Eatman: Regular Season Ends Worse Than It Began

When something culminates in the same location as it began, the phrase "full circle" is frequently used positively.

The conclusion of the regular season for both the Cowboys and Dak Prescott in this instance is undoubtedly a bad thing.

Prescott did say that this game was "crappy," but only after using a different adjective that rhymes with gritty. I simply used that to contrast the way the Cowboys played, which was essentially the reverse.

They lacked toughness. They lacked a fire source. They didn't resemble a football team with a few crates labelled "Cowboys" in the locker room. The NFC East Champions.

They were there, I can guarantee you, but they won't be opened since the Cowboys took no action on Sunday to cause that to occur.

The Eagles handled business and defeated the Giants, who rested several of their players, so it wouldn't have mattered. Although I didn't see the game at all, I believe the Giants may have defeated the Cowboys on this particular day. Georgia and TCU would've likely given them a run for their money as well.

However, the fact that this regular season concludes precisely as it began—terrible—makes this one so peculiar.

I never imagined the Cowboys could play a game worse after their loss to Tampa Bay in Week 1 of the season.Additionally, I truly never thought Dak Prescott could play worse.

Well, use the game against Washington in Week 18 to compare the two situations. Except for defence, which was only mediocre, the Cowboys were dreadful in almost every aspect.

That's what made the loss in Week 1 stick in my mind because, while playing solid defence, it wasn't quite good enough given how awful the rest of the game was.

And that is exactly what occurred here on Sunday, beginning at the beginning. The punter drops the ball and is tackled, really? I don't remember that happening recently. And if it did, I wager the punt returner botched the subsequent punt rather than letting it smack him in the face.

You can tell it's not your day when KaVontae Turpin and Bryan Anger miss punts and snaps.

However, it goes far beyond than that. Because the offensive line was unable to block anyone, there was no running game at all. Dak frequently had to run for his life because there was no running game and the O-line was being pushed about up front. But this is not in any way a pass for Dak. In fact, he attempted 37 "passes" during the game but only completed 14 of them for his own team. He made no informed selections or throws at all.

I'll be honest; this week I bought into the phrase. They really did try to go out and win this game, in my opinion. They stated.They wouldn't have been distracted and prepared to play, but they were. Games are won and lost on Wednesday and Thursday, and I've stated this a lot in the past, and this is definitely another instance of that.

On Sunday, every team and player gives their all in an effort to win, for the most part. The middle of the week, though, is when you might lose. And it appeared that the Cowboys lost their cool early in the week after paying too much attention to what Washington was doing, including who they started at quarterback and which players were injured, among other things.

When asked if his players likely didn't have the necessary skills, even head coach Mike McCarthy responded that they are "human" following the game.The Eagles would probably defeat a Giants squad that wasn't playing to win, therefore they had the appropriate perspective given the significance of the game overall.

Whatever transpired or didn't transpire carried over to Sunday, when the Cowboys' performance against the Buccaneers in Week 1 was matched—and not in a good way.

This also depends on perspective, as I mentioned in this area the previous week.

Do you think it's unfair that the Cowboys, who had a terrible regular season opener against the Buccaneers, will now get to have a similar one to begin the postseason?

Are you among those who find it incomprehensible that Tom Brady has never been defeated by the Cowboys? Alternately, do you point out how ironic it would be to eliminate him in the playoffs, in what might be his final game, while never defeating him during the regular season?

There are many ways to approach this, but here is how I'm going to approach it and what I think about the game:

Just think back to last year's regular-season finale, when the Cowboys defeated an underperforming Eagles squad 51-26. With a 12-5 record and five touchdown passes from Dak, the Cowboys easily advanced to the playoffs.

help them the next week in the playoffs? Oh, no, not at all. They were as boring as the trip from Kansas to Nebraska, and the 49ers beat them the following week. Even a great victory in Week 18 had little bearing on the playoffs.

As the Cowboys prepare for yet another attempt to upset Tom Brady and the Buccaneers, let's only hope that this game holds the same significance.