Is the Cowboys' Playoff Future Destined to Fail on the Road?

 

MIAMI, FL — A 4th quarter comeback fell short on Sunday when the Dallas Cowboys narrowly fell to the Miami Dolphins 22-20. Dolphins’ kicker Jason Sanders nailed a 29-yard field goal as time expired to lift the ‘Fins over the Cowboys at Hard Rock Stadium.

Dak Prescott gave his thoughts on the Cowboys’ Week 16 loss to the Miami Dolphins on Christmas Eve. Although Prescott played well in the loss, a lack of momentum throughout the 2nd and 3rd quarters ultimately doomed the Cowboys' chances of winning. He overcame the stalled drives earlier in the contest on a masterful drive with less than five minutes to go in regulation. He connected on passes to CeeDee Lamb and a toe-dragging touchdown pass to Brandin Cooks to give Dallas a 1-point lead. 

"It's frustrating," said quarterback Dak Prescott. "It's frustrating that [we had a] dead spot in the middle of the game for the offense after the first two drives when we couldn't get anything going again."

Dallas loses on a late field goal versus the Dolphins in Miami

Dallas loses on a late field goal versus the Dolphins in Miami

(Credit: dallascowboys.com)

Despite a much better showing against the Dolphins on Sunday than the Buffalo Bills two weeks ago, the Cowboys’ road struggles continue. Prescott’s connection to Lamb began red hot but cooled as the Cowboys entered the 2nd and 3rd quarters. It wasn’t until the midway through the 4th quarter that Dallas seemingly woke up on offense. Prescott led a masterful 17-play, 69-yard that finished with a touchdown pass to Cooks to take a 20-19 lead with 3:27 left in the game. 

Check out Prescott’s post-game interview below:

Unfortunately for Dallas, even after capturing the lead late in the game, the gassed defense had to contain the NFL’s most explosive offense to keep the Dolphins out of field goal range. A face-mask penalty by the League's most penalized team kickstarted the drive for the Dolphins. Then, Stephon Gilmore went down for a play and missed a critical third and five, where Tua Tagovailoa immediately went to Tyreek Hill, who converted for a first down. The Dolphins kicked the winning field goal as time expired, and the Cowboys fell to 3-5 on the season on the road.

With playoffs quickly approaching, Dallas has to figure out how to win road games. The way the NFL schedule played out, the Cowboys will likely not secure the No. 1 seed at this rate. That means that they will have a big-time game on the road at some point in the playoffs. What will Dallas do in this situation? Head Coach Mike McCarthy needs to figure it out before the Cowboys end another season in disappointment.

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