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And you thought there was nothing more disgusting than 2 Girls 1 Cup. Though it's tough to trump the shocking Internet phenomenon, what happened at Texas Stadium last Sunday is even more repulsive.

New York Giants 21, Dallas Cowboys 17.

Are you shittin' me? Barf!

After quarterback Tony Romo's pass is intercepted in the end zone in the final seconds, he sprints off the field like a panicked man running from reality. Teammate Jason Witten leaves in tears. Numbed with heartbreak, Keith Davis and Terry Glenn sit on the bench in stunned silence. Owner Jerry Jones, resigned that his team's best chance for a Super Bowl in 11 years has vanished, walks solemnly up the locker room tunnel, flanked by two security guards who might as well be pallbearers.

"This is my biggest disappointment," says Jones, assessing his 19-year reign. "We missed a great opportunity."

Adds Romo, "It's a tough pill to swallow."

Concludes head coach Wade Phillips with the early leader for Understatement of the Year, "It's disappointing, obviously."

This is not your father's Cowboys playoff defeat. It's worse. Bigger than losing The Ice Bowl to the Green Bay Packers in 1967 (that team was a heavy underdog) and badder than losing the NFC Championship Game to the San Francisco 49ers in 1995 (that team already had two titles).

The pain of this loss is exacerbated by what the Cowboys were poised to win.

After a record-setting regular season, America's Team was back where it belonged—popular and prosperous. With Phillips loosening the reins and players like Romo and Terrell Owens and Marion Barber and DeMarcus Ware reaching their potential, the Cowboys were the NFL's second-best team behind the flawless New England Patriots. Dallas won 13 games. Sported 12 Pro Bowlers. Finished No. 1 in merchandise sales. All that stood between them and Super Bowl XLII were home wins over two teams they defeated in the regular season. Against the Giants, they were 7 1/2-point favorites.

But the legacy of the 2007 Cowboys won't be what they did September through December, but what they didn't do on January 13, 2008. One and done. Nauseating.

The NFL's winningest franchise is now also its biggest loser, dropping a record six consecutive playoff games. Unfortunately, 'Boys will be 'Boys. The longest post-season drought in team history—one that began December 28, 1996—remains a living, breathing monster.

Even more sickening, this could've been the Cowboys' final playoff game at Texas Stadium.

It's revolting not only that they lost, but how they lost. The Cowboys outgained the Giants by 106 yards. Had seven more first downs, 13 more minutes of possession and ran 27 more plays. They held Eli Manning to 12 completions, receiver Plaxico Burress to one catch, produced touchdown drives of 96 and 90 yards and committed just one turnover. Owens and Glenn played hurt, Randy White and Michael Irvin served as inspirational honorary captains and the rabid sellout blanketed the lame-duck stadium in a sea of white.

Said Phillips the day after, "I certainly feel like the best team lost the game."

But in the final autopsy, there's plenty blame to go around.

Cornerback Anthony Henry, taking a page from Roy Williams' wallop-without-wrapping-up school of tackling, allowed New York's first touchdown. Special teams captain Davis blew a tackle on R.W. McQuarters' key punt return. And what in the name of Avery Johnson was Phillips thinking? Superior teams playing at home aren't supposed to alter their lineups or their philosophies. Avery sat center Erick Dampier before Game 1 in the loss to the Warriors. Saying he wanted to "reward" Barber, Phillips started him in place of Julius Jones. Giant mistake. Barber led the NFL in fourth-quarter rushing yards, but managed only four on four tired carries down the stretch last Sunday.

Most culpable, however, is the offense in general and Romo in particular.

I'd have bet your house that limiting New York to 21 points would've been enough to win. It was during the regular season. Twice.

When the Cowboys peaked—in retrospect, it was the first half against the Packers on November 29—their offense camouflaged all shortcomings with 40 points per game. In two wins over the Giants they amassed 45 and 31 points. But in their last two home games, they managed only a measly 6 against the Philadelphia Eagles and 17 against the Giants, with only a field goal in the second half.

Repugnant.

The offensive line produced weak snaps, killer penalties and allowed Romo to get harassed like never before this season. The Cowboys didn't throw deep against a depleted Giants secondary featuring an undrafted rookie—Geoffrey Pope—playing his first NFL game. Tight end Anthony Fasano dropped a touchdown. Loquacious receiver Patrick Crayton botched a crucial pass, inexplicably slowed up on what would've been a game-winning touchdown and forced Romo to burn a precious timeout when he half-assed it to his position. Owens, who sniffled through the sorrow afterward, contributed only four catches for 49 yards.

Still, after the typically Tony underhand shovel to Witten, you just knew it was Romo to the rescue. Right? Nope. A first down at New York's 22 with 31 seconds remaining resulted in a penalty, a 4-yard completion, two incompletions and the season-ending interception to McQuarters.

On a day when the Cowboys needed a remarkable Romo, they got a run-of-the-mill Romo.

Scrutinized by a hyper-sensitive media and even a People magazine reporter mindful of his recent sojourn to Cabo with Jessica Simpson, Romo failed to mute his critics. He sent a hideous flutterball over the head of an open T.O. near the goal line. He badly underthrew Owens late. He took sacks when he should've thrown the ball away and got flagged for intentional grounding when he could've held on longer.

I'm not saying it directly affected his play. I'm not saying it was necessarily wrong. I'm just saying that next time the Cowboys have a bye week before a playoff game, Romo won't travel south of the border. Or, for that matter, south of LBJ.

Shame that for all the good Romo has done, he's remembered for two defining plays that have nothing to do with playing quarterback. The Seattle Slip and the Jessica Jinx.

"I thought it was a good decision," Romo says. "Better than going to Vegas and drinking for two or three days."

A season that on December 9 was soaring at 12-1 crashed unexpectedly at 13-4 with a playoff loss to a bitter rival. It's like salivating in anticipation of the perfectly seasoned steak, only to dig in and find it cool, hard and bloody. But you don't fling it in the trash in frustration but rather toss it back on the grill.

You don't fire Wade. You don't fit Romo for a chastity belt. You don't disregard free agents Julius Jones and Jacques Reeves or hold a fire sale to dump veterans and acquire draft picks.

You simply subdue the nausea by letting the beach vacations commence.

Oh wait, they already did that.

Disgusting.

Write Your Comment show comments (14)

  1. Your one sick puppy. But you know your football. I love it.

    Comment by Billy P. — January 16, 2008 @ 09:54PM

  2. Actually, the writer doesn't know dick about football. Good rant though. It doesn't matter if a team out-plays another team in the statistics - it only matters who wins. Julius Jones is highly over-rated - Barber should have been the "starter" from mid-season. Jacque Reeves shouldn't be in the NFL. The Cowboys suffered from many neglected areas: opponent scouting, play calling, football fundamentals and finally - look at the fucking penalties!!! A sure sign a team isn't ready to play.

    As for play calling, I like Jason Garrett, but repeatedly calling Barber up the middle into the jaws of the Giants defense is purely idiotic. The definition of insanity is repeating the same behaviour while expecting a different result. Coach Phillips son Wes is in charge of scouting opponents. This is an area where you can't simply sit on your laurels. The Giants were coming into the game having well-scouted the 'Boys few weaknesses - and they kept hammering away until they exploited them for just enough points to win. The 'Boys scouting should have really focused on one or two key weaknesses - every team has them - and hammered away. Nobody noticed the lack of experience in the Giants secondary. Nobody noticed the Giants emphasis on pass rush to compensate for the secondary weaknesses. The 'Boys should have changed their blocking assignments to keep a blocker in the backfield on every passing play - and not just have Barber or Jones make a half-hearted block then make for the outlet. Emmitt could take down a 300 pound defensive lineman or a 250 pound linebacker - I don't think this skill is even practiced by Barber or Jones.

    Regarding poor fundamentals: missed tackles, missed blocking assignments, dropped catches, failure to follow-through on receiving routes, miss-reads of the pass defense - all signs of poor discipline and lack of attention to fundamentals. Team tackling has been so bad in recent games that even non-footballers have remarked on it. Where was Coach Phillip? How hard is to wait until the ball is snapped before you begin your block. Where is a players mind when he isn't hustling to his assignment and the game is on the line and the clock is ticking? Coach Phillips needs to consider some key player cuts - designed to get the remainder to thinking about their purpose. Good-bye Julius, Jacque and Patrick.

    The 'Boys should have been at home doing two things: being constantly reminded that they can lose this game, and being drilled on fundamentals until they are numb. Jimmy Johnson knew how to psyche-up a team and have them ready to play. It remains to be seen if Coach Phillips can do this.

    Comment by John — January 17, 2008 @ 07:33AM

  3. The cowgirls have always been more talk than walk and this game proved it. The coach is to soft on the team. You can see this even after getting crushed by the Giants the coach makes a lame statement "I watched the films and the team that played the best lost. I guess the equation for that would be Best Played = LOSS go figure!!
    And know since his QB is getting so much static he comes out and makes another statement 3 days after the game that Tony Nono had another booboo. He hurt his thumb again during the game and that was the reason he played so poorly. I saw this on espn.com. What a retard. Who is going to believe that. Why didn't he say it right after the game. What a dope.
    Nice to see the new staduim. To bad what will be in will be rotten.
    Glad they lost, glad to see the Packers move forward. GO PACK!!!

    Comment by Doris — January 17, 2008 @ 08:55AM

  4. I too am totally disgusted with the showing last Sunday by our beloved Cowboys. I feel the season was a total waste. So after consecutive NFL seasons ending in disappointment and with the Maverick's record breaking collapse in last years first round playoff, I can no longer be emotionally tied to these teams. It would be different if the Cowboys played well or if the Giants were playing out of their minds but this wasn't the case. I hope these players and coaches learn from these upsets and realize that there can be no coasting or teams just can't turn on effort after weeks of subpar performances. I hope they realize that all their earlier efforts and success this year was just pissed away.

    Comment by Craig Williams — January 17, 2008 @ 09:34AM

  5. Face it you lost stop trying to find ask why you lost the game you were still outplayed
    The New York Giants were given no chance to win.. Watch the game again and this time look honestly at your cant lose team they lost there composure.. they looked shocked as the game went on and they were not way ahead on the scoreboard, The nerve of the coach to say the best team lost... go back to mexico you sore losers...

    Comment by wayne — January 17, 2008 @ 11:44AM

  6. I love the irony of how T.O. cries like a sissy defending Romo yet he had no problem saying "I wasn't the one throwing up in the huddle" after the Eagles lost the Superbowl.

    This is the karma that this cancer (T.O.) brings to you Dallas fans and you deserve it.

    We'll see how supportive T.O. is after Dallas shits the bed again next year.

    I'll be back in a year to stir the turd more when the Eagles come back to kick ass.

    Comment by Joseph Zvejnieks — January 17, 2008 @ 12:29PM

  7. Dallas is a championship city and we are never happy unless our teams win the big one. However, Jason Garret has just announced he will be back next year as the offvensive cordinator. Terry Glenn will be healthy all year. Romo and T.O. are locked up for awhile. They need to improve the offensive line and get some impact players on the front 7 to help out with pass rush. Also I think they need to trade Roy Williams for some draft picks and get some young guys in the secondary. I believe this is a team that is very close to winning a Super Bowl, they just need to beef up at a few posistions. Some conditioning wouldn't hurt either. It seems the Cowboys always seem to lose focus and look reaaly tired later in the season.

    Comment by Mikey — January 17, 2008 @ 01:43PM

  8. i'm over it.
    this packers bandwagon is pretty comfy.

    Comment by juan — January 18, 2008 @ 08:43AM

  9. I'm gonna just say what everyone is thinking, but not saying.

    Who stood to gain from the Cowboys loss? Who knew the Cowboys personnel and system well? Who is good friends with Coughlin? Who would benefit from total disarray in the Dallas organization because they needed a coach/assistants? Who does Richie Whitt idolize?

    Comment by Scott — January 18, 2008 @ 11:43AM

  10. Dallas was the second-best team this season behind only the Patriots? That ranking was as suspect as the $30K millionaires that parade around Dallas. I ranked Dallas behind New England, San Diego, Jacksonville, Indianapolis, Pittsburgh and Green Bay, who beat Dallas in the second half of their game without Favre.
    I guess after both TO and Witten cried following the Giants' loss, we can call Dallas the Cryboys.
    I also have another suggestion: Get Congress to pass a national law that when a team moves to another city for a better stadium deal, it has to be called by that new city. Thus, the Irving Cryboys will one day be the Arlington Cryboys. And we'll have the Landover Redskins, the East Rutherford Giants and Jets, the Glendale Cardinals, and so on.
    That might help stop much of the moving.

    Comment by Jackson — January 18, 2008 @ 01:12PM

  11. Just a bunch of damn pussies! I too am totally disgusted by the way this team lost and I blame Wade Phillips for the lost. He should have had this team ready for the Giants full well knowing that if there's one game this team was capable of loosing this was it. This team should have taken maybe three days off and thats it. You can't go into the playoffs cold. The Giants clearly had the momentum going into this game with nothing to loose. Shame on you Wade Phillips for not fully preparing your team for the playoffs. I'm still a cowboys fan but a disgusted cowboys fan.

    Comment by Juan Derek — January 19, 2008 @ 03:21PM

  12. Tony + Jessica = No super bowl for Dallas

    Comment by Cassandra — January 22, 2008 @ 04:16PM

  13. Fuck all you "Dallasites" that talk shit about the Cowboys (including you, oh douchebag writer). This is the best season we've had in a while, so you all just need to be thankful, and shove the rest up your asses. No wonder the whole WORLD thinks Dallas is full of bandwaggon fans! ....Faggots.

    Go Cowboys, Bitch.

    Comment by Matt — February 11, 2008 @ 05:35PM

  14. funny thing is u sit there and make all these excuses and the cold hard fact is yes dallas had more yard and more first downs. But sorry my freind they didnt have the heart. The better team one and it was left on the field. Dallas was out smarted by the team that they shut down two times earlier in the season. So make the excuses u want but the new york giants went on and beat the dallas cowboys who beat them earlier in the season and green bay who beat them earlier in the season and the patriots who beat them in the earlier season. The team with the biggest heart won. Bottom line! You need more than good players to win u need heart. Proven by the superbowl.. Thank u for letting me read this it shows that people honestly think that they played a better game.For a better game the score didnt show it. thanks

    Comment by james — April 5, 2008 @ 08:19PM

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