Cowboys Needed Help to get by Winless Bengals

This wasn’t supposed to be a game. This shouldn’t have even been competitive. Dallas was supposed to walk all over the bumbling Bengals. Instead, Cincinnati had a chance to win this game late and possibly hand a second loss to the mega-talented Cowboys.  Unfortunately Cincinnati remembered who they are and fumbled away their chance for victory.

It’s too bad for a Bengals team that has too many offensive threats to be so point-challenged. The thought going into this season was that Marvin Lewis’ team would be the same as always, loads of offense and little to no defense.  Oddly enough, Cincinnati’s offense hasn’t come close to form this season, accumulating only seven touchdowns in five games. Quarterback Carson Palmer’s struggles are the most responsible for this lack of production, averaging only 182 yards a game with 3 touchdowns and four interceptions through four games. Normally the only reliable Bengal performer, Palmer has been dragged down to the level of his teammates this season, instead of the usual lifting them to his. The Bengals need score over 24 points a game in order to have a chance to win. The real issue has been running back Chris Perry’s case of fumblitis. He has five fumbles in five games, one coming late in this game on a drive that could have given his team the lead after they successfully converted an onside kick. The Cincinnati defense offers too many gaps and too little resistance to stop an average NFL offense, so Dallas took that turnover and easily scored the seven. Tony Romo and the Cowboys almost gave this one away, however.

Romo has now thrown an interception in his last eight games. That’s the longest such streak in the league. It also illustrates his “gunslinger” mentality which is fitting for a team named the Cowboys. Romo offers a few opportunities each game where the defense can snag an easy turnover. If he isn’t make an errant throw in T.O.’s direction for an interception, he’s failing to protect the ball as he scrambles in the pocket. He’s too giveaway prone a quarterback for a team that is built to pound the ball at the defense late into contests. Luckily his two mistakes only led to Bengal field goals, but a better team would have turned them into touchdowns from which Dallas wouldn’t have recovered. The Cowboy running game got back on track as Marion Barber and Felix Jones got on track this week, rushing for 84 and 96 yards respectively. Dallas had luck on their side as well, Terrell Owens, fresh off his 2 catches performance last week, followed up with another 2 catch outing. The difference this week is that he broke one of his receptions for 57 yards and a touchdown. Also, since it was a win, instead of whining about not getting the ball, he thanked God and went on to state “Reality is where glory resides” in a short post-game conference where he answered no questions. I honestly don’t get Owens, but that’s a story for another day. Another Dallas receiver, Patrick Crayton, pulled a touchdown out of thin air after is passed through teammate Miles Austin's outstretched hands. It was just that kind of game for the ‘Boys.

Following their last two games, Dallas has gone from the best team in the NFL to the third best team in their division. Their weaknesses have been exposed, and Owens’ comments are distracting at the very least. Wade Wilson must get his team to concentrate in the coming weeks, or they might not win these close ones. How unfortunate would that be?