Tag: Jaylon Smith

Zack Martin, lone Cowboys player named to either AP All-Pro team

Right Guard Zack Martin was the only Cowboys player to be selected onto 2019’s All-Pro team.

For the fourth time in six seasons, Cowboys guard Zack Martin earned first team All-Pro honors. He was the only Dallas player among this year’s selections

Martin nearly played every offensive snap for the Cowboys in 2019, continuing his elite level of play. A Pro Bowler each year he’s been in the league, Martin is an instrumental part this Dallas roster, and represents an overwhelmingly successful first-round draft pick from 2014. This fourth All-Pro selection pads his resume, and also marks the first time in Martin’s career he’s earned the award in back-to-back seasons.

The sole All-Pro selection is the fewest the Cowboys have had since 2013, when Tyron Smith was their lone representative. The teams are assembled by a panel of 50 national media members who vote on the best player at each position in a given season. Other Dallas players to receive votes this year include Smith (one), La’el Collins (one), and Travis Frederick (two). Jaylon Smith (one) was the only defensive player for the Cowboys to earn a vote,

Possible snubs include DE Robert Quinn, who earned 11.5 sacks in 14 games, and New York Jet K Brett Maher. Although Maher’s tenure in Dallas came to an unceremonious end, he is the only kicker in NFL history with more than two 62+ yard field goals in his career, and set the Cowboys franchise record for longest field goal made this season. An All-Pro vote would’ve just added to the legend.

Garrett tells players to ‘stand tall’ as own uncertainty swirls, Jones says change coming

The coach’s message to his Cowboys players before their Week 17 game is one he’s implementing himself with his own future murky.

It’s technically called “disbanding the team.” Cowboys owner Jerry Jones pointed out that bit of trivia to reporters after Sunday’s regular season finale. And it happens at the end of every single season to every single team, whether they finish dead last or hoist the Lombardi Trophy. Quarterback Dak Prescott referenced the inevitable personnel turnover in his postgame press conference, saying, “The team won’t be the same. This is the change every time. And that’s something I’ll never get used to as long as I’m in the NFL. And it hurts, but it’s what it is.”

The 47-16 win over Washington ended the Cowboys’ season on an up note, but the 8-8 finish may ultimately be coach Jason Garrett’s swan song in Dallas. After missing the playoffs for the sixth time in Garrett’s nine full seasons at the helm, Garrett has no more games on his contract. And as the Cowboys’ disbanding process begins, the front office is widely expected to part ways with the second-longest-tenured coach in franchise history.

But Jones was reticent to make any sort of announcement in the moments following the Week 17 game.

“We’ll have several busy days over the ensuing days and weeks ahead,” Jones told reporters after the win. “And I don’t have any comments or thoughts to share with anybody about any pending decisions as to coaches, players, anything within the organization at this time other than to congratulate our players on this game and appreciate, under the circumstances, the way they competed.”

When pressed for a timetable on making a decision about Garrett’s future with the organization, Jones gave no further hints.

“I don’t have a shareable timetable. The proper question here is a shareable [timetable]: do I have anything that I would share as far as my timetable, my thoughts, any work that I’ve done, we’ve done, any work preparing for the future? All of that, I wouldn’t comment on and share at this time.”

Garrett has amassed a .554 winning percentage as the Cowboys’ coach, including his 2-3 postseason record. Of all the current coaches in the league who have been with their team for as long, Garrett is the only one without a Super Bowl ring to show for it. He’s never even gotten a squad past the divisional round of the playoffs.

But knowing that a postseason berth- maybe the last chance at saving his job- was out of his team’s hands, Garrett focused his players instead on controlling what they could: finishing 2019 with a victory over the rival Redskins.

“We just had a hell of day with our football team and an emotional locker room afterward,” Garrett said from the podium in his postgame address. “So you want to live in those moments, you want to embrace those moments. A special group of men I got a chance to be around, to coach and to coach with. Just so proud of what our team did today. We’ll think about what’s next at some point, but again, just want to soak in the day and devour the emotions of the day. Again, so proud of our football team.”

If Sunday was the team’s last performance under Garrett, they took his final message to heart.

“We talked about standing tall. I had a great high school football coach. Guy’s name is Cliff Foust. Kind of a legendary coach in northeast Ohio. My senior year, I was playing quarterback. He was more of a defensive guy, but he wanted to coach the quarterbacks, so he coached me. And he coached me as hard as anybody’s ever coached me in my life. And his big thing was, ‘Get back, get back, get back. Stand tall, stand tall, stand tall.’ At the time, I needed to get away from the line of scrimmage faster and better, and I probably played too low. And he wanted me to stand up a little bit higher. And it wasn’t until years later that I realized what he was talking about when he was staying ‘Stand tall.’

Stand tall through the successes in life, stand tall through the adversities in life. And I got great letters from him over the last 25 years: when good things were happening, and maybe some challenging things were happening. And he always concluded the letters by saying, ‘Stand tall. Coach.’ And so I shared that with our guys last night. And challenged them to stand tall.

Stand tall through the successes in life, and stand tall through the adversities. Get your shoulders back, get your eyes forward, and go represent yourself the right way. Represent your family the right way, your coaches the right way, your teammates the right way. And [expletive], our guys did that today. So damn proud of being part of this group. I shared that with them. It wasn’t easy. It wasn’t easy to get through it. It was emotional. But again, so proud to be a part of this team.”

Garrett’s speech was about far more than the Week 17 game against a division rival. He was talking about life. He was sharing a small bit of insight into his own mindset these days.

Garrett was asked if he felt he had personally followed through with his former coach’s lessons in the years since.

“I strive to do it every day. Strive to do it every day of my life.”

The effect Garrett has had on his players is evident, even if it hasn’t translated to the kind of on-the-field successes expected of America’s Team. In the moments following a convincing win, many of the team leaders were asked about their own leader.

“Jason’s a first-class man. I’ve been with him since 2007. I’ve seen him as an offensive coordinator, I’ve seen him as a head coach, in every different role that you can think of,” veteran tight end Jason Witten told media members before leaving the stadium. “He’s just unwavering with his message. I think the job of the head coach is to provide perspective and kind of show how you’re going to get there. And that’s the way he approached it.”

“Never too high, never too low. That’s what I love about him. I don’t know how he’s able to do it, but it’s a blessing,” linebacker Jaylon Smith told reporters at his locker. “Right now, it’s just about love. Love is love. That’s just what you’ve got to give to each and every one that has poured into you. And one thing I can say about Jason is he’s been super-consistent, regardless of the highs and the lows, the 13-and-3 seasons, the 7-and-9s, whatever. He’s the same guy. He’s going to give you that clap. And I respect it. I respect it. It’s just all about love for me.”

Prescott was outwardly emotional, giving a loud sigh as he formulated his answer as to what Garrett has meant to him.

“Everything,” the fourth-year signal-caller admitted. “He drafted me. He’s the reason I’m here. He’s a great guy. Love and respect everything that he stands for: the coach he is, the man he is, somebody I look up to. Thankful for his impact.”

Prescott finds himself in a situation not wholly unlike his head coach’s, having just reached the end of his rookie contract. The 26-year-old passer had said that the nuts and bolts of his long-term employment with the club weren’t a concern with games to be played. But now that the season is over, there’s a new opponent to face.

“Uncertainty, obviously. As I’ve said, I won’t speak on another man’s career when mine’s unsure as well. So that doesn’t change, but as I’ve said, all that stuff will take care of itself in the time being.”

Prescott knows his own future with the franchise may be minus the coach who has led him up to this point.

“That’s somebody, as I’ve said, that I respect, I look up to in every which way. He’s a great coach, great person, great man. Of course. That’s my answer, but obviously, I don’t make the decisions, or I wouldn’t be in the position I’m in.”

The man who does make the decisions was reflective, too, when asked about what Garrett means to him.

“I’ve known Jason, really, I feel like, ever since I’ve been in pro football,” a somber Jones told reporters. “His dad [Jim Garrett] was here when I got here. Scouted for us for 20-something years, and he gave him some great advice. He said, his dad told me, ‘Stay next to Jerry.” So, bottom line is, I have all the respect in the world for him and his lineage. He’s outstanding. I think he’s an outstanding asset, not only for us, but for the NFL.”

It was not the first time in recent weeks that Jones has alluded to Garrett’s future as being in the league, but not necessarily in Dallas. If the two do part ways, Garrett is expected to be a hot commodity on the interview circuit as other teams disband and begin their own restocking processes for 2020.

Jones sounded like an owner who knows he may be conducting head coach interviews for the first time in a long time.

Garrett, for his part, sounded like a coach who plans to still be roaming the sidelines when next year rolls around. He was asked if he has more coaching to do in the NFL.

“Oh, absolutely.”

Does he want it to be in Dallas?

“Yeah, I want to be the coach of the Dallas Cowboys. But we’ll see what happens.”

Instant Analysis, Game Balls, Key Stats: Cowboys 47, Washington 16

The Dallas Cowboys closed out Week 17 with a 47-16 beatdown of the divisional rival Washington, that was ultimately meaningless.

And with that, it was over. The book closed on perhaps the most disappointing Dallas Cowboys season in recent memory, as a year that began with seemingly very real Super Bowl aspirations ended with an 8-8 record and no playoffs.

The Jekell and Hyde performances continued, as Dallas again thrashed an inferior opponent 47-16. It was all for naught however, and perhaps was the final note of the Jason Garrett coaching era.

It was over when . . .

. . . Michael Gallup’s second touchdown reception of the game put the Cowboys up 37-16. It was nearly simultaneous with an Eagles touchdown that put them ahead by two scores in the fourth quarter, on their way to winning the division by beating the New York Giants.

Game balls

WR Michael Gallup

The second-year receiver recorded his fourth. fifth, and sixth TD receptions of the season, capping out a promising 2019 for the former third round pick. Each of Gallup’s touchdowns were uniquely inspiring: a 4-yard toe-tapping pirouette, some insane body control to absorb a hit and then scamper 32-yards down the sideline, and a slick route to get behind the defense and find a seam.

This season, Gallup and Amari Cooper combined to be the first pair of 1000-yard receivers in Dallas since Dez Bryant and Jason Witten in 2012.

RB Ezekiel Elliott

Forever Hungry Ezekiel Elliott ran for 122 yards on the ground, giving him seven 100+ yard rushing games in 2019. He scored two total touchdowns, including his second receiving touchdown of the season, off some nice improvisation with Dak Prescott. Elliott finished the season with 1,357 rushing yards.

LB Jaylon Smith

Jaylon Smith was extremely active, finishing with eight total tackles (six solo, one for loss) and the first interception of his career. It may not have been the season many were expecting  from this Dallas defense, but the talent is clearly there for whatever the future may hold.

Key Stat: +113

The 2019 Dallas Cowboys finished the season with a +113 point differential, a mark that typically belies a playoff-bound team. It’s actually a depressingly impressive feat that Dallas was able to put up stats like these, yet still win only 8 games.

Quick Hits:

  • The Cowboys defense recorded turnovers on their first two series, as Smith’s interception was followed by Malcolm Smith forced fumble on Adrian Peterson (recovered by Xavier Woods). Smith’s presence may not have saved this season, but the former Super Bowl MVP definitely made an impact in the two games he played.
  • DE Robert Quinn notched another sack, giving 11.5 to lead the team. It was also the second-highest sack total Quinn’s recorded in a single season. A free agent at the end of the season, it’ll certainly be interesting to see whether the Cowboys decide to bring him back after a successful season.
  • Before Elliott’s second quarter touchdown reception, Kai Forbath had scored the 15 straight points for Dallas dating back to Week 16. Forbath stayed perfect as a Cowboy, hitting all four of his field goal tries to finish 10 for 10 in four games after taking over for Brett Maher.
  • Montez Sweat was guilty of some Mississippi State Bulldog on Bulldog crime. The 26th overall pick of the 2019 draft had a big game, sacking Prescott twice and forcing a fumble. Sweat finished with seven sacks as a rookie, making things real interesting for Washington with the second overall pick, who’ve gone defensive line-heavy with their last several first-round selections.
  • After recording only 126 receiving yards in his last three games, Amari Cooper totaled 92 in the season finale. 48 of the them came on a free play in the second quarter, setting up the Cowboys’ first touchdown of the game. Cooper also took a reverse for 6 yards. his first and only rushing attempt of this season. What the team ultimately decides to do with Cooper after his lackluster finish will be a major storyline this offseason.
  • With draft season officially upon us, Dallas will have the 17th overall pick in the upcoming draft.

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‘Talent without a direction’, accidental tears sum up Cowboys’ state

Players and ownership expressed everything Cowboys fans have felt on Sunday, from frustration to hope to the expectation of a teary ending.

Emotions ran the gamut after Sunday’s 17-9 letdown at the hands of a severely-depleted Eagles squad. With the loss, Dallas relinquished control over their own postseason odds and now need a win over Washington as well as a Giants upset of Philadelphia on the final day of the regular season in order to sneak into the playoffs. Mathematically speaking, the Cowboys have a 28% chance of that scenario playing out, according to FPI, via ESPN.

Everything from sadness to swearing, from gobsmacked disbelief to philosophical musings, from veiled shots at the coaching staff to even a tear-filled eye and gallows humor about more crying to come: all the things Cowboys fans have felt over the course of the 2019 season? Dallas players and management expressed the same before even leaving Lincoln Financial Field.

Immediately following the loss, Cowboys owner Jerry Jones sounded a lot like the Cowboys faithful when he reflected on a roller-coaster season that still- especially after last week’s dismantling of the Rams- held more than a glimmer of hope of a storybook ending.

“We’ve had times this year- a lot- when we didn’t play as well as we wanted to play,” Jones told reporters in the tunnel, “but we had in mind stepping back up here and getting on a run and having some good things happen. This is a disappointing setback for that locker room and for all of us. And I know it is for the fans.”

A somber Jones cut his remarks unusually short, reportedly beating a hasty retreat to his waiting car.

Jarrett Bell of USA Today caught up with Jones, though, and captured more of the owner’s thoughts.

“It leaves, from my perspective, a lot to consider here,” Jones told Bell from his luxury SUV. “This was a little bit of a surprise. I didn’t see the Chicago Bears game coming (a 31-24 loss in Week 14), and this one was a surprise. I thought we were prepared to play. I thought we could play better out here. I’m disappointed.”

“I understand how we could come up here against a Philadelphia team that’s talented at several positions,” Jones added. “I understand how we could get into a spot to get it to this degree of importance,” Jones said. “But we shouldn’t have been here. You ought to be able to take a game like this and not let it impact you from being able to get into tournament. We just needed to come here and play well, and we didn’t.”

Cowboys fans are especially disappointed, given the talent level across the Dallas roster. Take, for example, the rushing attack. Running back Ezekiel Elliott and three of his offensive linemen were just named to the 2020 Pro Bowl. That’s four of eleven- 36% of a starting offense- considered to be the best in the NFC at their respective positions. Last week, Elliott and backfield partner Tony Pollard combined for 263 ground yards versus Los Angeles. In a win-and-in game, though, Elliott gained 47 rushing yards; Pollard netted zero.

Sunday’s performance left many shaking their heads at how the supposedly better team lost so thoroughly to a seemingly inferior opponent.

“[Expletive.] How can you say we’re a better team if we didn’t go out there and beat them?” Elliott asked at his visitors’ room locker. “When it was time to do it in crunch time? When we needed one win to solidify the division? And we couldn’t do it? I wouldn’t say that. You can’t just say that we’re a better team because we may have better players on our roster. I do believe we’re a better team, but the team that goes out there and plays best is the one that’s going to win. That’s what happened tonight.”

Wideout Amari Cooper, a three-time Pro Bowler coming off a personal performance he termed “terrible” where he and quarterback Dak Prescott missed on 8 of 12 attempts, agreed.

“It’s not what people believe,” Cooper offered to media members. “It’s about what actually happens, and tonight we lost. So it doesn’t matter if people believe we’re the better team. You have to go out there and actually win the game.”

“We didn’t get it done,” Prescott said from the podium after the game. “We’re too talented of a team and individuals to not make the plays. Starting with myself. It’s disappointing, it’s frustrating, but we all take responsibility. And as I said, it begins with me. We’re too talented. We just didn’t execute the way that we’re capable of doing. And they did.”

On the defensive side, the leaders of the Cowboys’ woefully underachieving unit also tried to put the season in perspective. The self-proclaimed Hot Boyz have done a lot of talking all year long. But as the harsh reality of a wasted season seemed to set in, the evaluations almost bordered on the poetic.

“We wanted it bad, but we came up short,” linebacker Jaylon Smith remarked in postgame interviews, “In defeat, you must learn.”

“Talent without a direction is nothing at all,” edge rusher DeMarcus Lawrence said after Sunday’s loss. “It’s all about us making sure we don’t lose sight of our direction and bringing that talent all together. A lot of people out here want to split us up, and you want to talk about the wins and the losses and all that. But it comes down to us staying together and being the brotherhood that we say we are and just getting the job done.”

I thought we were prepared.

Too talented to not make the plays.

We shouldn’t have been here.

You can’t say we’re the better team just because we have better players.

Talent without a direction.

A lot to consider.

Nobody said the word “coach,” but it sure sounds like coaching is what they’re talking about.

A sizable contingent of Cowboys Nation feels as though coach Jason Garrett overstayed his welcome several seasons ago. Just two playoff wins over his decade-long tenure in Dallas has exhausted the patience of many. Calls for change have grown to a nearly-deafening volume as this season has fallen well short of expectations. But Jones has stuck with Garrett, out of an extreme sense of loyalty or desperately not wanting to rebuild from scratch or even more desperately wanting to be proven right about his hand-chosen coaching prodigy.

Even in the moments after Sunday’s devastating loss, Jones wasn’t ready to say it’s over.

“Right now and frankly, I really haven’t been thinking of that aspect of the Cowboys over this last month,” Jones insisted to Bell. “I know it’s a topic. That hasn’t been a focus. Everybody’s been asking, but it hasn’t been a focus of mine because I should and always have, at 50,000 feet, should be conscious of what’s going on in coaching – not only in the NFL, but in all areas of football.”

It hasn’t been a focus, perhaps, because the erstwhile businessman knows he can change gears from buying to selling in a heartbeat.

Bell writes:

“‘It’s not hard for me to go in two areas, regarding coaching,’ Jones said, alluding to considering candidates on the NFL and college levels, ‘whether it be coordinators, position coaches, or for that matter, head coaches. Generally, my radar is turned on. It’s not hard for me to get into thinking about coaching.'”

But the players on Jones’s payroll aren’t there yet, at least outwardly. When asked about the potential end of the postseason dream also bringing changes to the team’s leadership and staff, Elliott shook off the question.

“We’ve got to focus on finishing this season,” Elliott told reporters. “I mean, we’ve still got football left, still can make it in the playoffs. I think that’s inappropriate to even talk about.”

So the jabs and hints and insinuations come more subtly, for now. But everyone around this Cowboys team undoubtedly feels the same disappointment, the same sense of impending finality, no matter how brave a face they put on.

Prescott gave perhaps the most telling quote of the night, even though it came purely by accident. While taking questions during his postgame press conference, the fourth-year passer kept brushing at something in the corner of one eye. He squinted and tried to remove the temporary blockage with a finger.

“I got something in my eye.”

He turned away and apologized for the obvious awkwardness of the moment.

“Trust me, I’m not crying yet. Yet.”

The room laughed.

It was the kind of laugh that Cowboys fans surely recognize, the kind that comes when the once-promising season has clearly turned into a lost cause, and the end of the suffering is mercifully in sight.

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‘Old guys’ Witten and Lee ‘turn back the clock,’ do something new vs. Rams

Two of the oldest Dallas Cowboys sparked the team to their decisive 44-21 win over Los Angeles, and their younger teammates noticed.

Dak Prescott is 26; Amari Cooper a year younger. Ezekiel Elliot and Jaylon Smith are both 24 while Michael Gallup and Leighton Vander Esch are just 23. Tony Pollard’s only been legal drinking age for a mere 19 months.

The Dallas Cowboys’ rising stars may get all the attention, but for a few key plays during Week 15’s decisive 44-21 win over the Rams, it was two of the team’s elder statesmen who paved the way to victory. In doing so, Jason Witten and Sean Lee provided some much-needed inspiration to their younger teammates, and just may have fueled their respective units to the kind of postseason push that’s eluded both veterans for their careers.

Witten, who came out of retirement to play again this season, ended the afternoon as the Cowboys’ leading receiver in terms of targets and receptions. None, though, was bigger than the one-handed scoring grab to cap an impressive 15-play, 90-yard drive.

“Great, great, great play,” Prescott told reporters during his postgame press conference. “Not necessarily a great ball by me, but the defender undercut it. Jason did a great job of hauling it in and then getting in the end zone. Just showed up, did what Jason Witten does.”

But then he did something that Jason Witten never does.

“I feel like that’s my first touchdown spike in 16 years,” the 11-time Pro Bowl tight end admitted afterward at his locker . “Never been one to do that. I have to call and apologize to my granddad; he probably won’t be very pleased.”

The highlight-reel catch gave Dallas a 7-0 lead in a game they would never trail, and moved Witten to within striking distance of the team’s all-time touchdown leader.

“That’s just one of those plays,” Witten said. “Over the years, obviously a lot of tennis ball drills, you hope those pay off like that in those moments. I felt like our team needed a real spark, you know?”

It worked.

Linebacker Sean Lee was one of the Cowboys who took notice of the 37-year-old’s score and spike. Lee not only saw it, he took it as a personal challenge.

“I said, ‘I’d better pick my stuff up. I can’t let him one-up me,'” Lee told the press following the win. “That was an unbelievable catch. It really got us all fired up on the sideline. To see him doing what he’s doing, coming back and playing like he is, the leadership that he brings. He’s been an inspiration since I got here ten years ago and still is today.”

Lee, in his tenth year with the club, has been pressed into extra service lately due to the neck injury that has shelved younger phenom Leighton Vander Esch. A dicey proposition, considering the list of injuries that have plagued Lee throughout his career. In fact, Lee didn’t even practice last week leading up to the Rams tilt as he dealt with pectoral and thigh maladies.

“We had to see where I was today,” said the 33-year-old. “And I warmed up and felt good. And once the game got going, I felt really good. The trainers did an unbelievable job of keeping me out, making sure I was fresh, to give me the best shot.”

Lee would be charged with helping to lead a Cowboys defense that played soft in their previous two games, notably missing 19 tackles in Week 14 versus Chicago.

“Defensively, we needed to step up. And I needed to step up. We didn’t play like we wanted the last three games, and if we wanted to start getting wins, we needed to play right.”

Late in the second quarter, Lee did just about everything right when he picked off a Jared Goff pass as the Rams tried to get themselves into position for a score just before intermission.

Of the slithering return that ended just nine yards shy of the end zone, Lee- a running back in high school- laughed. “My high school coach was actually at the game, so I wanted to give him a little flashback, kind of what I did in high school.”

Cornerback Jourdan Lewis tried to help spring his teammate toward a score.

“I knew,” Lewis told reporters, “as soon as I looked in his eyes, he was ready to go. So I turned around and got me a block and understood that he was trying to take it the distance.”

“You know,” Lee continued, “it’s one of those things where you want to get as close as you can to help the offense. I would have liked to score, but I don’t think I’m fast enough to get in there.”

Lee’s effort made easy work for Prescott and the offense, as they scored their fourth touchdown of the half and gave Dallas a 28-7 lead and a big lift heading into the locker room.

“It was so awesome,” Prescott said of the performances by both Lee and Witten.

“Two guys that embody everything about the Dallas Cowboys and what that team’s about. I don’t know if I’ve been more excited about a play in a football game than I was when Sean Lee intercepted that ball. He’s been trying to get that pick on me for a long time in practice. He did two years ago, and it’s been a constant battle with me and him there, and he was able to get that interception, had a great return. I didn’t necessarily see the interception, but I look up and see him making people miss. Hey, there’s another fullback if we need it. It was great. And then Witten with the catch, as I said, those are two guys who embody everything that the star means.”

Coach Jason Garrett echoed that sentiment in his press conference after the game:

“They’re great football players, and they’ve been great football players for this franchise for a long time. They’re guys that we rely on to play at a very high level, and also to have a really positive impact on our team. And they do that every day. They’re ready for their opportunities, and they cash in on them. Witt was very productive early on in the ballgame, caught a lot of different balls, and just made a hell of a play on that touchdown. Dak had to drive the ball a little bit, and kind of put it a little bit behind, but Witt reaches back and makes the play and allows us to cash in on that drive: convert a third down, score a touchdown after we had a good drive. That’s big. That’s big early on in the game. And then obviously, we’re up by a couple scores prior to the half, and then Sean makes that big-time play. Sean’s been a ball guy ever since he’s been here. He’s made a number of those kinds of plays throughout his career. If you think about both those guys, they represent everything you want in your organization, everything you want in terms of their preparation, their love of the game, their willingness to put team first, and then their performance. How much they love it, how much they care about it. I think that was reflected in their performances today.”

“I’m happy for Sean,” Lewis added. “He’s going out there balling. He’s fought his butt off to get back out there on the field and you can see he’s a big help out there. He’s our captain, and you can see that he’s a big contributor when he’s out there.”

Lee also added a sack later in the game, marking the first time he’s ever recorded a sack and an interception in the same game.

“He’s the General,” fellow linebacker Jaylon Smith commented. “He’s a guy that, when he’s healthy, he can still play. It doesn’t matter how old he is, as long as as his body will let him, he’ll prevail. He’s grown to this point, so hats off to him. Yeah, he had a day.”

Lee, the team’s second-round draft pick in 2010 out of Penn State, contemplated retiring after last season’s postseason exit, due in large part to the toll that injuries have taken over a career in which he has never played all 16 games in a season. He returned in 2019, however, and has embraced his new role as a situational player and mentor to the younger members of the defense.

“I came back because I love this organization and I love my teammates. Both have stuck with me during a lot of tough times, through a lot of injuries, and through a lot of missed games. Coming back, my goal was just to help any way I can, wherever that was positionally, however many snaps that was, I just wanted to help us win. So having us win is big, but I want to continue to help and continue to help us get to that ultimate goal.”

That ultimate goal still seems a long way off for a team that, despite being 7-7, is still in play for the NFC East title. Consecutive losses to New England, Buffalo, and Chicago had made things tense in Dallas as the head coach faced daily questions about his job security and the players were accused of quitting on the season heading into Sunday’s meeting with the Rams.

“It’s been a long three weeks,” Witten said. “You play three games in eleven days and you come up short in all three of them, you want to get it going… Now it gets down to all the marbles here next week.”

Dallas and Philadelphia will meet next Sunday in a late-December game that should decide the division champion. It’s just like old times. So maybe it’s not surprising that it was the Cowboys’ old guys that helped put the team in that position once again. It’s certainly not surprising that after perhaps the biggest moment for each of them this season, both Lee and Witten spent more time talking about the other’s performance than they did their own.

“For us old guys to have a couple plays that can help the team win? It’s special,” Witten reflected. “It’s a funny game, you know? It builds relationships, and you have them for the rest of your life. But we know where we’re at in our career. We’ve always prided ourselves on the film work and preparation. Games like this is why you do all that work, to have just a few moments where you can turn back that clock. I was happy as hell for Sean. He needed a game like that. He’s one of the good guys. He deserves it.”

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Todd Gurley should once again be focal point with Cowboys reeling at LB

The Cowboys have concerns at linebacker, which should lead to a productive game by Todd Gurley.

Last season, the linebacker position was a strength of the Cowboys’ defense. Leighton Vander Esch was a Pro Bowler as a rookie and Jaylon Smith came into his own as a starting linebacker, making 121 tackles with two forced fumbles and four passes defensed.

Suffice to say, linebacker won’t be a strength for Dallas on Sunday afternoon against the Rams. Vander Esch is out and Sean Lee is questionable to play, leaving Smith to man the middle without his fellow running mates.

It’s not a good sign for Lee’s availability that the Cowboys promoted Chris Covington to the 53-man roster Saturday, too. Luke Gifford, who’s an undrafted rookie linebacker, would replace Lee in the starting lineup if the veteran can’t play.

The best counter to a weak linebacker corps is to run the football, which the Rams have done well in recent weeks. Todd Gurley has rushed for at least 79 yards in three of his last four games and appears to be finding his footing as a workhorse running back once again.

His increased role should continue against the Cowboys, who at the very least will be without one starting linebacker. Smith isn’t playing particularly well, himself, missing 11 tackles this season – a rate of 8.4%. Cory Littleton, for comparison, has only missed four tackles this year and has a missed-tackle rate of 3.4%.

Gurley isn’t an easy player to tackle, by any means, especially for a backup linebacker who hasn’t played much this year. As a result, the Rams should once again lean on the run and go with a heavier lineup that features Tyler Higbee and Johnny Mundt.

Running the ball successfully will help negate the Cowboys’ pass rush, specifically DeMarcus Lawrence and Robert Quinn at defensive end. Preventing them from pinning their ears back and rushing Jared Goff by forcing them to respect the run is a great way to keep Dallas’ defense on its heels.

It’s no coincidence that the Rams have won the games in which Gurley has been more effective, and Sean McVay should at least give him several opportunities early on in Sunday’s game to test Dallas’ linebackers if Lee is out.

WATCH: Bears WR Javon Wims messes with cab driver, sheds light on injury

WR Javon Wims is in good spirits following a knee injury he suffered against the Cowboys on Thursday, which is good news for the Bears.

When Bears second-year receiver Javon Wims went down with a knee injury in the team’s win against the Cowboys on Thursday evening, many feared for the worst as he was down for several minutes before gingerly walking off the field. Wims, however, seems to be in very good spirits and doesn’t seem too concerned about the injury based on his Instagram story.

Wims posted a six minute video to his Instagram story on Saturday, talking with a ride share driver about the Bears, while pretending he was just a fan of the team. The two discussed quarterback Mitchell Trubisky, the receiving corps, fan burner accounts on social media and more during the drive.

When Wims, still pretending to be a fan, began talking about himself, the driver wondered how his injury looked after seeing him go down on Thursday. Wims decided to “speculate” on the situation.

“He’s not too bad, I think he’ll be alright,” Wims said. “It looked like he was OK.” Wims also hyped himself up, saying “that kid has a bright future, he has all the intangibles” while smiling.

When the driver finally discovers who he is, they both share a laugh. The driver then asks how he’s doing regarding his knee injury. “Yeah, I’m good,” Wims says with a laugh. The driver then asks if he walked to the car alright, to which Wims replied, “Yeah, I just got back. Everything is positive.”

[wpvideo Q35wtu9g]

The video focused primarily on the former Georgia Bulldog messing with the driver about who he was and offering priceless descriptions of his teammates, but the reveal regarding his knee injury is good news.

This comes a day after NFL Network Insider Ian Rapoport reported Wims had a slight knee sprain and that it wasn’t major. The sprain occurred late in the first half when Trubisky attempted to find Wims in the endzone, but the receiver couldn’t make the catch and fell awkwardly with Cowboys linebacker Jaylon Smith.

With Wims himself saying he’s good and that he walked to the car fine, it’s another positive sign for the receiver’s recovery. However, it’s still too early to tell if Wims will miss any games.

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3 key matchups to watch in Bears vs. Cowboys

As the Bears prepare for the Cowboys, they’ll face a tall order as they look to keep their playoff hopes alive. Here are matchups to watch.

When the Chicago Bears and Dallas Cowboys kick off at Soldier Field on Thursday evening, it will officially mark the beginning of the fourth quarter of the 2019 NFL season.

Each sitting at 6-6, the Bears and Cowboys still eye a spot in the postseason, although the Cowboys’ road to the playoffs is much smoother than the Bears’. Nonetheless, neither team can afford a loss in December and will look to inch closer towards securing a playoff berth.

With injuries sidelining impactful players on both teams, this game will come down to a few key matchups. Here are three of the biggest:

1. OLB Khalil Mack vs. LT Tyron Smith

Mike DiNovo-USA TODAY Sports

A (literal) battle of the heavyweights, Mack and Smith are perennial Pro Bowl players who will go head to head for a significant portion of the game. Statistically, Mack hasn’t reached his totals from 2018 and is in danger of missing out on double-digit sacks for the first time since his rookie season. But he has five forced fumbles and is still a game-changer when coming off the edge. He’ll line up on both ends of the line but will face a major test when lining up across from Smith.

Smith has only surrendered one sack this season, and the offensive line as a whole has given up 19 total, tied for third-best in the league, according to Football Outsiders. Getting to Cowboys quarterback Dak Prescott will be paramount when it comes to winning this game.

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Cowboys’ defense failed on every level in loss to Bills

The defense for the Dallas Cowboys played a major role in the drubbing the Buffalo Bills handed the team on Thanksgiving

The Dallas Cowboys left a sour taste in fans mouths after a putrid performance against the Buffalo Bills on Thanksgiving. Second helpings were rendered flavorless after watching the team fail in all three phases and several folks’ job security has become a hot topic.

While it’s the head coach who most want canned, and the offense continues to take their lumps for not getting it done, the defense and its coaches should not go unscathed.

Dallas’ defense looked lost against the Bills’ middle-of-the-road offense. It was a confusing game plan, to say the least. QB Josh Allen makes plays more with his legs more than through the air, yet the Cowboys had no spy on the quarterback. The Cowboys have employed one in similar games, the wild card against Russell Wilson’s Seahawks last year comes to mind, but chose not to use the strategy against Allen. It allowed Bills QB to rush for 43 yards and a score.

The defense also chose to sit back, rather than attacking Allen and forcing the QB into mistakes. Allen has a propensity to throw easy interceptions when pressured, yet on too many occasions, the pass rushers appeared to stand up and play their gap instead of getting after the quarterback. The result was Allen having too much time and finding open receivers late on plays. It’s a bad combination to give a quarterback time and having a group of cornerbacks who have struggled this season.

Rod Marinelli and Kris Richard’s unit wasn’t nearly good enough. Their defense has now gone 15 quarters without creating a turnover and they had their chances in this game. Xavier Woods had a would be interception go right through his hands and Jourdan Lewis couldn’t make a play on another possible pick. It’s clear the technique of not looking back at the ball in the air isn’t working.

The linebackers weren’t very good either. One of the strengths of team coming into the season has failed this defense. Jaylon Smith was lost in coverage, got washed on too many running plays and looked like he had trouble changing direction.

Sean Lee was also an issue; he often had no problems diagnosing the play, but too often he couldn’t bring the ball carrier down on first contact.

The defense failed the Cowboys too often against the Bills. There were three big possessions where the defense came up small.

In the first quarter, after Chris Jones pinned the Bills deep, the defense gave up a 3-and-10. It allowed the Bills to flip the field and kept the Cowboys from getting the ball back around midfield. Dallas was leading 7-0 at the time and could’ve added points to put the Bills in catch-up mode.

Instead, the Bills got a few first downs changed field position and scored on their next drive.

The second fail encapsulated the game perfectly. Late in the second quarter, on 4th-and-1, Allen fumbled the snap, but no Cowboys defender managed to touch Allen or pull him down after the muff. The QB didn’t give up on the play and fought for the first down, while too many Cowboys defenders quit playing.

The next snap gave the Bills a lead they would never relinquish, a trick play resulting in a 28-yard touchdown reception for running back Devin Singletary from the arm of wide receiver John Brown.

The final failure from the defense occurred on a drive that began late in the third quarter and ended in the fourth. Dallas’ defense allowed a 13-play, 72-yard drive that took almost seven minutes off the clock and led to the three points that put the game on ice. The Bills converted on three-straight third downs to chew up the clock and kept the offense from being able to mount a comeback.

It was a rough day for the offense, especially Dak Prescott, but the defense wasn’t good enough either.

You can chat with or follow Ben on twitter @BenGrimaldi.

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Jerry Jones: ‘Zero chance’ at storybook ending to 2019 if Garrett fired

There’s an old trick that authors use when writing a work of fiction. At any given moment, in almost any situation, the idea is to make things as difficult as possible. Make the challenges bigger. Make the outlook bleaker. Make the circumstances …

There’s an old trick that authors use when writing a work of fiction. At any given moment, in almost any situation, the idea is to make things as difficult as possible. Make the challenges bigger. Make the outlook bleaker. Make the circumstances more dire. Give the hero more to overcome along the way than seems even possible, and it makes the victory that much sweeter and more satisfying in the end.

The Dallas Cowboys are still working on the story of their 2019 season. Their Thanksgiving Day meltdown at the hands of the Bills will certainly go down as one of its darkest chapters. But owner Jerry Jones is optimistic that there could be a plot twist coming on the very next page, and that this team has a surprise ending waiting in the wings.

“Adversity gives you an opportunity to really write a hell of a story about how to come back,” Jones said after the 26-15 loss.

But judging by Jones’s postgame comments, he is not willing to go so far as to kill off one of his major characters. Despite a tenure defined by mediocrity and punctuated by countless head-scratching decisions, coach Jason Garrett, who has led a seemingly-talent-laden team to six losses in their last nine games, will remain in place.

“This is not the time,” Jones said of a possible coaching change with four games left in the regular season. “For me, I’m looking ahead at another ballgame, and I’m looking ahead at winning four or five straight and helping write a story that they’ll talk about, how it looked like you were down and out and got it done. And I mean that. I mean that. That’s the way that I’m operating. Every decision that I make over the next month will be with an eye and mind to get us in the Super Bowl now.”

Cowboys players echoed that optimism, even if a story that ends in this roster and coaching staff ripping off a four-game win streak feels like pure science fiction.

“We know what we need to do,” linebacker Jaylon Smith told reporters after the loss. “Four games left, and winning is the name of the game.”

“We feel real good about our chances,” running back Ezekiel Elliott told the media afterward. “We feel really good about what we have in store for the rest of the season.”

As bad as the Cowboys looked hosting their traditional holiday contest, the team didn’t lose any ground in their chase of a divisional crown. Still clinging to a better record than the Eagles but with a more difficult slate of opponents ahead, Dallas players feel they need to win out in order to claim the NFC East and make the postseason.

“We can still win our division and go to the playoffs,” cornerback Jourdan Lewis said after the game. “That’s what it is. Of course, we wanted to win this one, but at the same time, we’ve got to look forward and do our best to get to the playoffs.”

“We know we can do that because we control our destiny,” quarterback Dak Prescott said from the podium in his postgame press conference. “We control the work that we put in, we control how we approach each and every day, we control the way that we prepare to get ready for these games. I have so much confidence in the men in that locker room, the character that they have, and I wouldn’t want to be, honestly, in this position with anybody else except those men. so confident in what we’re going to do.”

Prescott has spent months praising the character of the men in the locker room and expressing confidence in what they’re going to do. Problem is, they’ve only done it against bad teams. Thursday’s beatdown by Buffalo was just the latest dismal showing against the exact kind of quality opponent that Dallas would see should they qualify for postseason play.

The result was an embarrassing loss that left recently-added defensive end Michael Bennett screaming at his new teammates in the locker room.

“It was very disappointing,” wideout Amari Cooper told the press, “just with everything that’s at stake, where we are in the season. A loss in general is just very disappointing, but to lose in this fashion with where we are is just devastating.”

“We’re definitely in the low of this season,” receiver Randall Cobb said in postgame interviews, “but the bright side is we’ve got four games to go. And anything can happen in those four weeks, and we kind of control our own destiny at this point.”

“We’re just pissed,” Elliott summed up. “We’re pissed at how we’ve let this season go. But the good thing about it is we control our own future. We’ve just got to find a way to go out there and win the rest of these games.”

“All it takes is winning one game and getting the thing rolling,” Cobb offered hopefully.

What it won’t take to get things rolling, according to the man who writes the checks? A Week 14 firing of his head coach.

“I wouldn’t make a change and give us a chance to do what I want to dream about doing,” Jones said. “I wouldn’t do that for love nor money. I’d give us zero chance if we did that.”

“He understands it,” Prescott said of the club’s impassioned owner. “He understands that we need everybody in that locker room- players, coaches, everybody that’s a part of it- to get to where we want to be.”

Fans may have soured long ago on Garrett’s maddeningly-even-keeled style and are understandably frustrated by the the lackluster results he’s getting from his players. But Jones isn’t ready to give up on Garrett, with whom he’s had a relationship since even before he joined the Cowboys as a practice squad player in 1992.

“I know Jason very well,” Jones said. “I’ve had a wonderful opportunity to spend a football life with him, so I know him very well.”

But sometimes an author can get too attached to his longstanding hero. And no conflict is too great that there isn’t hope that the hero can rise to the challenge and overcome the odds, no matter how improbable.

After a thoroughly gutting Thanksgiving Day plot twist, Jones is still thinking about how the 2019 disaster epic currently being penned in Dallas can get its storybook ending:

“The way that I’m going to handle this is encourage everybody to basically look to the possibility of winning out and end up doing something that people will write about 30 years from now and being a part of that. I like that story tonight as I eat my turkey.”

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