Summary:
- The Dallas Cowboys’ 27-20 loss to the Cincinnati Bengals dropped them to 5-8, damaging their slim postseason chances.
- Despite a late opportunity to win the game, the clumsy punt recovery by Amani Oruwariye led to Cincinnati’s game-winning touchdown.
- Teammates and coach Mike McCarthy defended his decision.
The Dallas Cowboys’ season took another painful turn when the team suffered a heartbreaking 27-20 loss to the Cincinnati Bengals on Monday night.
Entering the game with a slim shot at the NFL playoffs, the defeat dropped them to 5-8, pushing their postseason hopes even further out of reach.
Just do the math, Obviously we’re not even back to even. We’re still in a hole. So we need a tremendous amount of help. Just being captain obvious here. This one stings. We had to have this one. That’s the way we approached it.
Despite the stakes, the Cowboys had a real chance to clinch a third consecutive win.
After the two-minute warning, linebacker Nick Vigil managed to tip a Bengals punt, setting up a critical moment. However, the opportunity slipped away when cornerback Amani Oruwariye (AO), instead of avoiding the ball, tried to recover it and muffed the attempt.
Cincinnati recovered the fumble and capitalized just three plays later with a 40-yard touchdown connection between Joe Burrow and Ja’Marr Chase.
McCarthy explained the play, noting how quickly it unfolded.
AO was in a vice situation, and then he heard the roar of the crowd and when he turned — he understands the rule once the ball crosses the line — his response was when he turned, when he heard the crowd, the ball was there and he reacted to it. So obviously a big play in the game.
In the locker room, Oruwariye’s teammates rallied around him. Having just come off injured reserve after a back injury, he was shielded from the media.
Cornerback Jourdan Lewis defended his teammate’s decision, saying,
We can’t judge him. None of us played a perfect game. You can’t judge anybody by one decision. He thought he can make a play. Can’t judge him for that.
Owner Jerry Jones avoided placing blame directly on Oruwariye but reflected on the situation.
I’m sure that there’s low odds of the ball bouncing into one of our players after we touch the ball on a block. There’s low odds, but I don’t know if those odds are more positive than if we’d have taken the kick and gotten the ball and got within field goal range and kicked the ball.
Despite their preparation, the game’s outcome was crushing.
Edge rusher Micah Parsons summed up the frustration by saying he was “hurt” and didn’t “wish this on anybody”.
Man, can’t put that in words, to be honest. … I feel like we’re paying a due that’s not fair. I don’t know if it’s bad luck, karma.
The loss echoed similar mistakes in Cowboys history, like Nahshon Wright’s blocked punt mishap in 2021 or Leon Lett’s infamous Thanksgiving error in 1993.
However, unlike those teams, these Cowboys now face uncertainty with close to 20 free agents and no contracts extending beyond 2025 for McCarthy and his staff.
Will the Cowboys bounce back after this setback? Get the best US odds for the NHL postseason with our selected sportsbooks.
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