Cowboys 4th Quarter Breakdown Costs Game
The Dallas Cowboys opened the season with a 27-24 loss to the New York Jets. For the first time in the team’s 50+ year history, the Cowboys blew a 14-point 4th quarter lead.
While Dallas was expected to struggle offensively because of inexperience on the line, and defensively with a weak secondary, it was the old cliche’ of turnovers that killed the Cowboys. A fumble and an interception by quarterback Tony Romo, and a blocked punt that led to a touchdown, combined to give the game to the Jets.
Romo played great for 3 quarters as the Cowboys had the lead for 50 minutes of the game. Romo was 23 of 36 for 342 yards and 2 touchdowns before the final interception. His quarterback rating of 101.9 does little to silence the critics that will confront him for the next week, and deservedly so. Romo’s fumbles and interceptions seem to occur only at the most critical times. Even Romo blames himself for the loss, “We were in position to win the football game, and I made mistakes that cost us,” Romo said. “That’s why we lost.”
The Jets tied the game at 24 with 5:00 minutes remaining on a blocked punt which was returned for a touchdown by Isaac Trufant. The Cowboys left the entire center of the field open during the punt attempt, possibly the first indication of the inexperienced offensive line.
Though the Cowboys had success in the passing game, the Jets could key on it because of the inefficiency of the ground attack. Dallas could only generate 64 yards rushing on 26 attempts. None of the 3 running backs, a wide receiver, or Romo could gain more than 8 yards on any running play. Felix Jones was limited to 44 yards on 17 carries.
The Dallas defense played well, limiting to Jets to just 45 yards on the ground, forcing New York to pass 44 times. Jets quarterback Mark Sanchez completed 26 of the 44 attempts for 335 yards and a QB rating of 88.7 The Cowboys sacked Sanchez 4 times, twice by DeMarcus Ware.
Dallas travels to the other coast next week to play San Francisco.
