The Dallas Cowboys accomplished their goal of playing for pride through the final weeks of the season, but must finally accept reality and embrace the tank for one more game.
FRISCO — Two weeks ago, the Dallas Cowboys went into a Sunday night matchup with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers having already been eliminated from playoff contention. That did not prevent a stubborn yet gutsy performance that temporarily crowned them spoiler before their final two games.
The Cowboys wanted to continue to star in that role, facing the Philadelphia Eagles shorthanded even before the announcement of CeeDee Lamb's season-ending injury. A 41-7 drubbing at the hands of their arch rival soiled that campaign.
Dallas' blowout loss left a brutally frank reality as they head into their final game. They are simply not equipped to compete at this point, whether it be for pride or playoff positioning.
It is time for "Training Camp in January.'' To be brutally frank, is time to tank.
Now this group will surely play for pride against the Washington Commanders Sunday afternoon. But the question should center around who exactly gets on the field for this contest.
With nothing left to earn besides potentially better draft positioning with a loss, it is finally time for Mike McCarthy, Micah Parsons and the lot to embrace an organic tank.
Cooper Rush has served valiantly as the backup for Dak Prescott under center. Trey Lance should finally get his turn to show what he has.
Jonathan Mingo has become an afterthought since the Cowboys acquired him from the Carolina Panthers. Perhaps it is his turn to audition for a bigger role heading into the offseason. Oh, and Ryan Flournoy's, too.
And Luke Schoonmaker over Jake Ferguson. What do the Cowboys at this point need to learn about regarding Eric Kendricks ands Malik Hooker and Jourdan Lewis and Donovan Wilson?
What's the good reason for valued young pieces like Tyler Smith and Micah Parsons and DaRon Bland to play?
Consider Ezekiel Elliott’s cut-me request granted on Tuesday. What more of a sign does Dallas need?
