The Dallas Cowboys were in a tailspin entering Week 12 with a 3-7 record, their worst 10-game start to a season since 2020, and in the midst of a five-game losing streak, their longest since the 2015 season.
Many football fans, who support the Cowboys and other teams, would probably agree that his free fall was actually an ideal event for a franchise that could use an infusion of talent following quarterback injuries. quarterback Dak Prescott (hamstring), running back DeMarcus Lawrence (foot), right guard Zack Martin (ankle/shoulder), cornerback Trevon Diggs (groin/knee) and cornerback DaRon Bland (foot), just to name a few. While that sentiment is prevalent throughout the football world, it doesn’t hold true in the Cowboys locker room, not even as coach Mike McCarthy and his staff play out the final season of his current coaching contract. that was evident in Dallas’ shocking and chaotic 34-26 road victory on Dan Quinn and the Washington Commanders on Sunday afternoon in Week 12.
“I’m not done yet. I don’t plan on breaking down,” three-time All-Pro running back Micah Parsons said, via The Athletic, after Sunday’s game. “If the higher-ups are looking for a draft pick, I hope it’s ruined, because we have a lot of football left to play. As long as I’m a part of this team, we’re always going to fight.”
Washington and No. 2 overall pick quarterback Jayden Daniels entered Sunday averaging the fourth-most points per game in the NFL (28.0), but Dallas stifled them to the max, limiting them to just nine points through the first 57 minutes of action. . That was an incredible effort, especially since the Cowboys’ first six drives went like this: blocked field goal, missed field goal, lost fumble, and then three straight punts. Dallas won the turnover battle 3-1 by grabbing two interceptions by Daniels and recovering a fumble by tight end John Bates.
“I think we had to make a statement as a defense and as a team as a whole,” Parsons said, via the Dallas Morning News, after Sunday’s game. “I don’t think he was particularly a player or a coach. I just think it was like, ‘When will enough be enough?’ “You have to make that decision and today was a direction, we said ‘enough is enough, let’s play the four quarters’.”
However, there are still plenty of teachable moments available in the victory, which the Cowboys coaching staff will surely enjoy as they review the tape Sunday night and Monday before turning the page on the New York Giants (2-9) , his Thanksgiving Day opponent. .
“We did a great job,” Parsons said, via the Dallas Morning News, after Sunday’s game. “I wish we had finished better, allowing them to get that touchdown at the end, that really bothered me. But that’s what I mean, we’re a good team, we’re slowly putting games together. We did it in all three.” quarters, I just wish we could have finished the fourth quarter, but we are definitely on our way to being the team we want to be.”
While the Cowboys needing to become the first team in NFL history, according to CBS Sports Research, to return multiple kickoffs for touchdowns in the fourth quarter was a nice turn of events for fans, Parsons hopes to never need to the heroics of KaVontae Turpin and Juanyeh Thomas to close out games in the future. It’s an understandable approach, but in a snake-bitten 2024 season for the 4-7 Cowboys, many would understand Parsons taking some time to briefly smell the roses. However, that’s not how it’s connected.
“Yeah, I mean, obviously you feel good because you’re in position to win the game if you get another stop, but the point is you shouldn’t even get there,” Parsons said, via DallasCowboys.com, after Sunday’s game . on McLaurin’s touchdown. “That’s the reality. We shouldn’t even expect them to miss a field goal… We should be able to finish the game on defense, go down and take a knee. Not all kick returns and extra points and all that nonsense. We should be able to finish the game “.
