On Friday, I wrote that the Cowboys upcoming game against Kansas City would prove unsatisfying regardless of outcome, because the Chiefs are awful and a Cowboys win wouldn’t end up proving much about the team’s long-term viability.
And so we arrive at Monday, having witnessed a Cowboys game that was as dispiriting as it was thrilling. Players and coaches will tell you any win is a good win. But I think you and I know better. I think that, after the initial euphoria of Miles Austin’s game-winning TD begins to fade, we’re left with as many vexing questions about this team as we had a week ago, if not more. YOU don’t have to be happy with what you saw Sunday, just as Browns fans were not terribly pleased when Cleveland beat Buffalo 6-3 yesterday, despite their quarterback completing TWO passes the entire game. YOU don’t have to spend your bye week thinking everything is chocolate and lollipops. Because it isn’t. In fact, you are likely to encounter the following mood swings…
HAPPY… Because Miles Austin stepped in for Roy Williams and proved that he, and not Williams could be the answer at WR #1. Austin displayed power to complement his speed that many of us didn’t know he had.
ANGRY… Because the guy STILL dropped three passes before deciding to play out of his mind. Who’s to say he won’t come back in two weeks with his standard three catches for 40 yards affair?
HAPPY… Because the old saw states that winning any game on the road in the NFL is, like, way hard!
ANGRY… Because come on. You saw that Chiefs team. They barely know how Velcro works. Take it from someone who had Larry Johnson on his fantasy team and watched him run 57 times for three feet. That is a horrible team, and a team as talented as Dallas should have wiped them off the face of the Earth, even on the road. Take a look at how the Vikings and Giants took care of business against crummy opponents Sunday, and you get the idea of how far away the Cowboys are from being an elite team.
HAPPY… Because as Tony Romo said after the game, the team showed character in the face of adversity! YAY!
ANGRY… Because all of that adversity was CAUSED by Romo and his teammates. The flags. The fumbles. This team seems incapable of going five minutes without doing something breathtakingly idiotic. It’s one thing to rise up in the face of adversity. It’s another to do because said adversity is your own stupidity. “Hey, we stopped being dumb long enough to pull the game out! Hooray us!”
HAPPY… Because you have a winning record. WOOHOO!
ANGRY… Because now Wade isn’t going to be fired until after Thanksgiving. CRIMINY!
So there you have it. You’re happy. Kind of. You’re also angry, but you feel like a jerk for being unhappy with a win that ended in such spectacular fashion. It’s okay. No one said being a fan was great for your mental health.
