ARLINGTON, Texas — All NFL overtime games are not created equal. And on Sunday, no one at Cowboys Stadium was begging for extra football between the Dallas Cowboys and Cleveland Browns.
In fact, the two teams put forth such a ragged effort that a fair amount of fans decided to leave early. The Cowboys (5-5) survived with a 23-20 win to preserve their playoff hopes, but they did little to inspire confidence that a strong push is coming. They simply found an opponent that is equally as bad at closing out games. And it's a good bet RG3 and the Redskins won't be as accommodating Thursday. Washington's rookie quarterback was nearly flawless in leading his team to a 31-6 win over the Eagles on Sunday.
The Browns (2-8) dominated the first half in taking a 13-0 lead. Rookie running back Trent Richardson had 16 carries for 62 yards and rookie quarterback Brandon Weeden was 10-of-17 for 95 yards and a touchdown at the break.
The Cowboys were already compromised at the center position with Mackenzy Bernadeau moving over from right guard, a spot where he hasn't exactly excelled this season. Starting left tackle Tyron Smith, the only somewhat reliable player on the offensive line, injured his ankle and had to be replaced by Jeremy Parnell for the rest of the game. Quarterback Tony Romo was under duress from the start and the Cowboys didn't have anything resembling a running game.
They managed 68 yards of total offense in the first half and the team was serenaded with boos as they departed the field. Like the fans, Jerry Jones had also lost his stomach for this game.
"It's a good thing the players didn't have the mojo of the owner," Jones said. "I was having more conversations with myself than I've had in a long time. I was in a state of shock."
Jones went on to say the Cowboys "threw out the game plan" at halftime, which is certainly stronger than how head coach Jason Garrett explained the changes. In the second half, the offense finally was able to sustain some drives because the ball was coming out a lot quicker. Wide receiver Dez Bryant has struggled to play all the way through games in the past, but he was relentless Sunday. He made tough catches in the middle of the field to extend drives and then he broke free for a 30-yard catch late in the third quarter against former Eagles cornerback Sheldon Brown. Before he left the game with an injury, Browns cornerback Buster Skrine was abused by Bryant on play after play. And it was Bryant who gave the Cowboys their first lead with a 28-yard touchdown catch with 6:54 left in the fourth quarter.
"I thought Dez was outstanding," said Garrett. "I thought he made the real makeable plays, the ones underneath the coverage where he came off the ball just caught the ball for some nondescript 6,7,8 yard, 9 yard gains. Then he obviously made the plays over his head down the field."
Bryant finished with 12 catches for 145 yards and a touchdown. He's emerged as Romo's best option in recent weeks and he's putting a ton of pressure on defensive backs. The Cowboys were fortunate the Browns were playing without their best cornerback in Joe Haden. They drew eight penalties against the Browns secondary, two of which put them in position to tie the game at the end of regulation. In fact, 10 of the Cowboys' 30 first downs came via penalty.
On the Cowboys' second possession of overtime, wide receiver Miles Austin appeared to catch a short pass from Romo and turn upfield before fumbling. But it was ruled an incomplete pass and referee Ed Hochuli explained, in comic fashion, that it was not a reviewable play.
"Nine times out of ten, when the guy catches the ball and runs, it's a fumble," said Brown. "But I thought a lot of calls were kind of crazy today. I mean, I understand that we may have had some calls on our secondary that went against us. But I don't think their secondary had no calls. So are you telling me that their secondary is playing clean? I think if you are going to call it both ways, you have to call it both ways."
The Cowboys are for the moment a .500 team that will get a crack at two more rookie quarterbacks over the next couple games. With wins over the Redskins and Eagles at home, there's even a chance the Cowboys could overtake the Giants in the NFC East. But that's only what the standings suggest.
The Cowboys can't afford to keep coming out flat at home. They won't always survive quarterback Tony Romo being careless with the ball late in the fourth quarter, although he did spark the Cowboys in the second half. And that's why even an eternal optimist like Jones is worried about his team.
"Bad plays by good players is going to suck the will out of you," said Jones. "It will suck it out of you. I know our fans see that
We can't go out and rest on what we did out there."
It's rare that an overtime game doesn't hold your attention. But the Browns and Cowboys showed it's not impossible.
