Don’t worry, the Cowboys have ‘em right where they want ‘em?
Sounds preposterous, but according to their resilient history under head coach Jason Garrett the Cowboys have a 73-percent chance of winning Sunday in Washington.
The bad news: Under Garrett since mid-2010 the Cowboys have suffered 15 what I’d call “hear-break” losses. That is, decided by three point or less, on the game’s final possession or in overtime. The kind of losses that have you kicking the dog, muttering to yourself on Monday or even “never watching again!”
The good news: As guilty as the Cowboys are of pushing us away, they’re even more adept at dragging us back in.
This year, for example, they lost gut-wrenchers to the Chiefs (17-16), Broncos (51-48) and Lions (31-30). And, you guessed it, each time they followed it with a bounce-back win the following week. In fact, of the 15 heart-break losses under Garrett the Cowboys are a resilient, impressive 11-4 the following week.
It’s a tribute to the calm demeanor of Garrett, who deftly manages the peaks and valleys by merely focusing on the detailed, small-picture tasks at hand. And it’s an optimistic trend as the Cowboys – still smarting from last Sunday’s 37-36 to the Packers – attempt to mend their hearts in time to stay in the race for the NFC East Championship.
A look at Garrett’s resilient Cowboys:
11.25.10 – Lost to Saints, 30-27 Beat Colts, 38-35
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12.12.10 – Lost to Eagles, 30-27 Beat Redskins, 33-30
12.25.10 – Lost to Cardinals, 27-26 Beat Eagles, 14-13
9.11.11 – Lost to Jets, 27-24 Beat 49ers, 27-24
10.2.11 – Lost to Lions, 34-30 Lost to Patriots, 20-16
10.16.11 – Lost to Patriots, 20-16 Beat Rams, 34-7
12.4.11 – Lost to Cardinals, 19-13 Lost to Giants, 37-34
12.11.11 – Lost to Giants, 37-34 Beat Buccaneers, 31-15
10.14.12 – Lost to Ravens, 31-29 Beat Panthers, 19-14
10.28.12 – Lost to Giants, 29-24 Lost to Falcons, 19-13
11.4.12 – Lost to Falcons, 19-13 Beat Eagles, 38-23
12.23.12 – Lost to Saints, 34-31 Lost to Redskins, 28-18
9.15.13 – Lost to Chiefs, 17-16 Beat Rams, 31-7
10.6.13 – Lost to Broncos, 51-48 Beat Redskins, 31-16
10.27.13 – Lost to Lions, 31-30 Beat Vikings, 27-23
10.9.13 – Lost to Packers, 37-36 vs. Redskins
A native Texan who was born in Duncanville and graduated from UT-Arlington, Richie Whitt has been a mainstay in the Metroplex media since 1986. He’s held prominent roles on all media platforms including newspaper (Fort Worth Star-Telegram, Dallas Observer), radio (105.3 The Fan) and TV (co-host on TXA 21 and numerous guest appearances, including NBC 5). He currently writes a sports/guy stuff blog at DFWSportatorium.com and lives in McKinney with his fiancee, Sybil, and two very spoiled dogs.
