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The season is not lost for the Dallas Cowboys. Even after an embarrassing 26-15 loss to the Bills, the Cowboys are still first in the NFC East with one month left in the season. The postseason is still right in front of them.
Maybe that’s why everything feels so panicked in Dallas. There’s still a chance to get the season on track, but the team keeps blowing opportunities.
The Cowboys dropped to 6-6 with the Thanksgiving loss and the team went through a full array of emotions in the moments immediately after the game.
There was an outburst
While players were still making their way off the field, reporters could hear a player screaming in the locker room.
Some Cowboys player is screaming in the locker room right now. It lasted for at least a minute pic.twitter.com/mNX60YEC7y
— Jon Machota (@jonmachota) November 29, 2019
According to the Dallas Morning News, defensive end Michael Bennett was the one doing the yelling. His teammates didn’t go into specifics about what the rant was about, but they did say that it was a positive and well-received message.
Bennett is a new-ish face to the Cowboys locker room, acquired by the team in a trade with the Patriots near the end of October. He’s an 11th-year veteran who has been to two Super Bowls, though. Even if he’s a recent addition, Bennett’s is a voice worth listening to.
There were tears
Cowboys owner Jerry Jones has had to defend head coach Jason Garrett often in the last week. He invited a lot of the controversy by telling reporters the team was outcoached by the Patriots in a Week 12 loss, but later called himself “a Jason Garrett man.”
Jones is clearly fed up with seasons that come up short of a Lombardi Trophy, though.
“I don’t have to win the Super Bowl in business every year,” Jones told NFL Network. “I can come in sixth and have a hell of a year. But in this case, you’ve got to come in first. You’ve got to come in first.”
His patience with Garrett is really getting tested in 2019. He couldn’t even stay in his owner suite to the final whistle Thursday:
IIGHT IMMA HEAD OUT pic.twitter.com/gsi8D3HnNh
— SB Nation (@SBNation) November 29, 2019
After the game, Jones was teary-eyed when he emerged from the locker room:
Jerry Jones is emotional while talking to reporters. Tears in his eyes. “I’m not going to make a coaching change.” Jones said he still believes this team can make a deep playoff run. He said they have zero chance of doing that without Jason Garrett
— Jon Machota (@jonmachota) November 29, 2019
It seems like the breaking point has arrived. If the Cowboys don’t turn things around and make a deep postseason run, the decade-long tenure of Garrett could finally reach its end.
There was resolve
Again, the Cowboys are not doomed. They’ve spoiled plenty of opportunities to run away with a lackluster division — and it’s still right there to win. The Cowboys haven’t beat a team with a winning record, but they finish the season against the Bears, Rams, Eagles, and Washington. That’s three teams around .500 and a season finale against one of the worst rosters in the NFL.
While the yelling and crying conveyed a sense of doom and gloom, quarterback Dak Prescott was there to provide a little level-headed confidence.
Dak Prescott: “No belief has been lost. No confidence has been lost. ... We control our destiny. I wouldn’t want to be in this position with anyone else.”
— Jon Machota (@jonmachota) November 29, 2019
What gives him confidence they’ll get it going?
“It will happen.” pic.twitter.com/ucwmTFYqDD
There you go, Cowboys. Follow Dak’s lead and take a deep breath. The sky isn’t falling.
But if there’s one thing the Cowboys do well, it’s turn a little theatre into a full blown soap opera. Tune in next week for more from the best melodrama in the NFL.