Cowboys prove again they’re no road warriors, which will be a problem in the playoffs

Ralph Vacchiano

NFC East Reporter

This was the moment the Dallas Cowboys could have changed their narrative and proved to everyone — including themselves — they were capable of winning a big game on the road. All they needed was one stop to do it; to show they could be the road warriors they will soon need to be.

Ultimately, this one ended the way every other big game on the road has ended for the snake-bitten Cowboys this season — with a loss, leaving them to wonder how things again had gone so wrong.

The Cowboys were beaten in Miami 22-20 on Sunday when Jason Sanders’ 29-yard field goal sailed through the uprights as time expired. It was their second straight loss and the second straight on the road, dropping a very talented team to 3-5 this season outside of Dallas.

That wouldn’t be so terrible if it weren’t for this: The Cowboys (10-5) are almost certain to finish second in the NFC East to the Philadelphia Eagles (10-4), barring a shocking collapse by the defending NFC champs down the stretch against a pillow-soft schedule. That means the Cowboys’ road to the Super Bowl will be on the road, and likely take them through Detroit, Philadelphia or San Francisco — maybe even all three cities.

And at this point, even they can’t possibly believe they’re capable of winning a big game there.

“The confidence is high with this group,” Prescott said. “We understand that we can (beat good teams on the road). And we will.”

It’s a nice thought, but the Cowboys now have a season’s worth of evidence to prove that they can’t; that they’re just a different type of team when they’re not in the friendly confines of Arlington’s AT&T Stadium. They are 7-0 at home with an eye-popping point differential of plus-171. They have beaten teams there by an average score of 40-15.

But when they leave their city, it’s like they forget how to play football. Their point differential on the road is minus-6. They lose by an average of 22-21….


Source link : https://www.foxsports.com/stories/nfl/cowboys-prove-again-theyre-no-road-warriors-which-will-be-a-problem-in-the-playoffs

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Publish date : 2023-12-25 01:33:05

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