WHAT IT MEANS: The Cowboys’ victory over Philadelphia means Dallas has had consecutive winning seasons for the first time since they had five in a row from 2005-09. No, they didn’t make the playoffs, but they weren’t going to make a deep run anyway based on what we’ve seen the past few weeks. The passing offense is broken right now and Jason Garrett and his staff need to spend the offseason fixing it.
TURNING POINT: Maligned receiver Dez Bryant drew an illegal contact penalty on third-and-nine from the Philadelphia 28, giving Dallas an automatic first down. Three plays later, Prescott hit Butler on a slant for the game-winning touchdown.
PLAYER OF THE GAME: Brice Butler took a shot for his plantar fascia a couple of weeks ago and finally got a chance to make an impact. He caught two passes for 50 yards, but one of them was a 20-yard slant for the game’s only touchdown,
KEY STAT: Dan Bailey had never missed an extra point in his seven-year career until two weeks ago against Oakland when his streak ended at 273. Now, he’s missed two of his last four after his extra point Sunday was wide left by about five feet.
WHAT'S NEXT: The season is over, and the odds are high there’s going to be a scapegoat for the Cowboys not making the playoffs. Jason Garrett is so close with play-caller Scott Linehan that it’s hard to believe he’ll get fired. Defensive coordinator Rod Marinelli’s unit has played well the past few weeks. That said, somebody’s going to pay the price for this season.
