fun to be a fan anymore. It’s been 29 years since the Cowboys have won the Super Bowl and they haven’t sniffed a title since. During that time, 13 different teams have been crowned champions while Dallas hasn’t even made the conference title game, and are now the only NFC team that’s failed to appear.

How did it come to this?

It’s all changed, but it didn’t happen overnight. Sure, the Cowboys struggled and were a bad team when Jones hired legendary coach Bill Parcells to turn it around in 2003. But at the time, it had only been seven years since their last title and there wasn’t any shame in being the Cowboys. That was a hire out of desperation, not embarrassment; Jones needed to get a new stadium built and the best way to do it was to show promise in the franchise once again.

Things got better with Parcells, but the mocking began on his watch. The dropped snap from breakout star quarterback Tony Romo kickstarted the downward spiral where it became en vogue to make fun of the Cowboys. Those laughs at Dallas’ expense got louder the following season when the team earned the No. 1 seed in the NFC but got ousted by the New York Giants in the divisional round of the playoffs.

The dropped snap kicked off a 19-year streak where nothing has seemed to go the Cowboys’ way. Disappointing and embarrassing playoff losses have haunted the franchise, as well as some back luck.

  • The Cowboys have been the No. 1 seed in the NFC twice in the last 19 seasons, yet they failed to win a playoff game each time.
  • They are the only No. 2 seed to lose to the No. 7 seed since the postseason expanded.
  • Have just a 3-4 record in home playoff games.
  • Lost the ‘Dez caught it’ game. However, OPOY DeMarco Murray fumbled the ball on a breakaway run, on a drive that would have put the team up 11 points in the third quarter.
  • Lost on a miracle play from Green Bay Packers QB Aaron Rodgers, just two snaps after he somehow held onto the ball during a Jeff Heath sack.
  • Dak Prescott ruins the team’s chances of a comeback win against the San Francisco 49ers when he scrambles for a second too long and the clock runs out.

Some of those losses might have been forgotten if the team had won a few of the other playoff games. But that hasn’t been the case. Not one time in the last 19 years have the Cowboys managed to luck their way into an NFC Championship Game appearance.

Their failures might not seem as bad if people were still reading about these games in the paper or talking about them at the water cooler, but that’s changed as well.

Social media has significantly changed how easy it is to poke fun at a team and their fans. And in the last 10 years, it’s been effortless to mock the Cowboys. Each year that brings a new misstep allows another opportunity to mercilessly laugh at Jones’ organization.

Yet, as bad as it was for Cowboys fans, it still wasn’t as bad as it’s gotten in the last two years. In that time, the two teams that had longer conference title game droughts both made it to the final four.

The sad sack Detroit Lions made the NFC title game in 2023, and the rival Washington Commanders broke the longest streak, 33 years, on Sunday. The Commanders’ playoff run is what’s set off the new additional mocking of the Cowboys. Dallas didn’t even play this past weekend, but they continue to get embarrassed.

Having the Commanders in the NFC title game and leaving the Cowboys as the odd man out has made things even worse. It’s not much fun to be a fan of the Cowboys these days. Instead, it’s frustrating, infuriating, and sad. And there isn’t much hope on the horizon with how ownership runs the franchise.

This is who the Cowboys are these days, a punching bag for the rest of the league, and it’s understandable because they’re an easy target. No one is laughing with the Cowboys anymore, they’re laughing at them.

Commanders inactives vs Lions are announced

Commanders announce inactives vs. Lions.

The Commanders have listed seven players for tonight’s playoff game against the Lions.

  • K.J. Osborn
  • QB Jeff Driskel (Emergency Quarterback)
  • CB Michael Davis
  • RB Chris Rodriguez
  • LB Dominique Hampton
  • DE Andre Jones, Jr
  • G Chris Paul

Brian Robinson has been ineffective in recent games, raising concerns if he is playing injured. Yet Chris Rodriguez who has been more effective than Robinson is again inactive.

The Commanders announced they had elevated Jones earlier in the day, so it is surprising they then determined to leave him as inactive.

TE Ben Sinnott apparently has recovered from his injury last week against the Bucs. This means the Commanders are dressing Sinnott and Colson Yankoff tonight.

This is the second consecutive week Davis has been inactive. The Commanders again this week are choosing CB Kevon Seymour over Davis.

Osborn is again inactive and must be disappointed, having played with the Vikings in the playoffs previously. But, this is big business and the coaches are choosing to play those they believe will give them the best shot at winning.

Hampton, a rookie out of the U of Washington, has been active only one game this season. Adam Peters and Dan Quinn having drafted Hampton, no doubt would like to play him. However they again don’t feel it is the best move for the team.

Houston Texans schedule: Are the Texans playing today? 

Are the Texans playing today? Here’s a look at the schedule entering wild-card round weekend.

The Houston Texans will take the field Saturday afternoon to advance to the AFC Conference Championship if they can secure a win over the Kansas City Chiefs.

Houston, which secured its second 10-win season under DeMeco Ryans, should be near full strength with the return of offensive lineman Shaq Mason.

Running back Joe Mixon was listed as questionable entering Thursday’s walkthrough but is expected to play. Linebackers Azeez Al-Shaair and Christian Harris are both cleared to play while Houston should have defensive end Will Anderson Jr. back at 100% following his dominant outing against the Los Angeles Chargers in the wild-card round.

Meanwhile, Kansas City is coming off a second bye after securing the No. 1 seed in the AFC with a 15-2 record. Patrick Mahomes has been near perfect in the divisional round, posting a 6-0 record with 16 touchdowns against zero interceptions.

NFL Playoff picks: Unlock exclusive data-driven predictions 

The Chiefs are the favorite entering Saturday’s contest, with some lines up to a near touchdown. Should the Texans win, they’ll travel to take on either the Buffalo Bills or Baltimore Ravens on the road in the conference title game.

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Houston Texans 2024 schedule

  • Week 1: at Indianapolis (W, 29-27)
  • Week 2: vs. Chicago (W, 19-13)
  • Week 3: at Minnesota (L, 34-7)
  • Week 4: vs. Jacksonville (W, 24-20)
  • Week 5: vs. Buffalo (W, 23-20)
  • Week 6: at New England (W, 41-21)
  • Week 7: at Green Bay (L, 24-22)
  • Week 8: vs. Indianapolis (W, 23-20)
  • Week 9: at New York Jets (L, 21-13)
  • Week 10: vs. Detroit (L, 26-23)
  • Week 11: at Dallas (W, 34-10)
  • Week 12: vs. Tennessee (L, 32-27)
  • Week 13: at Jacksonville (W, 23-20)
  • Week 14: Bye
  • Week 15: vs. Miami (W, 20-12)
  • Week 16: at Kansas City (L, 27-19)
  • Week 17: vs. Baltimore (L,31-2)
  • Week 18: at Tennessee (W, 23-17)
  • Wild Card: Los Angeles Chargers (W, 32-12)
  • Record: 11-7

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Commanders’ DC focused on Lions, not other jobs

Joe Whitt Jr. doesn’t want to focus on other jobs.

News broke Tuesday that the New York Jets had requested to interview Commanders’ DC Joe Whitt Jr. for their head coach opening.

Less than 24 hours later, John Keim asked Whitt during his weekly press conference about the report and his potential interview for the Jets head coaching position.

Whitt began, “I’m going to be honest with you. I’m not going to try to dodge a question, but my whole focus is on Detroit.”

This was not surprising, actually. Coaches tend to respond with this type of reply to reassure everyone they are devoted to their current position, their current responsibilities, and the next opponent.

However, Whitt’s next sentence caught the attention of many. Whitt didn’t have to offer it, but he did, and he did so with typical Joe Whitt intensity and directness.

“If I put any effort or energy into anything else with this opportunity we have, I’ll be cheating these men. So, that’s the only thing I’m concerned with right now.”

Whitt’s response resonates with Quinn’s emphasis all season of building, cultivating and preserving a brotherhood, not a neighborhood at the Ashburn facility.

Referring to “cheating these men,” meaning Commanders’ players and coaches, speaks of Whitt feeling the need to not even talk with the Jets right now or anyone else but to remain focused and driven in pursuit of helping the 2024 Commanders.

For his final sentence, Whitt did add, “So, that’s the only thing I’m concerned with right now.” A fair interpretation could be that if we get past Detroit on Saturday, perhaps Whitt would talk with the Jets on Sunday before jumping back in on Monday to begin preparation for the Rams / Eagles winner.

Then again, perhaps Whitt is actually feeling similarly to how offensive coordinator Kliff Kingsbury replied last week, implying he is happy, for now, to come back to the Commanders for a second season.

Whatever Whitt intended, he is right about one thing: the Detroit offensive line and their skill position players make their offense appear to be virtually unstoppable in 2024.

The Commanders’ defense needs your full effort and energy this week, Joe.

Sunday’s NFC Wild Card Weekend features Marshon Lattimore vs. Mike Evans

Marshon Lattimore vs. Mike Evans is must-see TV.

Sunday will feature a huge matchup, and Dan Quinn expects the sports networks to make much of it.

That matchup is Tampa Bay Bucs wide receiver Mike Evans and Washington Commanders’ cornerback Marshon Lattimore.

Commanders’ GM Adam Peters traded for Lattimore at the NFL trade deadline. Thus far, Lattimore has only provided his team with one full game vs the Saints. The following week, he injured a hamstring against the Eagles again and was unavailable the last two weeks in wins over the Falcons and Cowboys.

Yet, Quinn was positive in his outlook for Sunday’s playoff game:

“He’s hitting all the markers in a good space, so we will have a jog through practice today, and then we’ll be full speed back at it tomorrow,” Quinn said. So, he’s hit all the markers up to this point and I anticipate that trending through the week, but tomorrow and Friday, specifically tomorrow will be one that’s more speed.”

Lattimore and Evans have provided quite the entertainment in their past meetings as the two battled each other.

Quinn expressed Wednesday he knows it will be a big matchup but he was also quick to say there will be many big matchups in this game.

“There’s definitely matchups all over the field that make a difference in winning and losing,” he said. “And these are two elite competitors, and it’s honestly what makes coaching so much fun.”

Quinn even went as far as to imply that, yes, the television commenters will make much of this matchup, but he is not overlooking several matchups that will be fought Sunday night in Raymond James Stadium in Tampa.

“Those aren’t the only two that are going to be absolutely battling for it. It may be the only ones that the networks may show [laughs], but let me tell you, there’ll be a lot of guys that are really going to go for it. And it does make that part fun.”

Baker Mayfield torched the Commanders in the opener. He completed an impressive 24 of 30 attempts for 289 yards, four touchdowns, and no interceptions, averaging 9.6 yards per pass attempt.

Having a healthy Lattimore will help, but the Commanders will also need more (much more) pressure up front than in the first game when they only hit Mayfield four times, sacking him just once.

Quinn won’t permit Commanders to look ahead

Dan Quinn will not let the Commanders look past the next game.

The Commanders have two games remaining and the playoffs loom just beyond the mountain of the regular season.

Yet, Commanders head coach Dan Quinn is determined not to allow his team to look too far ahead. He knows the discussions that are happening in the media and fan base but said Monday to the press that if he doesn’t like his team’s focus, he will not look the other way. He will address it.

“Yep. And I know that, I don’t have my head in the sand, but I do really stay true to the process with the players,”Quinn said. “And I promise you all the things that are going on through my head, the what ifs aren’t part of it. I just don’t see the benefit in that for us; we’ve got a lot of stuff to improve upon.”

Quinn knows there is no use his players getting involved in the playoff seedings, the playoff implications, the playoff scenarios. They can’t control what any of the other teams do anyway, so, why not remain focused on what you can control? What you can address?

“If I can stay our chasing of constant improvement, that’s where we’re at. And so for us, we kind of talk about when we came back from the bye [week] we were at a base camp, and we’re trying to get to a next spot, a new next spot. And so that’s what Atlanta is in six days. And so, we know we’ve got a lot to improve upon and so we just dig in on that and that way we don’t have to get caught up in the what ifs.”

It’s what Kirk Cousins talked about way back in his years in Washington. He wasn’t understood by many when he notoriously said, “I’m a little more process-oriented than that.”

Whether he was understood by many is insignificant. He was right, and so is Quinn. Be busy, be focused on what you need to address and in how you can improve. Work your process.

Mercy Killing: Washington win eliminates Cowboys from playoff chase before Dallas plays

Washington’s win gives them a win total the Cowboys cannot achieve, let the 2024 postmortem analysis begin. | From @KDDrummondNFL

If misery loves company, Dallas is now in the right place. After a tumultuous offseason expectedly led to a horrible start to the regular season, the 2024 season is now over for the Cowboys. Though they will line up on Sunday night to take on the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, the Dallas Cowboys no longer have a shot to make the 2024 playoffs.

Thanks to an untimely third-down drop by Eagles wideout DeVonta Smith, the Washington Commanders were able to take advantage of a final possession, marching down the field to score a touchdown with six seconds remaining. Despite five turnovers and knocking Jalen Hurts out the game early, Washington’s 36-33 win over Philadelphia gives them 10 wins on the season.

With only three games remaining, including SNF, and only six wins, it is now impossible for the Cowboys to become the seventh seed in the NFC playoffs. Dan Quinn’s unit had a ton to do with the end of last season for the Cowboys, and now his team has put the nail in the coffin of this season.

There will be plenty of ink spilled over the disaster that started last January with a wild-card blowout loss to Green Bay, saw Jerry Jones bring back a lame-duck coaching staff and a total lack of free agency activity. The Cowboys toyed with extensions with their two biggest offensive stars before caving and allowed a stink to hover over the organization for seemingly no gain aside from collecting interest on the guaranteed money they eventually forked over for Dak Prescott and CeeDee Lamb’s deal.

Now, the club is behind the eight ball for 2025, with two key defensive stars already knocked out for most if not all of next year in LB DeMarvion Overshown and CB Trevon Diggs.

But for now, the post mortem is going to focus on what has gone wrong in 2024, and that’s one big suitcase to try and unpack. There’s no rush to fix it, because the playoffs are no longer an option.

Cowboys facing potential dubious playoff distinction in Week 12

A look at the playoff elimination scenarios facing the Cowboys in Week 12.

The goal of almost every NFL team is to win the Super Bowl each year. Sure, there are a handful of teams that enter a season on a rebuild trajectory, but by and large every team wants to end of representing their conference in The Big Game. For years, the easiest path to the Super Bowl is to host the NFC Championship Game, and the easiest way to do that is to finish the regular season with your respective conference’s best record.

Things have gone woefully awry for the 2024 Dallas Cowboys as they sit with a 3-7 record through 11 weeks. And with the Washington Commanders sitting at 7-4 entering their Week 12 battle, Dallas is in danger of being eliminated from that top regular season objective. Everyone knows they aren’t going anywhere this year, but an officially elimination scenario is now on the table.

There are five scenarios where the Cowboys can be eliminated from contention for the No. 1 seed in the NFC.

  1. Dallas loses to Washington
  2. Dallas and Washington tie, while the Detroit Lions win
  3. Dallas and Washington tie, Detroit and Indianapolis tie, Minnesota wins
  4. DAL/WAS tie, Minnesota wins, Green Bay wins
  5. DAL/WAS tie, Minnesota wins, Green Bay ties

Any of the above five scenarios means that Dallas starts losing paths to the playoffs as early as Week 12.

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Dolphins beat writer throws serious shade at Steelers and the playoffs

Are the Steelers in the playoffs an automatic win?

The NFL regular season is still two months away but people are already starting to talk trash. First up we have Miami Dolphins beat writer Travis Wingfield. Wingfield decided to disrespect the Steelers by saying if the Dolphins get them at home in the divisional round of the 2024 playoffs, it’s an automatic win for Miami.

“Can we get the Steelers, at home, in the divisional round this year,” Wingfield asked. “That would be a guaranteed trip to the conference championship game this year.”

At first, my thought was, ‘he’s not wrong considering the Steelers haven’t won a playoff game since 2016. But then after reading it again, and he mentioned the divisional round, which means taking on the Dolphins means the Steelers have probably won a playoff game to get there. If the streak is broken, all bets are off.

The Steelers last won a playoff game in the 2016 playoffs. They beat the Kansas City Chiefs in the division round. Ironically, the Steelers beat the Dolphins that year in the wild-card round.

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