10. Cruel. The Cowboys fans in my house erupted in ecstasy as Roy Williams caught what appeared to be the game-winning touchdown, only to seconds later be stabbed in the heart by agony in the form of Alex Barron's game-ending holding penalty. Cruel, but fair. Lots of crap to talk about with this game, but I don't want to hear a peep about how there shouldn't have been a flag.
9. Speaking of flags, how about 12 penalties for 91 yards in the season opener? Damn you Wade Phillips. I stop calling you Stumbledufus and I trust you in the exhibition season when your team sucks but you tell me not to worry. But Sunday night in Washington looked like preseason game No. 6.
8. Some of us talked all last week about how the Cowboys' lack of offensive line depth would likely cost them a game at some point. We just didn't know that "some point" would be the first game of the season.
7. I know he looked lost a couple times, but Dez Bryant is the shit. Twice last night a Cowboys' receiver had both hands on the ball with a Redskins' defender sneaking a hand in the mix. Roy Williams dropped his pass; Dez caught his.
6. So much for trusting kicker David Buehler. He makes 10 of 11 in the preseason but pushes his first real NFL kick wide right from 34 yards. Two nice kickoff coverage tackles, but if Buehler makes that first-half kick the Cowboys only need a field goal to force overtime on their final drive.
5. The deafening silence this morning is coming from those who predicted Miles Austin would be a one-hit wonder. Didn't take long for that six-year, $57 million contract to look like a bargain, huh?
4. Speaking of Miles, I think he scores if Tony Romo hits him in stride on the fourth-down pass on the final drive. Austin was wide open, but had to stop and catch the ball on his back shoulder before regrouping to head downfield. With no pressure and an open, moving target, that's all on Romo.
3. As a Cowboys fan, I'm beyond embarrassed by Keith Brooking's slobbering, over-acted pre-game huddle. Playing it up for the cameras, Brooking last night actually yelled "The stage is set! The lights are on!!" Who is he, a linebacker or the janitor down at the local theater? I just wished Brooking would channel a little of that energy into his blitzes, which were wholly insignificant.
2. Lots of blame to go around for the debacle to end the first half. 1. Jason Garrett: I hate the give-up kneel-down, but Hail Mary's usually don't work from your own 37. 2. Tony Romo: First sign of the play breaking down and he needed to fall down or throw the ball out of bounds. 3. Tashard Choice: He could've negated the previous two mistakes by simply holding on to the ball. In a tight game between two very mediocre teams, you give up a touchdown and you lose. Simple. Stupid.
1. If Alex Barron was on the team's flight home then I can't take this team's Super Bowl aspirations seriously. Last week when asked about filling in for injured starting right tackle Marc Colombo, Barron defiantly responded "This isn't my first rodeo." After a game of play that wasn't NFL quality, Barron single-handed blew the result when he held Brian Orakpo on the final play. Rodeo? Sure enough, Barron's helpless, hopeless attempt to check his man was half clothes line/ half headlock. He absolutely sucks as an offensive lineman. Maybe he'll be good as steer wrestler.