Team Grades: Dallas Cowboys Lose Final Game Of 2015 NFL Season To Redskins
By Shawn S. Lealos
The Dallas Cowboys entered the final week of the 2015 NFL season in a strange predicament. If they win, they beat their division rival Washington Redskins and end the season on a positive note after losing so many close games throughout the year. However, a win would also cost them about five picks in the upcoming 2016 NFL Draft. If they lose, they could jump as high as the number two pick in the NFL Draft, which is much more important than a meaningless win at the end of a disappointing season. Dallas did lose, 34-23, but showed some life on offense anyway. Here is a look at the Cowboys grades from their final game of the NFL season.
Offense: C-
Kellen Moore received one more chance to show what he could do leading the Cowboys offense, and he actually put up some impressive video footage. He completed 33 of 48 attempts (68 percent) for 435 yards and three touchdowns. It was the most yards by a Cowboys quarterback in a game since Tony Romo in 2011. However, a lot of the yards came after the Redskins started pulling their starters. Moore also threw two interceptions, one in the end zone when Dallas was driving down for a possible score. He also lost a fumble and was sacked four times. With these three games, there is little chance that Dallas enters 2016 with Moore as their primary backup.
Darren McFadden had a great game as well, running the ball 12 times for 92 yards and adding five receptions for 53 yards as well. It was a true comeback season for McFadden, who finished the year with 1,089 rushing yards and 1,417 all-purpose yards. He only scored three touchdowns on the season, but he could have also scored a touchdown in this game, but fumbled the ball out of the back of the end zone before racing in. If Moore had not thrown the interception in the end zone and McFadden had not fumbled this ball, Dallas could have won the game. That would have been bad.
Inexplicably, Terrance Williams came to life in this final game of the season. He caught eight balls for 173 yards, but was kept out of the end zone. This was his first 100 yard receiving game of the season and the first time he caught more than four passes in a game. Jason Witten caught six balls and scored a touchdown, Cole Beasley caught five and scored twice, while Brice Butler added four receptions. Overall, Moore completed a pass to eight different players.
Defense: D
The Dallas Cowboys lost because they could not stop Kirk Cousins in the first quarter of the game. In that first quarter, Cousins went 49 yards in two plays and threw a five yard touchdown pass to Ryan Grant. He went 43 yards in three plays, throwing a 39 yard touchdown pass to Pierre Garcon. Finally, he went 30 yards in eight plays and threw a three yard touchdown pass to Jamison Crowder. He also led them down for a field goal at the start of the second quarter to put the Redskins up 24-0.
On the day, Cousins played just over one quarter and completed 12 of 15 passes for 176 yards and three touchdowns. Colt McCoy played the rest of the game, but the Redskins just wanted to run the ball. McCoy completed seven of 11 passes and threw a 71-yard touchdown of his own to Rashad Ross. The Dallas secondary was burned all game, and they could have played worse if the Redskins hadn't started running the ball.
On the ground, Dallas gave up 146 rushing yards, allowing Alfred Morris to hit the 100 yard mark. Jamison Crowder led all receivers with 109 receiving yards on five receptions. The Cowboys needed to lose this game, and their defense made sure that they did. The only sack of the game came at the hands of Terrance Mitchell, the Cowboys had no turnovers, but J.J. Wilcox did tackle Morris for a safety in the fourth quarter.
Special Teams: C
There wasn't much to grade when it came to the Dallas Cowboys special teams. Dan Bailey never attempted a single field goal, but hit all three of his point after attempts. Chris Jones punted the ball five times for an average of 46 yards, but only pinned Washington inside the 20 once. As for the return game, Lucky Whitehead is still solid on kick returns, averaging over 20 yards a return on three, but he still struggles on punts, with only six yards on two returns. The Cowboys also failed to recover an onside kick in the fourth quarter.
Coaching: C
The Dallas Cowboys needed to lose this game, and they did so, so that could be a positive. This team was not ready to play, as evident by dropping down 24-0 in the second quarter. However, they did fight back, and if not for two turnovers in the red zone, could have made this a closer game. Jason Garrett and Scott Lineham let Kellen Moore loose and the Cowboys actually drove down the field better than they have almost the entire season.
The season has finally come to an end for the Dallas Cowboys. After having a great chance in the playoffs in 2014, they ended up in last place in the NFC East in 2015. However, the finish also pays the Cowboys some nice rewards. Next year, Tony Romo and Dez Bryant will be back to full strength and the four-win season means that Dallas will get to draft either third or fourth in the NFL Draft. The Tennessee Titans have the first overall pick and the Cleveland Browns will pick second. If the San Diego Chargers win, the Cowboys will pick third. If they lose, Dallas will pick fourth.
Shawn S. Lealos is a freelance writer who graduated from the University of Oklahoma in 2000 with a Bachelor's Degree in Journalism. He writes for a variety of national publications and has over 15 years of sports journalism experience. Follow Shawn on Twitter @sslealos. Examiner.com.
