Cowboys Drop to 2-4 and Last Place

The Cowboys faced a big matchup against the Giants today and a win would have gone a long way in keeping them afloat until Tony Romo returns — that did not happen. The Cowboys dropped to 2-4 and now sit alone in last place in the division. This team is in trouble and as each loss piles up, the more our playoff aspirations continue to go down the drain.

The Cowboys have one foot in the coffin after today. I’m now buying into the division being bad this season. The Giants have won 4 of 5 and find ways to win. This is a tough division at the end of the day, and we are limited with what we have right now. No doubt, this has been one of the worst seasons to stomach in recent years.

Fact is, we probably won’t win until Dez AND Romo are back in the starting lineup.

At 2-4, here are the upcoming games:

Week 8: Seattle Seahawks; 3:25pm (FOX) 11/1

Week 9: Philadelphia Eagles; 7:30pm (SNF)** 11/8

Week 10: @ Tampa Bay Buccaneers; 12pm (FOX) 11/15

Week 11: @ Miami Dolphins; 12pm (CBS) 11/22

Week 12: Carolina Panthers; Thanksgiving 3:30pm (FOX) 11/26

For those wondering when Romo will return the answer is this:

Romo is eligible to begin practicing after six weeks (Nov. 4) and return to the active roster after eight weeks (Nov. 18), which means the earliest he can play is Nov. 22 at Miami. Head coach Jason Garrett estimated Monday that Romo would be sidelined around eight weeks. (DC.com)

What will our record be by Nov. 22 against the Dolphins? From what I have seen from the offense and the backup QBs, it’s not pretty. Will Dez help? Maybe, but I wouldn’t expect a big a bump as some may think. We still have to pass the ball and play mistake free football and we have not shown a lick of ability to get that done.  I don’t see us winning the next two games, but we should be able to beat the Bucs. So, that’ll put us at 3-6 by the time we play a resurgent Dolphins team. Not dead by any means, but they would need to run the table. More importantly, the Cowboys need a WIN before Romo returns, more than one would be ideal.

Here are my takes on the game:

— We had a complete team loss today. Special teams gave up a TD, and Cole Beasley muffed the final punt that could have given us one more shot to tie the game.

— The offensive line played much better today and were able to man-handle the Giants defenders, but we are just too one dimensional without a decent passing attack. La’el Collins has the chance to be something special for us. Good game by the rookie.

— Matt Cassel has a weak arm, and makes him susceptible to INTs, that has been his biggest knock, and we’ll have to deal with more turnovers as him as the starter. Would I put Weeden back in? No way. Cassel, still gave the Cowboys a better offensive attack, but not much.

— The defense is still disappointing. All the talk leading up to the game was that we would have our full compliment of pass rushers and it didn’t make a difference today. The Giants offensive line is probably underrated and our rush is overrated, but perhaps that’ll change with another week under the belt with all the guys back now.

— The run defense is terrible. We need a better 1-tech than Hayden. That ate us up and have been getting eaten up this whole season.

— Two things: We need to add a legit dynamic receiver in free agency or via the draft. We don’t have any weapons with Dez out.

— Beasley won’t be a factor until Dez Bryant is back and Tony Romo. His contract extension looks bad right now, but it’s probably more of a result of the injuries. Point is, we don’t have a dynamic enough receiver to pick up the slack with Dez out and that’ll need to be addressed in the offseason.

— Joe Randle sustained a rib/muscle strain, so he’ll be questionable next week. Can Darren McFadden have a repeat performance next week?

— Christine Michael was a non-factor. He did not get more reps as it was believed, so I wonder what that means behind the scenes. My guess is the pass protection. McFadden gives them the best pass blocking option right now, and for whatever reason they don’t see that in Michael.

— Too many mistakes from a handicapped team that cannot afford to go backwards with dumb penalties on offense and we cannot turn the ball over. Without Romo, the Cowboys face insurmountable leads of just 7 points without the ability to manufacture drives to overtake any deficit of 7 or more.

What’s your take on the Cowboys game and the season?