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On reflection, Cowboys beat themselves

By Jim Reeves

Knight-Ridder Newspapers

(KRT)

TEMPE, Ariz. - The Cowboys loved the funhouse mirror they gazed into last weekend at Pittsburgh.

With gentle flattery, it showed few imperfections.

Maybe that's why the NFL likes to schedule a trip to Arizona early every season for the Cowboys.

So that they can get a glimpse at reality.

Scary, isn't it?

What the Cowboys saw looking back from the mirror last night at Sun Devil Stadium was a team with more blemishes than a zit-plagued teen-ager.

Clearasil, anyone?

On a sun-baked desert night in front of a sellout crowd of 71,578, the Cardinals finally shed the burden of their 13-game losing streak against Dallas, rallying from a 22-7 deficit to stun the Cowboys in overtime, 25-22.

Kevin Butler banged a game-winning 20-yard field goal off the left upright and over the crossbar 6:30 into the overtime period to mercifully send the Cowboys stumbling to their locker room, wondering what went wrong.

They did not have to look far.

The litany of Cowboys' miseries ran as long as the blisteringly hot evening itself.

-- The offense that seemingly could do no wrong at Three Rivers? It failed to score a touchdown against the Cardinals and had only three first downs in the final two quarters.

Pathetic.

-- The offensive line that didn't allow the Steelers to touch quarterback Troy Aikman? It couldn't keep the Cardinals' blitz out of Aikman's face no matter how clearly it was telegraphed.

Pitiful.

-- The quarterback who threw for almost 300 yards and four touchdowns? He panicked in the face of the Cardinals' blitz and completed only five of 12 passes in the second half for 23 yards. His only touchdown pass, on the Cowboys' first possession of the game, was wiped out by a penalty. Aikman snapped at Emmitt Smith and took a swing at Cardinals defender Simeon Rice.

Baffling.

-- The magic that seemed reborn between Aikman and wide receiver Michael Irvin? Gone. Cardinals cornerback Aeneus Williams plucked Irvin like a barnyard chicken, limiting him to four catches for 18 yards.

Wretched.

-- The defense that gave Steelers rookie quarterback Kordell Stewart no quarter? It failed to mount a rush against quarterback Kent Graham without a blitz. After Graham solved that, the Cowboys were almost helpless. During the Cardinals' game-winning drive in overtime, Arizona receivers were so wide open it was embarrassing.

Woeful.

The best team didn't win this football game, but the team that wanted it most did.

It became a battle of attrition. Temperature at kickoff was 101 degrees. That's going to seem cool in comparison with the heat the Cowboys will feel this week after putting their foot on the Cardinals' throat at 22-7, then letting them off the ground.

Remember last week, when the Cowboys' one regret was that they failed to establish a running game?

That was almost the lone bright spot last night. They wanted Smith to run and he did, gaining 132 yards on 19 carries, including one 44-yard breakaway.

One big problem: In overtime, when the Cowboys needed him most, Smith was on the sideline with bruised ribs. And while backup Sherman Williams ripped off a nice 18-yarder as the Cowboys pushed into Cardinals territory with the first possession of overtime, it was Williams who fumbled after catching an Aikman pass, setting the Cardinals' winning drive in motion.

It should never have come to that, of course.

Whatever imperfections the Cowboys had, they should still have won this game with a fourth-quarter drive ignited by Smith's 44-yard gallop off right tackle on the first play. That gave the Cowboys a first down at the Cardinals' 32-yard line.

When Billy Davis made a catch with his knees for first down at the 20, it seemed certain that the Cowboys would at the very least clinch the victory with Richie Cunningham's sixth field goal of the night.

But on a third-and-two play from the 12, Aikman took a back-breaking 12-yard sack - Simeon Rice blindsided him - that pushed the Cowboys all the way back to the Cardinals' 24. Cunningham could still push the Cowboys' lead to 11 with a 40-yard field goal - he hadn't missed all year - but Michael Bankston got a hand on it.

Needing a defensive stand, the Cowboys allowed Graham to lead his sweating, exhausted team on a 70-yard march to the game-tying touchdown and two-point conversion.

The Cowboys used to win games in the fourth quarter with mental toughness. It wasn't there last night.

When they look in the mirror this week, they had best look hard indeed.

(c) 1997, Fort Worth Star-Telegram

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