National Football League

Latest late collapse could crater Cowboys' season

Published Dec. 13, 2011 5:35 p.m. ET

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DeMarco Murray left the Dallas Cowboys locker room on crutches, his face shrouded by a gray hoodie and his right leg immobilized by a protective boot.

The running back knew his record-setting rookie season is over. His teammates left wondering whether their season is falling apart, too.

The Cowboys lost a second straight game on Sunday night, but what really stings is the way they did it. The defense gave up two touchdowns in the final 3:14.

Miles Austin failed to haul in a potential winning touchdown; coach Jason Garrett again struggled with his clock management; and rookie kicker Dan Bailey had a last-second kick blocked.

All in a home game against the New York Giants, a team that had lost four straight games, and in a game that would decide first place in the NFC East.

''You always think about would've, should've, could've when you don't win,'' linebacker Bradie James said. ''I'm going to be thinking about this one.''

Then again, the Cowboys should be getting used to these kinds of finishes.

Dallas has led in the fourth quarter of five of its six losses this season, and in eight of its nine losses under Garrett.

Even big leads aren't safe with this club. This was the third time this season the Cowboys have blown a fourth-quarter lead of at least 12 points; to put in perspective how unusual that is, it happened only twice over the franchise's previous 51 seasons.

''The nature of our team is we've played a lot of close games,'' Garrett said. ''We've won maybe half of them and we've lost some other ones. You have to look at situations, see what happens, some way, somehow process it, learn from it and hopefully go forward. Just because you've figured out how to do it once doesn't mean you're going to do it all the time. I think that's the nature of the National Football League, we just need to find ways to do it much more often than we have.''

Now here's the really crazy part. Dallas still has a clear path to the division title. If the Cowboys win their final three games - at Tampa Bay on Saturday night, at home against Philadelphia the following Saturday, then on the road against New York on New Year's Day - then they will win the East and host a playoff game.

Of course, that's easier said than done, especially with a running game that will be missing Murray.

''We know what we have in front of us,'' cornerback Terence Newman said. ''After losing two straight, there isn't much we can do as far pointing fingers. You have to try to correct the mistakes you make.''

There are some specific things that need cleaning up, such as the way Newman and the rest of the secondary were routinely burned. A unit that allowed a 52-yard touchdown pass in overtime to lose the previous game gave up catches of 64 and 47 yards.

They also were flagged for pass interference in the end zone on what would've been a third-down incompletion, thus forcing a field goal, and they gave the Giants a first down on the winning drive when nickel cornerback Frank Walker was flagged for holding in the secondary.

Walker's penalty was the second of that drive. DeMarcus Ware was caught being offside. Not even counting penalty yards, the Giants gained 510 yards on Sunday night.

''We have to find a way to be on the same page,'' James said. ''When those pressure situations come, people crack or they make plays. We didn't make enough plays in the end.''

The offense put up enough points to win, but still had enough costly mistakes to cost guys some sleep. It started early, with Doug Free's missed block that led to quarterback Tony Romo getting twisted around and toppling into the end zone for a safety.

And it lasted late, with Austin watching that pass flutter past him, perhaps not able to find that extra gear because of the hamstring injuries that have limited him all season.

But the part that causes the most gnashing of teeth among Cowboys fans is Garrett's continued problems managing the clock.

NBC cameras showed Sunday night that team owner Jerry Jones and everyone in his booth knew when to call a timeout, but it took the coach about 15 seconds to do it.

Jones was so frustrated after the game that he only issued a brief statement. He didn't answer any questions.

The Cowboys have essentially turned into the anti-Tebows. Just like the Denver quarterback has a knack for turning seemingly lost games into victories in the final minutes, Dallas turns likely victories into losses right at the end.

Again, there's a pattern to it. Romo is 19-2 in November, just 9-14 in regular season games in December and January. That includes 4-0 this November and 0-2 this December.

After the game, Garrett and Romo offered little insight into anything, instead deferring to ''the process.''

They also kept talking about looking ahead to Tampa Bay, as if it was unbeaten Green Bay and not a 4-9 team that just got spanked 41-14 by another 4-9 team that has a rookie quarterback and an interim coach.

''You have to put your head down and keep playing games,'' Romo said. ''For us it is about us coming back and figuring out some detail things that we can use from this game to improve and using that. Getting better as a team and playing our best game next week.''

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