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December in twenty twenty three. It is now twenty twenty four. Happy last year, everybody. It's been a long time coming to finally talk about one of the wildest finishes in recent memory for the Dallas Cowboys as they take down the Detroit Lions in week seventeen, alongside John Machoda, Nick Harris, Chris Beam in the back of Kyle Yeomans. Wow, I feel like it's been forever since we've gotten a chance to talk about this on Sunday night or Saturday night.
Rather you get a whole new start to the year, you get a couple days in between.
But then you look right back at how.
That game concluded on Saturday night and it's still as wild as it was whenever it happened. I mean, the scenario at the end, with the two point conversions, the penalty markers, the final drive. I mean, there are so many talking points with this, but Nick Harris, I'll let you start.
What are your talking points? As the Cowboys get it done?
Yeah, one of the more wilder wins for sure. I think those last two and a half minutes. You know, you really you looked at an opportunit unity for Detroit to go down the field and win the game when it was seventeen thirteen, and it was almost mirrored as to what they had to face in Miami a week ago. Obviously, they let Miami drive down the field and have that game winning field goal. Then Donovan Wilson gets the interception. You're like, okay, this team is They're going to seal it.
Defense got it done. It felt similar to the Chargers win from earlier in the season when Stefan Gilmore was able to get an interception and kind of seal it there, and then they passed on second down and the tripping penalty, which you know, we later find out is not a tripping penalty, but it gets called and it moves the Cowboys out of field goal range and they have to punt, and then you're looking at I believe it was what a minute forty one that the Detroit Lions had to
drive down the field and potentially win the game or tie it up. But you knew, and I tweeted out as the drive was going on, you knew that Dan Campbell was going to drive down there and if they scored, he was going to go for two. The way he had been playing the game all night, going forward on fourth downs, the fake punt, he was going to go for two in that situation eleven times out of ten, and we saw that he at least went for three out of three. So yeah, and then that two point
sequence was definitely wild. I got to credit the defense for just being able to, you know, stand in on all three of those intent attempts, keep the intensity on all three of those attempts, and you know what the ineligible eligible receiver reporting. Gosh, I've learned so much on that topic in the last three days that I never cared to learn before today or these last three days. So definitely interesting, but hey, a win is a win,
and then Philadelphia losing. Everything's in front of this team for the first time and this season it feels.
Like, yeah, wild couple of twenty four hours or so whatever it was between those two games.
But yeah, right before we started doing the show, right here, we were just talking about.
Like Dan Campbell's decision to keep going for it even after the penalty is what magnifies everything. If they just don't get it, they call the ineligible receiver, you get moved back to the seven, you just kick the extra point, you go to overtime. And yeah, it's a talking point,
but it isn't like, well, the whole game was there. Now, the whole game was there because you kept going for it over and over again on two point conversions, like you were some upstart, brand new college football program trying to upset Alabama and Tuscaloosa, like you're the Detroit Lions, like you're one of the best teams in the NFL. Just go to the overtime, you know, Like, I don't understand the their thought process on that. But that's not
the that's not the Cowboys fault. They just needed to win the game and they found a way to win the game again at home.
And that's the thing.
Like we talk about this game, the Seattle game, you talk about the blowouts that they've had at home. It just continues to magnify how good that this team is and how much better their chances are of winning the playoffs when they play at home. So the next day you're watching that game between the Eagles and the Cardinals and you're just like, man, the Cardinals are hanging around like the man, that would be crazy.
They're not going to win this game.
They're not gonna beat the Eagles, but man, that would be wild because then all of a sudden, man, the Cowboys have a chance to win the division on their own by just by winning in Washington. And now if they just beat the Lines, they'd get the two seed. Wow, that would be crazy. And then all of a sudden, the Cardinals pull it off, and you're just like, how did this? How did this happen? Like how did everything
kind of start falling in place? And I think it the only thing you can point to is just that maybe that Jenks being lifted.
I knew that was coming, and it felt like it was a lead up to it, build it was a great moment though, I mean, on a serious note, with Jimmy Johnson going in, I mean and the mic drop at the end, how about them Cowboys and getting to see all the faces of the different players that he impacted throughout.
I mean, we were very close with.
Nate Newton in the building and seeing him get to interact with his former teammates and things like that. Because of that honor going upon Jimmy Johnson was a really really cool day I've seen.
I've seen some of those tweets come in.
I'm sure you have to, and I'm sure Nick has as well, where it's like, wow, maybe maybe finally you catch a break, you finally catch a team of destiny break, and it happens to be of the day that Jimmy Johnson goes into the Ring of Honor. But it was one of those games that it goes back to Miami, it goes back to Philadelphia. One play can help you win a game and one play can help you lose
a game, depending on how it bounces. Dallas lost that first Philadelphia game of a couple bounces going against them. Dallas lost against Miami because of a couple of bounces or a couple of plays going against them.
Some are their fault, some are not their fault.
And this was one of those games where it felt like it was teetering on the brink of that again, and it ended up being that way, and you made the plays at the end to get it done. I want to go back to something that you said, John about the two point conversion scenario. Though you go for it, you pull out the best play in your playbook, and the man is called as not an eligible receiver, an eligible man downfield because seventy checked in, they had one
guy check in. Sixty eight was the one that caught the ball. Taylor Decker was the one that caught the ball. At that point, you mentioned that going forward again put the game on the line, and that was Dan Campbell's choice.
Why was that the wrong choice?
I mean, I know you end up hide in Sight twenty twenty, but at that point in the game you're looking at it and say, wow, we pulled all the stops out and now we're seven yards back.
Why not just kick the extra point there?
Because I think to your point, he went in thinking we get down there and score, we're going for two, which and I get he's probably the most aggressive coach this year in those situations. And that's fine, But when you get pushed back to the seven, things change when you're at When when you're at the two, you're for this lion, that Lion's team, for the b At the two or three yard line, the running games completely in
play with how good they're. They're not running it from the seven yard line, so you know they're gonna throw. So really, if you watch the way that this team's played, especially down in the red zone like that, you're really trying to take away Sam Laporta and make them do something else, like on the last try they threw it to a backup tight end or they threw to an offensive tackle, like they don't they're not that great down there in that situation. I mean, it's really let's focus
on Laporta and you can take everything. When you just got moved back like that, that's just when you're like, hey, it didn't work out, that sucks. You kick the extra point,
you go to overtime, you take your chances there. I just think he was just too aggressive there, you know, and it's part of their identity and that's fine, and hey, there's a good chance that these two teams played each other again at at and T Stadium in a few weeks, and who knows, maybe maybe things are it's closed, maybe not whatever, But to your point, it just seems like on the road Cowboys have just come up just a little bit short in those games, but at home they've
found a way to pull those out.
And the fact that you would be.
Able to get to host two playoff games potentially before you'd even have to play San Francisco at San Francisco, somebody else could beat San Francisco and you could end up hosting all three playoff games.
For I think it's a big deal. Don't get me wrong.
Any year i've covered this team, if you told me that they could have got the one seater or two seat, I'm like, man, that's huge, whatever. But specifically this year, because of the way that they've played at home, that just it means so much more.
It'd be hilarious if it's a Detroit Dallas divisional game considering how long it's been since either of those teams have made a conference championship, one of those drouts would have to end at the end of that night, and obviously, given what happened this last Saturday too, So it would be a fun match.
In ninety five for the Cowboys and anyone for the Lions.
Wow.
Yeah, that would be wild to see those two go at it. The play where he was called ineligible, and that's kind of been the talking point. Nick, What was going through your head whenever that happened?
Oh?
Nothing, My brain was mush. I was just like okay, I tweeted out. I was like, rolls man, don't ask me like that was. That was kind of how I felt about it. I talked to a good friend of ours, Kyle Yeoman's guy Fraser, after the game, because he's he's an officiating nerd, and so I kind of picked his
brain on this whole situation. And from his perspective, even if Taylor Decker had reported correctly and they had had that situation figured out correctly, it still would have been in a legal formation as far as like too many guys on the line, guys covered up. That's a lot of stuff I don't understand, but that's what that's what
was communicated to me. From my perspective, what I think happened there was the Lions were trying to confuse the Cowboys by having three guys go up to the white hat and only one of them report, and they were trying to confuse the Dallas defensive line. I think in doing that, they confused the officiator and the officials, and
it just confused everybody in the building. And whenever they said over the loud speakers that seventy had reported, that should have been Dan Campbell's opportunity to be able to step and be like, whoa wait, it's supposed to.
Be sixty eight, that's not the play.
Yeah, that's not the play, or or whatever somebody people were saying he should have called the time out there. He didn't have any timeouts, but still I think there's something that could have been could have been done if it was an officiating mistake. And I knew whenever the Taylor Decker caught it. I was like, he wasn't the one that reported. This is this can't be this can't be right. And I didn't see a flag and I was like, well, wow, okay, so that's going to stand.
And then I see the flag him in super late and I was like, oh, that must be unsportsmanlike or something like celebration and figured out that they put two and two together and got the illegal touch.
And that's what adds to it. It's the delay on the flag. As soon as that ball hits his hand, the flag goes up. It takes a lot of this away. But when you have that crew that obviously, since that game has ended, people have dug up how many other games that they've been on. It's it hasn't been great.
There's other calls in that game were not great. So when you do that, you're gonna you leave this window open for everyone the second guess what went on if you throw it immediately like no, we know that that guy's ineligible. It's like they let them celebrate. One of the things I will always remember, maybe the thing I'll remember most from that game is just because there were so many Lions fans.
There is that in a fifteen seconds ten seconds.
Like just to see the difference in fan bases completely lose their minds and then they stop, and then the other fan base completely loses their minds because the flag
comes out and they're like this an eligible receiver. Like where you couldn't even hear the officials talking because you know, the Cowboys fans got so loud because they knew exactly what that was, because let's be honest, I would say most people that know football that were watching that game in attendance are on TV, thought for sure when that happened, well, they're just going to kick the extra point. Now, I don't think most people thought that, Oh they're back at
the seven the other try. So I know, is there another penalty? Maybe fifteen more yards you guys right again?
Yeah.
So I was down there obviously shooting, and the first flag I saw came from the down judge from our sideline.
From the Dallas sideline, the Dallas sideline.
That was because that was the sideline that it was a legal formation, So that came right away. Now, it was in the it was kind of in the bunch of it because she threw it in there into like where all the linemen were. So that's the first one I saw. And then the back judge who was back at the back of the end zone went up to the referee and asked him, like you could see what
number did you say? And then he's like seventy. They looked He's like, well that was sixty eight, and then he threw his flag down.
So that's the two flags I saw. No, that's really good. I mean we were all there, we weren't on the field, so Beemer.
Was right there, got a good, good look at it. I think the part of it, too, is this was a build up. There was a build up to that play because throughout the game they were reporting lineman eligible, and seventy was the lineman that they were reporting eligible all day long. Taylor Decker was the guy who they continued on the loudspeaker. We were sitting in the press box, You're you're kind of doing your thing, but you heard everyone in a while.
You do never really think much of it.
But I remember sitting there a couple of times and thinking, Okay, seventy is eligible. Let me just watch and see what happens here. Nothing would happen. And then it got to the point where, like you said, Detroit was trying to confuse things and the official probably looked back saw seventy in the.
Huddle and was like, yeah, you know, what's seventy there? You go like, that's who's eligible. And then it turned into a downfield there.
Yes, there were bad calls both ways. It wasn't just this call. It was the tripping call on the Dallas drive. The tripping calls before, cause it was incredibly a terrible call.
I'll put it up against whatever you want to put it against. Yes, when you watch the replay of that, it's so not even close to being a tripping at hendershot. I just don't think that unless you see something for sure, you don't throw a flag.
You don't.
It looks like somebody trip let's throw the flight. No, you have to definitively know and I'm and I'm of a person who believes that you do that on the first play the first quarter of week one, much less in a big game that could ultimately have impacts on who's the two and the three seed in the playoffs. Like, you got to see that suffort, and there's no way anybody I saw that for sure, There's no way, because it's not even close.
And honestly, looking back on it, this might be a hot take, but I don't even throw the flag there on Hutchinson, Like he was kind of like pushed out and yeah.
His leg kind of extended. But I believe it was Pallard.
Pollard was already past those two guys by that point, so I don't know it was.
It was mind boggling to me.
As well.
I just I also you think about the the just the thought process of tripping in general. I mean, are you going to get called for tripping against your own team? Is that a penalty flag to trip your own your own guys? I mean that's kind of like just common sense to a certain extent. I know, you can get called for tripping other players. And that's probably what the call was, is that she thought or the official thought.
I forgot who throwed through the flag, but they thought that it was Hindershot that tripped Hutchinson, even though Hutchinson was the one that tripped Hindershot, and.
That they saw a leg out and it was cool, but you got to know exactly who the leg it was before you throw the flag. And if you don't know whose leg it was, you just don't throw the flag. You let them continue to play. And if you missed the call, then you missed the call.
Let's talk about what happened after that though. It's kind of from that penalty forward. That was a fifteen yard penalty and forced to the Detroit twenty nine yard line, and then it was the two minute warning. Next play following the two minute warning, Dak completes a pass to Cede Lamb out to the thirty three yard line, eleven yards time out from Detroit. That's their second timeout, so
they've got one more remaining. Next play the deep ball to Brandon Cooks on the right sideline incomplete, clock stops at one fifty five.
Were you okay with that call?
Trying to drive the ball down the field rather than hand it off and at least kill another forty seconds because Detroit would then have to have their third time out burned, and then you would at least there's forty seconds more off the clock. You run it down. I mean Detroit got it with one forty one left. Instead they would get it with around one minute left, maybe even less than that.
Yeah, I mean I get them trying to take a kill shot. I didn't like it at all. I would just run the clock.
And especially again, you're playing at home, you have the crowd on your side. You know, defense is playing pretty well. It's not like the Lions are moving the ball up and down the field.
Yeah.
I didn't like that at all.
I don't think that anybody involved in that play likes it.
Looking back on it now, you know, hindsight's twenty twenty, but even in the moment.
Mike McCarthy was asked about it in the post cap press conference that play specifically, and he said that they wanted to go with the sure thing there, or they felt like that was more of a sure thing there to try and get the kill shot. That's I was thinking back. I was like, so the running game, not the sure thing, Okay, noted.
Yeah, that's something to note too.
Jerry Jones talked about that a little bit this morning as well. When we come back here on Talking Cowboys, we're gonna catch you up on what Jerry had to say little news and notes in the second segment.
Plus we've got a special caller. No, we're calling in at some point here in the next couple minutes.
We'll talk to him in a couple moments with more Talking Cowboys.
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Welcome back into Dear Doctor, the show where I answered life's questions with an ice cold can of doctor Pepper. Sheila, let's hear from my next caller.
Would you, dear doctor, My friend supported me during a tough time.
But what's the right gift that says thanks for being.
The shoulder to cry out?
Okay, this one's easy, I say, give her a delicious doctor Pepper. Nothing says thanks good better than one of a kind soda. Yes, any doctor Pepper flavor will do now, just to remind her that I don't need to be a real doctor to know that doctor Pepper is the one you deserve.
To Talking Cowboys.
Back here on Talking Cowboys, shoot us a text message while you have an opportunity eight one seven two nine zero three two nine eight If you have any questions over the ending scenario of that football game between the Cowboys and the Lions that took place on Saturday night. What ended up happening there, or if you have any questions moving forward into what the playoff picture looks like. We're gonna answer some of those here in a couple of moments, but first let's check.
In with some news and notes from one Nick Harris.
Yeah, absolutely so.
Two injuries that we're taking a look at going into the week. One with Tyler Smith, the tourist planner fashier that was confirmed with more imaging on Sunday. Honestly, it's a good thing with those planner fascia injuries. If you get a complete tear, then you can heal on those a little bit quicker. You can play on those while you know, you go through that rehab process. And that's kind of the expectation that they that they hope that
they'll be able to do with Tyler Smith. So you would think, Okay, just keep him out this week and then you know, prep him for the playoffs. But there seems to be a little bit of optimism that if he has a good week as far as managing pain, that they'll be able to put him on the field on Sunday in Washington, and that's not an injury that he could further mess up.
It's done. He has a torn planner fashion.
He's gonna have to have surgery on that probably in the off season, or more rehab on that in the offseason. There's nothing that they can do about it right now. But the good thing is there's nothing worse he can do about it right now, so it's really just about managing his pain moving forward. We'll see what that as the week goes on. I don't expect him to practice on Wednesday. I'd probably expect at the very earliest they try to do some things with him on Thursday. That's
just me theorizing. If he can't go, then it will probably be TJ Bass back in at left guard, which you know, I asked offense coordinator Brian Schottenheimer yesterday about TJ Bass and just his development as the season has gone on, and they really like what he's put together. They're not treating him like an undrafted rookie by any means. And if you think back to when Tyler Smith had to miss a couple of games early in the season, it was true Meydoga that was plugged in at left guard.
Now it's TJ.
Bass, and they're comfortable moving him from right guard to left guard and being able to keep that consistency. So honestly, I'm completely okay with letting TJ. Bass work at left guard against Washington, just in case if you need him against anybody in the playoffs and you have a little bit of a little bit of experience there from the end of the regular season.
Man, that Schottenheimer answer to your question is one of my favorite answers because I just like it when coaches give you or players a little bit more behind the scenes in the way he used an example of like being in one of the offensive meetings and like they'll try and put younger guys on the spot, like knowing different like in different scenarios, different.
Offensive calls and stuff like that.
And Schottenheimer purposely wanted to kind of catch Bass off guard and threw out some questions that really he probably only would expect like the quarterback to know in these certain situations, and I guess TJ just rattled him off in like so much detail that like the whole room like erupted and started clapping for him because they couldn't believe that this guy would know all this stuff. I just love when when they I love the behind the scenes stuff of things like that, and I understand where
the coaches and players come from. There's a lot of stuff that hey, this is behind the scenes. We're not going to share this, we're not supposed to. The one that I always talk about is like when we're at training camp, anytime there's some type of a scuffle, it's like we all start tweeting right away. How many of those do you think it happened during the season out there when we can't even watch practice, And he's like, yeah, it's a Tuesday, you know, Like but yeah, I thought
that was a great answer to that. The going back to Tyler Smith, I will say, I don't know if you had this feeling, but man, when he was on the ground, the way he like wasn't moving and grabbing like the back of his like foot and ankle area.
It's one of those where just there's a few times.
Per year where my eyes immediately go to the cart to see, like, are the people moving around are they about to bring the card over? Because it's like right down the line from where we are in the press box, and I was like, this looks like because he's not putting any weight on. And then when they started helping him off, I'm like, yeah, maybe. And then you saw him walking around a little bit on the side, and I'm like, all right, maybe this isn't you know.
They said he's questionable, they're not ruling him out. That was the call in the press box.
So to find out that this is what it is, that's that's dodging a huge bullet there, you know, because that's the thing like I kind of took from McCarthy yesterday when he's talking about where the team and stuff like that, and always said the number one thing, you know going to the playoffs would be health.
You know, that's the number one thing that you want that more than anything.
And yeah, this team, obviously he'd love to have Trayvon Diggs and over shown what we've talked about.
But this is a pretty healthy team, you know.
And if yeah, you might have to overcome a little bit of a Tyler Smith that being one hundred percent, but they're in pretty good shape right now.
I wouldn't initially happened. I thought it was hamstring just yevn what had happened earlier in the season, and it kind of looked like he was going at the back of his calf.
For a upper leg.
But whenever they said over the in orkm that it was foot and questionable, it was like, Okay, I think they may have dodged a bullet here, like you said. Moving forward with injuries, Jonathan Hankins, as we know, he's missed the last three games with that ankle injury that he suffered against the Eagles back on December tenth, there seems to be some optimism that he can not only get back on the practice field tomorrow, but play on Sunday. They want him back on the field before the playoffs.
They want to get him back going with reps on the field. If you ask me right now, I think Hankins goes on Sunday. So there's quite a bit of optimism in the building towards to that.
Yeah, a couple of text messages kind of filing in back and forth, but they were talking about TJ.
Bass has a lot of potential things like that. I think add to it.
Not only is he showing on the field, hey, he's capable of filling in and doing a really nice job but also contributing in the locker room and in the team meetings as well.
That's huge.
Still, Yeah, lots of questions about what it looks like from a Jonathan Hankins standpoint. Jerry Jones sounded pretty optimistic about it today as well. He said that that was kind of part of the plan is initially it was Detroit, but whenever it was in Detroit, it was a chance to see him kind of end out the regular season maybe on limited snaps against Washington.
What Jerry said that stuck out.
To me is he said, all hands on deck. So that's kind of the mindset going into this week against Washington.
Yeah, really quick on Hankins, he had a really good workout yesterday. It was an individual and then they hoped to get him back on the practice field tomorrow.
That's kind of the expectation right now. I would expect it to be in limited reps.
Though, and when you just start looking ahead to Sunday, like, let's say it see like in the thirties, could be raining, a little bit, might be some snow in Maryland for that game, and so love that you can kind of see it turning into where if you can stop Washington's run, then you probably be in pretty good shape. I mean, the Cowboys are pretty heavily favored here, but still, like after seeing what they did to Washington last year, you know, it would make a lot of sense if Hankins can go.
I think you need them to play in this game, just because of everything that's on the line. Such a big difference between the Tuesday and the five seed.
Completely different, especially now you have it in hand right right.
This this feels like a playoff game. Not maybe not because of maybe the team that you're playing. I mean it's an NFL team. You can't overlook anybody, but it's more so about what's at stake, because it completely feels like you're setting yourself up either for success or failure one way or the other in the playoffs whenever you come down to it. But you win, you're in as the two seed in the NFC East Champions.
All right, it is a talking Tuesday.
Give us a call eight eight eight eight five five two two nine seven. We'll talk to some of the fans on the line.
Nick, what do you what are you making.
A I think we should not go to the phone line.
So well, let's go to our first caller. This is the uh, the president of Purple, the man who wears Washington T shirts far too small for them. Zeus in no lud as Isaiah standback on the line.
What's up, buddy?
As right?
What's what's going on?
Why? Why did you sound so happy?
Man? You know what, Cole, I woke up this morning, you know, uh, you know, I had my black rifle confidence this morning. I had my you know, my super trust and super food this morning. So I'm just I went my drive back from from New Orleans, you know, I spent a couple of days there, yeah, over the last over the last little bit, and had a late night last night. I don't know if you guys saw you might have caught the game on TV last night,
but uh, it was it was a purple rain last night. Hey, Nick, how are you doing there?
What's going on?
Man?
That was a hell of a game. I'm jealous that you got to see that one. And gosh, I had kind of conceded in my mind whenever they were down what was at thirteen four minutes left and then they had a shot to win it there at the end. It kind of felt like the Cowboys Eagles game from earlier in the season.
Yeah, I didn't like it at all. My wife was pretty much tired to me because my mccullor commentator had came on, I'll probably at the end of the third quarter, and I started telling her about time management and how to manage the game and with what you know, Washington should be doing with the ball and all those days
she was she was kind of over me. But then towards the end of the fourth quarter she understood when I was talking about, you know, a quarter before that, I was like, yeah, this thirteen point lead is not good because as an opposing team, you feel fully confident that you could score and get the ball back, and all you gotta do is score to win the ball game.
And they sure enough played out that way. They worked their way down there, and luckily, you know, the one second I put back on the clock and our guy, our quarterback, made a play. But that game was entirely too close. They should have easily have been a as much of a blowout as it was a close game. But you know, it really comes down to game management and decisions, just like we just talking about it in the Troy Gang. You know, it's just, you know, every
every decision matters. Man, when you're playing those those highly talented, highly competitive games.
There's just some family in section one oh six as sitting right in front of you. That's just hearing you in early in the fourth quarter. You know, if Jabar Mohammad just plays better to the shell covered behind it, that Jordan Whittington doesn't get that reception.
Hey, next you saying literally, as I'm talking to my wife, there's literally somebody behind me in the row behind me, and there's like an older lady who's like, it's just like sitting down the whole time because there's too much going on, and they're both at me and just like nodding their head as I'm talking through.
They probably appreciated the inside honestly. Now, with with you being a Washington legend yourself and playing your collegiate ball with the Huskies, I mean, how many autographs did you sign down in New Orleans throughout the week?
Did you did you.
Sign one or two? Or did the whole Smoothie King Center and the whole Caesar super Dome hit you up for an autograph?
You know what, a lot of pictures, a lot of appreciation from fans. I really appreciate the support. It's crazy because you're so far removed in terms of years, but you know, a program like ours that is so you know from at least from you know from my stand, but it's so historic. And I'm a Seattle guy. Man.
There's a lot of people who remember you and supported you, and I just kept telling people thank you for the support, and it was it was just awesome to see the whole, you know, the whole Seattle really come down there and and hold it down in New Orleans because they were I'll tell you what them Texas fans. They came through deep. There's a lot of dog on burn orange around there, So shout out to their fan base for supporting as well.
I'll tell you, Isaiah, it was a hell of the game. I'm happy. I'm happy it went that way. I expected that kind of brawl, and I just want to let you know I'm joining the Dark Side for the game against Michigan.
Next Fame Go Dogs.
Let's go Dogs.
Hey listen, now, I plan on bringing you guys all some necklaces or something that you guys. I'm going up to that second floor with Bridey Johnson and Deren Eagleton I've been hearing a lot of ut stuff over the last few weeks. But what it's all good now because it does over over over MS all day this week.
So here's here's the thing, Isaiah, Houston's a lot closer than New Orleans. So I expect you to drive down after Talking Cowboys next Monday, and then you got to be back up here.
For Talking Cowboys uh.
On Tuesday, no matter what. So I know you're gonna go. I know you're making the trip. But if you're if you're making the trip, you gotta be here for both Monday and Tuesday shows.
You know what, I think. I think the game plan is definitely from Monday Tuesday.
I don't know what got win or lose.
Tuesday is gonna be a tough one, all right, say be safe, we'll see you tomorrow.
There he goes semi final champion Isaiah stand Bay.
Yeah.
If Isaiah still listening, you can stop at this little rest stop in Naketish, Louisiana. It's a it's a German a rest up. They got like a ton of German food in there. It's incredible stuff. You can get like a little uh, you know, colas or whatever.
Yeah, yeah, uh, do you know the name of it.
I don't know the name of it, but it is the spot in that so like if you get off and you just ask for the German place, then they'll point you in the right direction.
What is there is? I thought there was like a place called like the check stop or something like that that's.
A west between here and Waco. West comments, I got you, okay, Yeah, Actually very cool because they put the COMMA on their high school football uniforms because very important that you have the comma West Texas, West Texas.
I was torn watching that game this day though, because I was like, I felt for you guys, the Longhorn fans, But then also I was like, man, Isaia would be so happy. And then and I also factored in with which one of these teams got the best chance to beat Michigan because I don't want to see Michigan in it, and just the way Pennix was playing him, like, well he plays like that, and I.
Don't think anybody can beat them.
But then there was another part of me where I'm like, well, then, who's played like that in multiple games? And I mean, I guess you could say Joe Burrow probably did in twenty nineteen. But it's just tough to have like multiple games like that with everything riding on the line like that.
But it I mean it should be. It would have been huge regardless.
The one thing I thought would have been wild to see is Texas being in Houston to play that game. It is how many fans would have been there.
Well, imagine the brands of Texas and Michigan through playing each other in Houston. So it would be a Texas advantage for sure.
But about you, how are you feeling? I was just a college football fan.
I really was.
I didn't have any rooting interest for the most part. I don't have any ties to any.
Of those schools. But I've always been a huge fan of the Rose Bowl just in general. I love the Rose Bowl.
If there was a top five event for me to get to call one day, no.
Doubt the Rose Bowls in that top five. It would be up there with a Super.
Bowl, a World Series Final, four NBA Finals. I don't even like it's the Rose Bowls probably two or three on that list actually, because it's just one of the most incredible venues in sports. But the brands and the teams, I mean, I think the best player in college football, and if I had a Heisman vote, it would have gone to Michael Pennis Pinnix.
I think he is an incredible player.
And I tweeted this out last night and I'm sure you probably saw it, but a little spoiler alert for the draft show. I like Michael PENNOCKX Junior a lot more than most draft analysts.
I think he's incredible. Is he QB one.
I'm not gonna spoil that just yet, but is he's up there on the list maybe two or three. Absolutely, he's a top three guy for me. But he's he's really really good. He's got a little bit.
Of an arm angled thing that some people are gonna point out. That doesn't bother me. He's a baller. He's so good.
Uh.
But with that being said, we can talk draft after the Cowboys win the Super Bowl. So when we come back here on Talking Cowboys, we're gonna take a deeper dive into that Detroit Dallas game. If you have any questions, give us a text eight one seven two nine zero three two nine eight, or hit us up on the Talking Cowboys phone line eight eight eight eight five five two two nine seven More Talking Cowboys Right after.
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To Talking Cowboys.
Back here on Talking cow Boys, presented by a Black Rifle Coffee Company. This portion of the show is brought to you by Quaker Oats, a super trusted super food. Quaker Roats the official oatmeal sponsor of the Dallas Cowboys. It's also brought to you by in Visile Line, the official smile of the Dallas Cowboys. Back here with Nick Harris, John Machoda, Chris Beam in the back, I'm Kyle Yeomans as we break down this Cowboys Lions win twenty to nineteen.
The first text message I just saw that popped up says, is the NFL rigged?
Yes?
The answer yes, you got us darn for what reason?
I don't know every reason, every reason.
It's like a standalone.
The text before that says Tyler Smith injuries question mark.
With all of the friends and family that I have that are Detroit Lions fans, it was real easy to just fire back what anybody asked me about, Like, man, I just think this stuff could be rigged, you know, Jerry paint off the you know, any of those type of things like that. I'm just like you think maybe if that stuff happened, that maybe they put that team in the Super Bowl ones Like, what a.
Script you're running here.
I mean, honestly, like, if you were going to rig it, you'd at least put the Cowboys in the Super Bowl once every ten years minimum, just because of how big of a deal it would be.
Yeah, the numbers, your numbers makes no sense to me, but whatever, this is a really good text message from the seven oh three. Can the Cowboys make a deep run with the state of this offensive line?
Absolutely?
This is the most random thing I saw the other day, and it was you know, I'm looking at I'm fascinated by the fact that everybody knows that the Cowboys want to get the ball to CD Lamb, and they're still getting the ball to City Lamb, and it just seems like it just gets crazier and crazier. But if you look at Brandon Cook's numbers, it is wild. How if he has twenty or more receiving yards they have not lost. When he has had less than twenty receiving yards, they've
lost every game. Like it just I do think that when you watch this team to year, I just feel like Cooks has just continued to get be more and more of the offense. And so because of that, if they had not had that number one or sorry, number two receiver kind of emerge and you're just kind of leaning on, like you know, the pass would be like Zeke and power in the running game and then maybe
one wide receiver, I'd feel a little bit differently. But I just think that I think there's just more that you could even get out of Cooks and they've got so far. And I think that outside of Tyreek Hill, there's not a wide receiver playing better than Ceedee Lamb and you can put him in that same conversation.
So because of that, that's the only reason why I would say, yeah, I still think they can even with the offensive line.
Yeah, it's kind of previewing my Naked Knight that I have played for tonight. It's deep diving into Brandon Cooks. I think there's a lot of reasons why this team could make a deep run. I think Brandon Cooks is one of the most important. But yeah, it plays into the offensive line as well. I think this this offensive line, it's been able to build some chemistry, build some consistency with all five guys up front. In this past game, up until Tyler Smith got hurt, you could see a
little bit of that. I'm fine with these five guys going into the playoffs, for sure.
I don't. I think that's far from the biggest concerns.
All right, let's go to Champ in the three toho eight quick pop quiz.
Where's the three to eight nick R? You should know this, Nebraska.
Why would I know that?
I don't know.
I figured it's like some of the random knowledge that you would know that.
That is something I want.
Champ, what's going on?
You're on talking Calboys, going guys, what's on your mind?
Well, I got a statement and a question. I'm a long time listener. I love the show. I wish Isaiah was there, but I'm sure he's listening.
I guarantee you.
So my statement is I'm not going to apologize for that penalty being called on Detroit. Ever, none of us should. The Cowboys have gotten hosed over the years many times on these weird penalties. We go back to the year that we got called for twelve minute in the huddle in a playoff game when Dak I can't remember if Dak or Romo was off to the side. We didn't have the twelve minute in the huddle, the Green Bay
penalty on the line last year the receiver. Nobody made a big deal about it, so Kansas City this year. So I'm not apologizing for what happened to Detroit. They have their opportunities to win the game. They to take them. We won the game. My question though, is how did you feel after the game? Before Philadelphia lives? I personally was a little discouraged. I didn't think the team had everything that needed to get to the ultimate goal this year.
But after that Philadelphia loss, everything changed for me. I feel like we have a potential to host two playoff games, potentially the NFC Championship or somebody upset San Francisco. What where are you at then? After the game and after Philadelphia.
Lost champ We appreciate the call the time guy, Yeah, absolutely appreciate you listening.
Appreciate the call. Great question. Who wants to start?
Yeah, that was a great call because it kind of played into my thought process as well.
Coming out of that win.
You look at it and you're like, Okay, they were one two point conversion away from this just being Miami all over again. Yeah, you allow a late score, they drive down the field. Quick game killed you once again, and you lose a game late that you should have won, and you kind of look at it and you're like, Okay, there's a do w.
But you're still the five seed.
You're gonna have to go on the road and probably play a Tampa Bay team and then probably a Philadelphia team, and there's just not a lot of confidence in that three and five on the road. And then I think things kind of flipped. It was that yesterday, day before yesterday. I don't know what data is anymore. Whenever the Eagles lost, because now you're looking at potentially two home playoff games.
You get to play the seventh seed to open up. Obviously, got a handle business this weekend, and then you get to avoid Philadelphia and San Francisco in the second round most likely if everyone handles business as far as higher seeds and stuff go.
So yeah, I'm with you one hundred percent, Champ.
I'm just looking at the bigger picture when all that's going on, and it's the Okay, So clearly the Ravens and the Niners are on a different level if you talk about AFC and NFC.
After that, the Cowboys are right there with everything else.
And that's now with that, it was more for me with seeing Philadelphia lose. It's the losing four of the last five when you thought that was gonna be one of the teams that would be so tough to go through. And then the fact that you go from the five to the two, you get to play multiple home games
potentially because of that. I mean, like I said, the only if I was predicting right now like who's got or saying like who has the best chance to get to the super Bowl, I mean I would put the Ravens at one, nine ers at two.
I put the Cowboys with every other team that's in the NFL.
There's not another team that I would say, oh no, no, they got clearly a better chance against super Bowl than the Cowboys.
Doo right now.
And really it's just because of that and the two compared to the five, with how these team's played at home changes everything. So yes, it does, you know, Yes, I get it. There weren't a lot of style points and them beating the Lions, but the Lions are This isn't like a typical Lions team.
This is a good football team.
And so I look at just getting that win, getting to eleven wins. As long as you take care of business against Washington, that's another three consecutive twelve win seasons. You just keep knocking on the door. You get to be the two seed. There's just a lot to be excited about with that because I just don't take what happens in individual games go Okay, well this is a season.
Now, it's such a week to week league. Just get into.
There and have the home field, and who knows what happens, you know, So I think they're in a great spot.
Yeah, and you guys know I do a lot of college basketball. It just reminds me of survive in advance. Yeah, that's exactly what it is is survive in advance. You survived, you got to win. And speaking of college basketball, I had a great conversation a couple of weeks ago, and this is I promise this does relate because I feel like every week I've seen it since we had this conversation. Head coach at North Texas name is Ross Hodge. He's a big Cowboys fan at the professor. Yeah, he's awesome.
Love coach Hodge. North Texas had a three game losing streak this is a program for college basketball that's been really good the last couple of years. Just won the n I t In the NCAAA Tournament, they had a three game losing streak.
For the first time in a couple of years. And I asked him, I was like.
What is the mentality, What is the mentality right now? Because you haven't been losing, but you have been these last three games. And he said, you know what, they were all by a combined like.
Eleven points or something like that. Something weird.
And he said, no matter what happens, the way you got there is still the same. The way you played is still the same. The problems are going to remain the problems. The strengths are going to remain the strengths. The only thing that changes is the way you feel about it and your record at the end of the day. That's what these last two games have felt like for me. For the Dallas Cowboys is the Dolphins, you didn't have enough offense, your defense played well enough to win that game, but you lost.
You didn't feel very good about it.
What happened in the Detroit game, you didn't have enough offense and your defense played well enough to win that game, but depending on one or two plays going in a certain direction. You feel much better about this Detroit game than you did about the Dolphins loss. And yes, winning and losing there is a difference, but I think it was amplified. You already felt pretty good about Hey, you're at eleven and five.
You got to win over a really good team.
You're able to build a little bit of that confidence going into the playoffs, but you didn't necessarily have the style points. It's amplified significantly now that you get a chance to play at home twice in the postseason. That comp letely changes the whole outlook of the entire season for the Cowboys if they can continue to win, defeat Washington and then take that two seats.
I'll also say something we haven't talked about.
We were robbed of something in that Lions Cowboys game, and that was if the two point conversion does stand, there's still like twenty three seconds. I would have loved to see what distance they would have marched Aubrey out there to try and get the win. What do you pick up two three first time? I mean they're marching them out there at seventy Yeah, and you had two right, and I just I.
Mean, you don't mind. I'm okay, I don't really want to see that, but it.
Would have been interesting because you imagine you maybe it's a seventy yarder to win that game, even if it's like sixty five. Yes, and he wins that, Oh my gosh.
Apparently Aikman walked up to him pregame and ask him what his what his range was, and he said he looked him in that and goes about seventy.
Yeah, you know that crazy?
All right, sory.
Ten yards behind the start. Just the objects of that watching it from the press box.
Have been what it would have been nuts awesome.
Real quick, let's go to Mike in New York, our final call here on this Talking Tuesday.
What's up, Big Mic?
What's going on?
Guys? You guys know I listen to the show all the time, me and my cousin. He lives in Jersey, and obviously he's a Diae Caboys fan just like me, and we are texting over the game. And you know my biggest concern, and you guys know I've said it many many times before, I say it again, a clock manager. It's got to be better. Come on, because he like, come on, what's up with the two minutes and come on, let's run the ball. I mean my question is not
for nothing. Now. Is Tony parr is already? Is Paula alright? Is running back? I mean, I mean, I know he's not having the best season, but it's like I I mean, I'll clock manager.
It's got to be better.
Completely agree, Mike appreciate the call.
I think Mike needs to be immortalized in this show. I think we need to clip one of those come ons. Come on, like, I just need one of those back there, beam Er, just whenever you get a chance. What do you guys think about that clock management and then the run game?
I think concerns coming out of that Detroit win.
Yeah, we've talked about it a little bit already. You look at that second down throw on that final drive, and you know the comments after about how that was more of a sure thing. It's it's wild three straight games that this team is not rushed for one hundred yards. Credit to Bobby belt on the fan this morning, saying
that's the first time it's happened since twenty thirteen. Wow, there's got to be something to find in the running game, Whether it's integrating Rico a little bit more, integrating Douce Fawn, integrating Ceedee Lamb. I mean, yeah, whatever you gotta do back. Yeah, maybe maybe Hunter Lipkey a little bit. I'm kind of standing off my Mike.
Don't encourage him.
Look, it was a tough week a couple of weeks ago. I'm on time out for Hunter Lipkey. But you just got to integrate more weapons, I think. I think if you can get more guys, more touches.
Then you find a little bit more multiplicity in the run game.
That's just me, though, I mean, I have concerns about the run game, no question. I mean, it's hard to predict that they're going to win multiple playoff games without Tony Pollard having a big game in one of them. But I just don't I just I still think that they're just scratching the surface on what they can do in that passing game. I don't think that they've met that yet with what they can do with Cooks and Ceedee Lamb and so, because I think they can overcome
some things. But it is a concern because I just don't see it. I mid season whatever, I was already at the point where I'm like I don't see this all of a sudden, just I'll just keep giving plug and away it'll eventually click. It's kind of been what I've thought of the run game all season long, like it just isn't It isn't going to be the strength that it's been in the past. But you're just gonna
have to win in different ways. And I mean, don't get me wrong, everybody wants, you know, Micah Parsons a great run game and a franchise quarterback playing an MVP level and a star receiver playing at an elite level and all their stuff, but it's like, not no one, no one really has that, So you know, you're gonna have to find different ways to win games.
I just think where they're situated, at what they have on this team. Yeah it's not perfect, but they have enough there to win multiple playoff games.
And I still think it could happen.
It's not like it's it's a foregone conclusion that it's the running game is going to be dormant throughout the playoffs. They have the pieces to have a big game. It just hasn't happened yet, which is discouraging. But I don't think it's impossible. At the same time, I completely agree. Final question before we get out of here is from the text line nine to one. Nine says, hey, guys,
great show. I get home field being a big talking point. However, am I the only one that thinks the Round one matchup is harder against the Rams or Seahawks than it would be against the Bucks. He knows it's at home, but still, I think this is a valid question. I want to see what you guys are thinking about this.
Yeah.
I actually had kind of a similar thought earlier this week. Rams have been playing really good football recently, and the Seahawks obviously been playing really well too.
I think it's the Steelers this week that was like the one phenomenally.
But the Steelers are a good team too. I mean, that's a that's a tough team to beat, no matter who you are. I think if you're a Cowboys fan, you're rooting for Green Bay to be able to take that seventh spot this week, which, in order for that to happen, you would need the Niners to sit their starters against the Rams in the Rams to go ahead and win that game and get.
The six seeds.
So I think the Packers is probably the best matchup that you have there and the way that happens Green Bay wins and the Rams win this.
Week, I would agree with the Packers thing, even though I know there's probably little PTSD with Cowboys.
Yeah, there definitely is.
Aaron Rodgers is walking through that door, though it's tough.
I mean, outside of just being able to avoid San Francisco, that would be my number one if you're just listing things. Number two is just get home field without like I mean, I just I've never seen this team play so well at home, like in terms of I know, they're not blowing out everybody like they were earlier in the season, but they're just they're just a way better team. They're just more confidence with the way that they play everything
about it. I would, you know, ten out of ten times, I'd pick whatever the home field advantages that round that whatever we got to take there, that's what you take.
And it also plays a factor going into the second round. Instead of going on the road against Detroit, we're going on the road against somebody else. It completely upends everything else. Yes, you got to win the first game first. I completely agree, and I think think being at home helps you in that regard to I would take it goes back to what you said early in the show, and I think
this was a phenomenal point. Right off the top is the fact that any other season playing at home, I don't think it's that big of the deal for the Cowboys specifically, but this year it matters.
It absolutely matters.
And it does change the way I think Cowboys fans should look at the playoffs moving forward. And they've got a chance to wrap up some early home field advantage with a win against Washington on Sunday, Sunday.
Three twenty five.
They always wait until the last second to schedule this, but Sunday three twenty five is the matchup between the Cowboys and the Commanders. We're gonna break down the Cowboys defensive matchup tomorrow.
We may take some more calls as well.
We didn't get to a ton of them today, But I want to see what Cowboys Nation is thinking going into this week, because this is a big week, the final week of the regular season, and it's playoff time in Texas. For Chris Beam, John Machoda, Nick Harris, I'm KYLEI im and saying so long from Talking Cowboys.
The Cowboys beat the Lions twenty to nineteen. We'll see you tomorrow.
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