Post by prossman on Dec 21, 2008 11:24:32 GMT -7
Lights Out
33-24 Loss to Ravens Dampers Stadium Finale
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Rob Phillips - Email
DallasCowboys.com Staff Writer
December 21, 2008 1:52 AM Change Font Size A A A A
IRVING, Texas - Four decades of Cowboys alumni, each wearing a personal honorary jersey, huddled in the tunnel and greeted the current players as they filed into the locker room. Ring of Honor inductee Lee Roy Jordan shook hands with tight end Jason Witten before he limped through the door on a sprained knee.
Witten and his teammates wish they could have given their predecessors - and 38-year old Texas Stadium - a better send-off.
Instead, Baltimore Ravens running backs Willis McGahee and Le'Ron McClain provided the lasting images from Saturday's farewell game - two devastating touchdown runs in the final four minutes that squashed a potential Cowboys rally and handed the hosts a playoff-damaging 33-24 loss.
"Big letdown, not only for ourselves, but our fans as a whole," wide receiver Terrell Owens said. "Obviously this was supposed to be a big night, a special night for the city of Dallas."
The more urgent matter is their dwindling postseason prospects. With one game left on their schedule, the Cowboys (9-6) have fallen behind Atlanta (9-5), Tampa Bay (9-5) and Philadelphia (8-5-1) in the NFC wild-card race.
The Cowboys must hope those three teams stumble Sunday and then focus on their own business - beating the Eagles on the road next week in what officially amounts to a must-win game.
"We had control over our destiny and now we don't. That's unfortunate," Cowboys head coach Wade Phillips said. ". . . We don't have any control over what happens now, but we've got to come back and try to win 10 games this next week. If 10 is good enough, it is. If 10 is not good enough, it isn't. That's what we have to do."
Following the loss, a large portion of the 63,800 fans braved the chilly weather for a special closing ceremony that honored past and present players and recognized the stadium's most treasured moments.
Saturday's fourth quarter wasn't one of them. The Ravens held a tenuous 16-7 lead, but stayed ahead thanks to timely execution and some Cowboys miscues, starting with quarterback Tony Romo's botched option pitch to running back Tashard Choice that forced them to settle for a field goal at the start of the period.
On the ensuing possession, Ravens quarterback Joe Flacco avoided heavy pressure and converted a critical third-and-six. Two ensuing Cowboys penalties worth 20 yards (defensive offsides, unnecessary roughness) moved the Ravens into field goal range and helped them take a 19-10 lead.
The Cowboys' stagnant offense (141 total yards through three quarters) still kept the score close by scoring touchdowns on its final two drives. But McGahee and McClain negated both in a matter of 25 seconds.
First, McGahee busted through the middle untouched for a 77-yard touchdown run. Then, one play after Romo connected with Witten to make the score 26-24, McClain scooted 82 yards for the game-clinching score with 1:18 remaining.
"Devastating," linebacker Greg Ellis said. "It was like, 'What the heck?' You're talking about back-to-back. It's not what we wanted, but it happened."
Safety Ken Hamlin accepted blame for missing tackles on each touchdown run, a deflating finish for a Cowboys defense which had allowed an average of 12.4 points during a previous five-game stretch.
The defense masked the Cowboys' offensive and special teams woes for the better part of three quarters, however.
Romo, playing with a sore back, completed just 24 of 45 passes for 252 yards and threw two interceptions, including one late in the first half that allowed Baltimore to kick a field goal and take a 9-7 halftime lead.
In the third quarter, the Ravens stretched their lead to 16-7 with two key special teams plays - a 23-yard punt return by Jim Leonhard, followed by a converted fake field goal that set up Flacco's touchdown pass to Derrick Mason. The Cowboys never got within fewer than two points after that.
Romo credited the Ravens' second-ranked defense for delaying the offense's rhythm with complex schemes and solid coverage. On offense, Flacco, the Ravens' first-round pick, endured five sacks and managed the game down the stretch. He didn't commit a turnover.
"We got after him pretty good in the second half," Phillips said. "But he's a good young quarterback."
At Saturday's post-game event, operators ceremoniously shut off the stadium lights. Now the Cowboys must win next Sunday to prevent their own season from fading away.
"All you can do is, I guess, still control your own destiny in that if we win again there's still a percentage chance that someone's going to lose," Romo said. "Obviously it's not what we envisioned and we didn't play our best football game tonight." Home | Email | Print | Register for New Alerts | RSS
33-24 Loss to Ravens Dampers Stadium Finale
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Rob Phillips - Email
DallasCowboys.com Staff Writer
December 21, 2008 1:52 AM Change Font Size A A A A
IRVING, Texas - Four decades of Cowboys alumni, each wearing a personal honorary jersey, huddled in the tunnel and greeted the current players as they filed into the locker room. Ring of Honor inductee Lee Roy Jordan shook hands with tight end Jason Witten before he limped through the door on a sprained knee.
Witten and his teammates wish they could have given their predecessors - and 38-year old Texas Stadium - a better send-off.
Instead, Baltimore Ravens running backs Willis McGahee and Le'Ron McClain provided the lasting images from Saturday's farewell game - two devastating touchdown runs in the final four minutes that squashed a potential Cowboys rally and handed the hosts a playoff-damaging 33-24 loss.
"Big letdown, not only for ourselves, but our fans as a whole," wide receiver Terrell Owens said. "Obviously this was supposed to be a big night, a special night for the city of Dallas."
The more urgent matter is their dwindling postseason prospects. With one game left on their schedule, the Cowboys (9-6) have fallen behind Atlanta (9-5), Tampa Bay (9-5) and Philadelphia (8-5-1) in the NFC wild-card race.
The Cowboys must hope those three teams stumble Sunday and then focus on their own business - beating the Eagles on the road next week in what officially amounts to a must-win game.
"We had control over our destiny and now we don't. That's unfortunate," Cowboys head coach Wade Phillips said. ". . . We don't have any control over what happens now, but we've got to come back and try to win 10 games this next week. If 10 is good enough, it is. If 10 is not good enough, it isn't. That's what we have to do."
Following the loss, a large portion of the 63,800 fans braved the chilly weather for a special closing ceremony that honored past and present players and recognized the stadium's most treasured moments.
Saturday's fourth quarter wasn't one of them. The Ravens held a tenuous 16-7 lead, but stayed ahead thanks to timely execution and some Cowboys miscues, starting with quarterback Tony Romo's botched option pitch to running back Tashard Choice that forced them to settle for a field goal at the start of the period.
On the ensuing possession, Ravens quarterback Joe Flacco avoided heavy pressure and converted a critical third-and-six. Two ensuing Cowboys penalties worth 20 yards (defensive offsides, unnecessary roughness) moved the Ravens into field goal range and helped them take a 19-10 lead.
The Cowboys' stagnant offense (141 total yards through three quarters) still kept the score close by scoring touchdowns on its final two drives. But McGahee and McClain negated both in a matter of 25 seconds.
First, McGahee busted through the middle untouched for a 77-yard touchdown run. Then, one play after Romo connected with Witten to make the score 26-24, McClain scooted 82 yards for the game-clinching score with 1:18 remaining.
"Devastating," linebacker Greg Ellis said. "It was like, 'What the heck?' You're talking about back-to-back. It's not what we wanted, but it happened."
Safety Ken Hamlin accepted blame for missing tackles on each touchdown run, a deflating finish for a Cowboys defense which had allowed an average of 12.4 points during a previous five-game stretch.
The defense masked the Cowboys' offensive and special teams woes for the better part of three quarters, however.
Romo, playing with a sore back, completed just 24 of 45 passes for 252 yards and threw two interceptions, including one late in the first half that allowed Baltimore to kick a field goal and take a 9-7 halftime lead.
In the third quarter, the Ravens stretched their lead to 16-7 with two key special teams plays - a 23-yard punt return by Jim Leonhard, followed by a converted fake field goal that set up Flacco's touchdown pass to Derrick Mason. The Cowboys never got within fewer than two points after that.
Romo credited the Ravens' second-ranked defense for delaying the offense's rhythm with complex schemes and solid coverage. On offense, Flacco, the Ravens' first-round pick, endured five sacks and managed the game down the stretch. He didn't commit a turnover.
"We got after him pretty good in the second half," Phillips said. "But he's a good young quarterback."
At Saturday's post-game event, operators ceremoniously shut off the stadium lights. Now the Cowboys must win next Sunday to prevent their own season from fading away.
"All you can do is, I guess, still control your own destiny in that if we win again there's still a percentage chance that someone's going to lose," Romo said. "Obviously it's not what we envisioned and we didn't play our best football game tonight." Home | Email | Print | Register for New Alerts | RSS