https://www.espn.com/nfl/boxscore/_/gameId/401326572

2nd half started with a bad omen,
a long drive topped off with a TD
pass by the Cards, but they missed
their attempt at a 2 point conver-
sion.

Cowboys started the 2nd half with
Dak fumble, Dak overthrowing Amari,
holding penalty, Dak throwing it away,
another bad omen, trailing 19-7 with
8:45 left in the 3rd quarter.

Cards start at their 43 yard line, they
got it down close to a TD but on 3rd
down pass, Jayron Kearse failed to
make an interception followed by the
Cards kicking a field goal for a 22-7
lead with 4:01 left in the 3rd quarter.

Cowboys go 3 & out with 3:13 left in
3rd quarter. Thus far, on 2 2nd half non-
drives, Cowboys have no 1st downs, 2
3 & outs.

Cowboys stop Cards on next drive, 3 &
out on sack by Dorance Armstrong with
1:52 left in 3rd quarter.

After good return by CeeDee Lamb, Cow-
boys start at Cards 31 yard line. After a
1st down, Dak fumbles the snap & follows
that with a ball thrown at 1,000 miles per
hour (i.e., far too hard) that Pollard unable
to handle. On 3rd & 13, Dak runs to 10 yard ...

.... line, 1 yard shy of a 1st down. On 4th &
1, quarter expires. At start of 4th quarter,
Dak fakes a hand-off to Zeke & runs for 3
yards for a 1st & goal at the 7 yard line.
Poor pass to Schultz at 5 yard line.

Pass to Amari at 2 yard line. 3rd & goal,
pass complete to wide open Cedrick Wil-
son in the end zone with 13:49 left in the
game. Cowboys go for 2 point conversion,
but are called for delay of game, so they
instead, send out Zuerlein who barely ...

.... kicks it inside right upright, Cards 22
Cowboys 14.

After Cards make 1 1st down, Cowboys
stop them & they have to punt with 12:02
left in the game. CeeDee stopped after a
4 yard loss on punt return, at Cowboys 10
yard line.

One of Dak's best passes of the game com-
plete to CeeDee at 36 yard line (26 yard gain
for 1st down). Zeke stopped for 1 yard loss.
Dak runs for what would've been a 6 yard
gain but loses a fumble at the 44 yard line
with 10:30 left in the game.

On 1st play, Odighizuwa flagged for face
mask penalty giving Cards a 1st down at
Cowboys 28 yard line. On 3rd & 8 at Cow-
boys 27 yard line, pass complete but 3 yards
short of 1st down. Cards kick 39 yard field
goal to lead 25-14 with 8:32 left in the game.

Cowboys go for it on 4th & 1.5 to go, com-
plete to Cedrick Wilson for 1st down at Cow-
boys 41 yard line with 6:20 left in the game.
On 1st down trick play, pass to Cedrick Wil-
son which he then passes to Tony Pollard
for another 1st down at Cards 28 yard line.

16 yard pass complete to CeeDee for ano-
ther 1st down at Cards 12 yard line with
5:22 left in the game. 8 yard pass to Ced-
rick Wilson at Cards 4 yard line with 4:48
left in the game.

Pass complete to Amari Cooper for TD with
4:42 left in the game. Cowboys go for 2 point
conversion & make it on pass to Cedrick Wil-
son. Cards 25 Cowboys 22.

Cards Murray runs for 1st down away from
Micah Parsons on 2nd & 10. 2nd & 7 at their
43 yard line with 3:10 left in the game, com-
plete to Ertz for 1st down at Cowboys 46
yard line with 3:01 left in the game. Cowboys
use a time-out, have only 1 left.

Edmonds carries for 1st down & places Cards
in field goal range at Cowboys 35.5 yard line
with 2:44 left in the game. Run to 29 yard line
followed by run to 9 yard run near 20 yard line
for 1st down as 2 minute warning goes off with
1:58 left in the game.

Cards ability to move the ball in this last drive
is appearing to put an end to Cowboys hope of
pulling out a win after trailing the entire game.
Final score Cards 25 Cowboys 22.

I'll follow this post up with an assessment after
awhile.

--- --- ---

Follow-up:

Prior to this game, Cowboys tied with 3 other
teams (Rams, Bucs, Chiefs) for the 2nd-best
record in the NFL:

o The Rams almost lost to the Ravens, the Rams
scoring a TD on a 7 yard pass with 1:01 left in the
game to win 20 to 19

o The Bucs almost lost to the Jets, the Bucs scor-
ing a TD on a 33 yard pass with 15 seconds left in
the game (& added a 2 point conversion) to win
28 to 24. During the game, a bizarre event, wide
receiver Antonio Brown quit with the Bucs trailing
the Jets 24 to 10, & has been cut from the team:
https://youtu.be/35qApFxJMoY

o The Chiefs lost a close one to the Bengals, the
Bengals kicking a field goal as time expired to win
34 to 31.

Meanwhile, the Eagles, battling for a wild card play-
off spot, Washington battled back, driving down to
Eagles 20 yard line with 30 seconds left, but the
Eagles intercepted a pass in the end zone, the final
score the Eagles winning 20 to 16.

After the game, the Cowboys are now the 4th NFC
seed: https://www.cbssports.com/nfl/standings/playoffrace/

The game, a 3 point loss, Cowboys unable to get a
takeaway (only the 4th game that's happened thus
far, 3 of those losses to the Broncos, Raiders, &
Cards) & even though they had only 1 giveaway, that
was the difference in the game with the Cards kick-
ing what turned out to be the winning field goal ...

.... with 8:32 left in the game after recovering that
Dak fumble with 10:30 left in the game.

Dak was under pressure the entire game, many of
his passes blocked or tipped at the line. The Cards
had almost 100 yards more on offense & even with
only 127 yards rushing, their 4 yards per attempt
was far higher than the Cowboys 45 yards on 17
attempts (2.6 yards per attempt).

Time of possession: Cards 34:42, Cowboys 25:18.

The Cowboys 3rd lowest Total Yards in 2021, all
3 of those low Total Yards games have been los-
ses (to the Broncos, Chiefs, & Cards).

On Sunday, January 2, 2022 at 6:57:34 PM UTC-6, observer wrote:

..> https://www.espn.com/nfl/boxscore/_/gameId/401326572
..>
..> 2nd half started with a bad omen,
..> a long drive topped off with a TD
..> pass by the Cards, but they missed
..> their attempt at a 2 point conver-
..> sion.
..>
..> Cowboys started the 2nd half with
..> Dak fumble, Dak overthrowing Amari,
..> holding penalty, Dak throwing it away,
..> another bad omen, trailing 19-7 with
..> 8:45 left in the 3rd quarter.
..>
..> Cards start at their 43 yard line, they
..> got it down close to a TD but on 3rd
..> down pass, Jayron Kearse failed to
..> make an interception followed by the
..> Cards kicking a field goal for a 22-7
..> lead with 4:01 left in the 3rd quarter.
..>
..> Cowboys go 3 & out with 3:13 left in
..> 3rd quarter. Thus far, on 2 2nd half non-
..> drives, Cowboys have no 1st downs, 2
..> 3 & outs.
..>
..> Cowboys stop Cards on next drive, 3 &
..> out on sack by Dorance Armstrong with
..> 1:52 left in 3rd quarter.
..>
..> After good return by CeeDee Lamb, Cow-
..> boys start at Cards 31 yard line. After a
..> 1st down, Dak fumbles the snap & follows
..> that with a ball thrown at 1,000 miles per
..> hour (i.e., far too hard) that Pollard unable
..> to handle. On 3rd & 13, Dak runs to 10 yard ...
..>
..> ... line, 1 yard shy of a 1st down. On 4th &
..> 1, quarter expires. At start of 4th quarter,
..> Dak fakes a hand-off to Zeke & runs for 3
..> yards for a 1st & goal at the 7 yard line.
..> Poor pass to Schultz at 5 yard line.
..>
..> Pass to Amari at 2 yard line. 3rd & goal,
..> pass complete to wide open Cedrick Wil-
..> son in the end zone with 13:49 left in the
..> game. Cowboys go for 2 point conversion,
..> but are called for delay of game, so they
..> instead, send out Zuerlein who barely ...
..>
..> ... kicks it inside right upright, Cards 22
..> Cowboys 14.
..>
..> After Cards make 1 1st down, Cowboys
..> stop them & they have to punt with 12:02
..> left in the game. CeeDee stopped after a
..> 4 yard loss on punt return, at Cowboys 10
..> yard line.
..>
..> One of Dak's best passes of the game com-
..> plete to CeeDee at 36 yard line (26 yard gain
..> for 1st down). Zeke stopped for 1 yard loss.
..> Dak runs for what would've been a 6 yard
..> gain but loses a fumble at the 44 yard line
..> with 10:30 left in the game.
..>
..> On 1st play, Odighizuwa flagged for face
..> mask penalty giving Cards a 1st down at
..> Cowboys 28 yard line. On 3rd & 8 at Cow-
..> boys 27 yard line, pass complete but 3 yards
..> short of 1st down. Cards kick 39 yard field
..> goal to lead 25-14 with 8:32 left in the game.
..>
..> Cowboys go for it on 4th & 1.5 to go, com-
..> plete to Cedrick Wilson for 1st down at Cow-
..> boys 41 yard line with 6:20 left in the game.
..> On 1st down trick play, pass to Cedrick Wil-
..> son which he then passes to Tony Pollard
..> for another 1st down at Cards 28 yard line.
..>
..> 16 yard pass complete to CeeDee for ano-
..> ther 1st down at Cards 12 yard line with
..> 5:22 left in the game. 8 yard pass to Ced-
..> rick Wilson at Cards 4 yard line with 4:48
..> left in the game.
..>
..> Pass complete to Amari Cooper for TD with
..> 4:42 left in the game. Cowboys go for 2 point
..> conversion & make it on pass to Cedrick Wil-
..> son. Cards 25 Cowboys 22.
..>
..> Cards Murray runs for 1st down away from
..> Micah Parsons on 2nd & 10. 2nd & 7 at their
..> 43 yard line with 3:10 left in the game, com-
..> plete to Ertz for 1st down at Cowboys 46
..> yard line with 3:01 left in the game. Cowboys
..> use a time-out, have only 1 left.
..>
..> Edmonds carries for 1st down & places Cards
..> in field goal range at Cowboys 35.5 yard line
..> with 2:44 left in the game. Run to 29 yard line
..> followed by run to 9 yard run near 20 yard line
..> for 1st down as 2 minute warning goes off with
..> 1:58 left in the game.
..>
..> Cards ability to move the ball in this last drive
..> is appearing to put an end to Cowboys hope of
..> pulling out a win after trailing the entire game.
..> Final score Cards 25 Cowboys 22.
..>
..> I'll follow this post up with an assessment after
..> awhile.
..>
..> *--- --- ---*