Cowboys Drop From 'Luck' To 'Suck'; Who's To Blame? Top 10 Whitt's End

FRISCO - Well, that unexpected.

Just when we thought the Dallas Cowboys would use last week’s rally to whip the winless Tampa Bay Buccaneers in prime time and finally get over .500 this season - they'd caught a few lucky breaks to get to this point - they laid a rotten egg before a national TV audience.

They went, in one night, from "luck'' to (in Dak Prescott's words) "suck.''

Yes, I know. The rest of the NFC East is pretty "sucky,'' too. But one more quick look back at one lost night ...

My Top 10 Whitty Observations:

10. UPSET STOMACHS – The Cowboys entered as whopping 9.5-point favorites, making this the biggest upset in the NFL this season. Feels like one of those games where the remorse/regret is going to linger. Like in Week 16 when they’re one tick behind the Philadelphia Eagles (or the New York Giants?!) in the NFC East standings and fans bemoan, “If we only would’ve taken care of business against the sorry-ass Buccaneers in Week 5.”

Ugh.

9. JERRY-CARE – One of the biggest misconceptions about the Cowboys is that owner Jerry Jones “only cares about making money” and not about the on-field results of his football team. If you know Jerry (like I do) at all, you know that’s hogwash.

And if you see Jerry on TV (like we all do), you also know that’s hogwash.

The angry slap on the table. The disgusting removal of his glasses. He cares. And he’s pissed. More than me or you combined.

“I know our home crowd is disappointed,” he said after the game, “and so am I.”

8. PICK NIX – Opposing quarterbacks have thrown 140 passes against the Cowboys this season. They have 0 interceptions, and only five sacks. No wonder the defense is again, still ranked near the league’s cellar.

7. CONFUSION SQUARED – How does CeeDee Lamb go from 17 catches against Houston and then, just four days later, grab only two (for just nine yards) against the Bucs? … Equally head-scratching, why did the Cowboys go for two after their last touchdown that made it 24-16? You’ve got one of the best kickers in the NFL in Brandon Aubrey. Two extra points (potentially) and you force overtime. Felt overly greedy at a time when things were desperate.

6. RUNNING ON EMPTY – At this point there’s no denying it: Dallas has the NFL’s worst run defense.

Right, Quinnen Williams?

The Cowboys entered the game allowing the second-most rushing yards, and then promptly coughed up 165 to Bucky Irving and 241 to the Bucs. That’s right, a staggering two-hundred-forty-one! We all thought Dallas would dominate the second half and turn the 10-7 halftime lead into a comfy win. But when Irving took a hand-off on the first play of the third quarter and galloped 72 yards it was an omen of things to come.

5. IT TAKES TWO TO … TANGO? – Cowboys were driving late at Tampa Bay’s 33 with a chance to score and potentially tie the game. Then Dak Prescott threw a wobbler, Jake Ferguson decided to play volleyball, and the unfathomable loss was sealed.

Both were at fault.

Prescott is paid to throw accurate, on-time, on-target spirals. Ferguson is paid to make difficult catches in tight coverage. Dak threw the kind of pass you’d throw if someone told you to deliver the most uncatchable ball possible: one with high velocity that tumbled almost end-over-end like a kickoff.

Nonetheless, Ferguson got both hands on it, but only deflected it high into the air for the game-sealing interception. If it was baseball, both players would be charged with an error.

4. BRIAN SCHORTENHEIMER – I cringed when DFW media members immediately started chumming up to Cowboys’ head coach Brian Schottenheimer by calling him “Schotty.” Endearing nicknames are earned, not merely given. So here’s one that actually fits: “Schorty.” As in, “Ya know,” he said after this latest loss, “We really didn’t play well, and we came up short.”

Rinse and repeat. Under “Schorty” the Cowboys are now 9-12-1.

3. BLAME THE OFFENSE – The unit formerly touted as GOTI – can we please now retire that silly moniker? – breezed to a touchdown on its opening drive and then entirely bogged down. Prescott was off-target. Receivers dropped passes.

An offense that scored 31+ points in three straight games managed only 16. Just not good enough.

2. BLAME THE DEFENSE – Defense savior Christian Parker – can we please now retire that silly moniker? – has had zero impact on the Cowboys getting better from last season. Full stop. The Buccaneers, led by somebody named Jalon Daniels, went on an 11-minute drive on their first possession and came within an inch of topping 30 points.

The Bucs entered the game with the NFL’s sixth lowest-scoring offense, but against Parker’s group they ran up 419 yards. Just not nearly good enough.

2. DON’T BLAME JOEY PORTER – One minute there is video on social media of new Cowboys’ cornerback Joey Porter arriving at AT&T Stadium to make his home debut and … the next he’s being sent home sick and didn’t play.

Happens, I guess.

But something smells fishy. Right?

Opined Prime studio analyst and former shutdown cornerback Richard Sherman, “I think maybe if they would have gave him a new contract, maybe he would have been a little healthier today.”

He'd better be wrong.

1. BLAME EVERYONE – Halloween isn’t until the end of the month, but this was ugly and scary. It was "scaregly.''

You don’t lose to an 0-4 team starting an undrafted rookie quarterback making his second NFL start, especially on a short week when your opponent has shorter preparation time.

Right, Dak?

“This is a game that was a game we’re supposed to have on paper ... In this league, you’ve got to win the games you’re supposed to win. And when a winless team comes into your home stadium on a Thursday night primetime game, yeah, we’re supposed to win that.

So it sucks.” Sucks indeed.