For the second consecutive week, we at Blue Star, after watching that Cowboys game, are left to say, “Wow. That was pretty damned miserable.”
Indeed, the ‘Boys seemed quite intent on losing on Sunday, and lose they did. 27-20 was the final. We won’t say the sky is falling, or that the Cowboys are doomed quite yet, but we can say, with fair confidence, that the Cowboys--one of the so-called “sexy picks” to go to Super Bowl XLV--are 0 and 2 on the year.
Dallas fell behind three in the first quarter field goal, with a 38-yard field goal from Chicago’s Robbie Gould. But in a half that saw four lead changes, the Cowboys didn’t take long to come back. Later in the quarter, rookie receiver Dez Bryant took a Brad Maynard punt back 62 yards for a touchdown, his first in the NFL.
On the next drive, Jay Cutler hit tight end Greg Olsen for a 39-yard touchdown pass to take the lead once more at 10-7. Dallas answered on the first drive of the second quarter with a 13-play, 73-yard drive culminating in a one-yard touchdown pass from Tony Romo to rookie fullback Chris Gronkowski.
Chicago returned with a long drive of their own, eventually scoring on a touchdown pass from Cutler to Devin Hester. Robbie Gould would add a field goal shortly before time ran out on the half, to extend Chicago’s lead to 20-14.
In the second half, David Buehler hit on a 28-yard field goal to bring the Dallas deficit to just three but, unfortunately, that would be the closest Dallas got on Sunday. After Buehler missed on a 44-yard attempt, the Bears’ came back with a far-too-easy drive, resulting in a three-yard touchdown pass from Cutler to Matt Forte, to once again extend the Chicago lead to ten.
Buehler would add a 48-yard field goal, but after a failed onside kick attempt, it was all over. Dallas is 0-2 on the year, and headed to Houston next week for a date with a very talented Texans team. We'll be back on Monday with some more thoughtful deconstruction of this debacle--once the very thought of this game no longer brings bile to our mouths.
But, hey, at least there's a new "Mad Men" on tonight.
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