Ranking the Worst Cowboys Losses of 2010: Part Five

In the final installment of the worst Cowboys losses of 2010--it’s sad, I know--we look at a game in which Dallas lost, while increasing their chances of losing a lot more later in the season, by losing their starting quarterback. This was the day the slightest shred of hope went the way of the dodo for even the most blindly optimistic Cowboys’ fans. It was week seven.

1.) Week Seven Vs. New York. Giants 41, Cowboys 35.

Things were actually going well for the Cowboys for much of the first half in this game: Early in the second quarter, Dallas led New York 13-7. Then, the Giants’ Michael Boley, sprung by a blown block by fullback Chris Gronkowski, sacked quarterback Tony Romo, driving his shoulder into the turf at Cowboys Stadium in the process. Tests would reveal that Romo had sustained a broken collarbone, and as we all know now, he would miss the rest of the season.

Backup Jon Kitna replaced Romo, though, and for a while, Dallas remained hot in the absence of their starting quarterback. David Buehler added a field goal and Dez Bryant returned a punt 93 yards for a touchdown.

But less than ten minutes later, thanks to two Eli Manning touchdown passes and a 53-yard field goal by Lawrence Tynes following a Jason Witten fumble, the lead had evaporated. In the second half, Manning added his fourth touchdown pass of the day and Brandon Jacobs ran one in from 30 yards out, making the Dallas defense look like a bad high school team in the process, to stake the Giants to a 38-20 lead; it was all they’d need, but they scored another field for good measure. The final: Giants 41, Cowboys 38, down one starting quarterback, off to their worst start since 1989 and pretty much doomed to failure for the rest of 2010.

Well, that’s it folks. The list is complete. The badness has been deconstructed to the point where we feel as though we need a shower. Here’s where you come in. Did we get one wrong? Was there another, even worse loss we missed? Is our ranking mucked up in any way?

If so, feel free to shout your opinion at us in the comments. We’ll smile politely and listen, promise.

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