For those who thought the Dallas Cowboys had finally turned the corner and there would be no more days like this, consider Sunday’s loss at historic Lambeau Field.
It’s not so much that the Cowboys were beaten 17-7 by the desperate Green Bay Packers, who were looking to save their season after two consecutive losses.
It was that the Cowboys ended their four-game winning streak and quest to validate themselves as one of the league’s elite teams with their worst offensive performance of the season.
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Dropped passes, turnovers, missed assignments, protection breakdowns and 10 penalties for 67 yards ruled the day for the Cowboys, who couldn’t overcome themselves, a feisty Packers team and injuries to three starters.
Quarterback Tony Romo passed for 251 yards and one touchdown, but was sacked five times, intercepted once and lost a fumble in addition to seeing his personal 13-game winning streak in the month of November come to an end. He said the Cowboys were out of character and out of sync in being held to season lows in rushing yards (61) and total yards (278).
"We had everything," Romo said. "We had breakdowns there. We had penalties. We had drops. We had me throwing an interception. We all had our own things we wanted back. We shot ourselves in the foot. It was too much to overcome."
Tackle Marc Colombo is likely out for the season with a high ankle sprain and a fractured left fibula. Cornerback Mike Jenkins (bruised forearm) and safety Ken Hamlin (high ankle sprain) left the game in the second half. Both will be re-evaluated today.
The only thing that kept it from being a completely wasted trip to the land of the cheeseheads was a 9-yard touchdown pass from Romo to receiver Roy Williams with 38 second left in the game, allowing the Cowboys to avoid their first shutout since a 12-0 loss to the New England Patriots in 2003, a span of 94 games.
"It’s a tough league," coach Wade Phillips said. "I knew it would be tough in Green Bay. I thought we would play better. We obviously didn’t play well enough to win."
The Cowboys (6-3) remain in first place in the NFC East because the Philadelphia Eagles (5-4) lost Sunday and the New York Giants (5-4) had a bye. With home games against the Washington Redskins (3-6) on Sunday and Oakland Raiders (2-7) on Thanksgiving, spanning the next 11 days, they still have a chance to head into the crucial month of December on a roll.