Monumental collapse

I heard John Radigan say on The Ticket that a Cowboy loss in the divisional round of the playoffs would be a collapse on the scale of 67-win Mavericks of last year. Perhaps that would be a bit strong of a statement. But now that the Cowboys have lost to the Giants, it does beg the argument.

In reality, no. The Warriors had not faced the Mavericks in 12.5 percent of their regular season games like the Giants had the Cowboys. The Giants did not have a recent coach of the Cowboys leading them like the Warriors had from the Mavericks. The Warriors finished off the Mavs in six games out of a possible seven, while the Cowboys had a look at the end zone for a winning touchdown in the waning seconds. And the Cowboys were 18.75-percent of wins away from the best regular season record ever while the Mavs were only 6.1 percent away.

But in many ways, yes. The Cowboys have been heavy favorites to make the Super Bowl out of the NFC since they beat the Packers. This also now makes 11 years since the 'Boys last playoff win, making at least one win that much more important. Plus there's the fact that Dallas had already beaten New York twice this season.

I don't know much, but I do know this. The Cowboys had the superior talent and opportunities to win that game but consistently choked. Maybe the Giants had the advantage from having seen them twice already. But I point to stupid penalties, mental errors, and dropped passes by highly-paid players (relative the NFL, too) as the deciding factors. None was more highlighted than Patrick Crayton at the end. He beat his man to the corner of the end zone and Tony Romo found him. But Crayton had slowed up his route and the ball sailed long. These are two guys that signed long-term, high-dollar contracts in the middle of this season.

How's that for a collapse?