Cowboys clinch NFC East title by defeating Bucs
ARLINGTON, Texas — Turns out, the Dallas Cowboys did not need any help to clinch their second NFC East title in three seasons.
The Cowboys beat the Tampa Bay Buccaneers 27-20 Sunday to secure a playoff spot, their third in the past five seasons.
Cowboys defensive lineman Tyrone Crawford was carted off the field after the second play of Sunday’s game against the Buccaneers with an apparent neck injury; he was taken to the hospital.
Had the Philadelphia Eagles lost to the Houston Texans, the Cowboys could have won the division title even with a loss Sunday after the Washington Redskins lost Saturday The Eagles won to remain in the wild-card chase, but the Cowboys enter their Week 17 finale against the New York Giants without any pressure.
It has been quite a turnaround for the Cowboys.
A playoff spot seemed far from possible after the Cowboys’ Nov. 5 loss to the Tennessee Titans left them with a 3-5 record, but they have won six of their past seven games to make the postseason.
Successful seasons in Dallas, however, are defined by real postseason success, and the Cowboys have not made it to a Super Bowl — or played in an NFC Championship Game — since 1995. The Cowboys have won just three playoff games since winning Super Bowl XXX and just one with Jason Garrett as head coach, in 2014.
Garrett’s job still might not be secure even with a playoff showing. He is signed through 2019, and if the Cowboys are to make anything more than a cameo appearance in the playoffs, they have a lot to clean up, especially offensively.
A week after getting shutout by the Indianapolis Colts, the offense scored two touchdowns but one was on a 4-yard drive after Randy Gregory recovered a Tampa Bay fumble in the third quarter. After going 75 yards on eight plays on their first drive, the Cowboys did not have a drive with multiple first downs over their next five possessions.
That drive ended the way too many drives have ended inside the opponent’s 20: with a Brett Maher field goal. Dak Prescott‘s 7-yard run on the opening drive was the Cowboys’ third red-zone touchdown in their last four games, but in trying to score on their second red-zone trip of the game Amari Cooper was dropped for a 7-yard loss on a shovel pass. Facing third and goal from the Tampa Bay 10, the Cowboys had to settle for Maher’s second field goal of the game for a 20-13 lead.
Just 1:18 after the field goal, Gregory recovered a muffed handoff between Jameis Winston and Bobo Wilson on a jet sweep at the Buccaneers’ 4. Groans went up after Prescott’s first-down fade pass to Noah Brown fell incomplete. Cheers went up when Prescott found Michael Gallup on a fade for a touchdown pass on the other side of the end zone.
In the playoffs, teams have to maximize scoring opportunities. On the season, the Cowboys have converted just 21 of 46 chances inside the opponents’ 20. That must change.
If the Cowboys’ defense can score touchdowns, like they did Sunday, then maybe there is a little hope.
Late in the first quarter, Gregory forced Winston to fumble on a third-down sack and Jaylon Smith scooped up the loose ball and returned it 69 yards for the Cowboys’ first defensive touchdown of the season.
The Buccaneers added a late touchdown to close the gap to seven points with 2:05 to play, but the Cowboys were able to run out the clock with Prescott taking a knee.
It wasn’t a pretty playoff-clinching win, but considering where the Cowboys were on Nov. 5, making the postseason with one game to spare is something of an accomplishment.