The battered Cowboys face an uncertain remainder of the season

Has a hex been placed on the Cowboys down in Dallas, Texas? A recent series of unfortunate events for the Dallas Cowboys suggest, it may be possible. Who put this curse on the Cowboys? They have plenty of enemies who could be the source, or does the mysterious Jerry Jones have something to do with it? Probably not, but let’s take a look at the troubling situation that’s been plaguing the Cowboys the past few weeks.

It was looking to be a pretty exciting matchup against two longtime rivals. In the middle of the third quarter, the Cowboys had the ball with only a one-point lead over the New York Giants. The Cowboys were marching towards a touchdown, ball on the Giants 27, 1st and 10. The ball was snapped and quarterback Dak Prescott kept the ball and took off running. He dodged his first tackle and the play was going, but disaster is what struck next. With just a yard shy of the first down, Dak was tackled to the ground. Immediately he knew there was trouble. He sat up quickly, grabbing onto his ankle which was now facing in a direction it’s not supposed to. 

Prescott had suffered a compound ankle fracture and dislocation, bringing an end to the young quarterback’s season. Of course it has been a big loss for the Cowboys. Prescott regularly put up good numbers, even with the recent coaching change. He’s also known for his great leadership, and being an overall good guy throughout the NFL.

Despite the devastation of the loss, the Cowboys were ready with a backup plan, their new backup quarterback. Over the offseason, Dallas acquired Andy Dalton to sit behind Dak.  Dalton is a veteran quarterback who’s spent his career as the starter of the Cincinnati Bengals. His experience and big arm make him easily one of the best backup QBs in the league.

It’s too bad that the Cowboys didn’t pick up a backup for their backup. It seems like the curse isn’t after just Dak, but whoever’s in the Cowboys quarterback position.

In another rivalry game, this time against the Washington Football Team, the Cowboys were backed up all the way in there own end zone in the middle of the third quarter. Dalton dropped back for the pass, the line collapsed around him and, looking to avoid a safety, he took off running. He made it about six yards past the line of scrimmage and, choose to safely slide and avoid getting hit.

However, Jon Bostic (who ended up getting ejected) lowered his shoulder and smacked Dalton. Dalton’s helmet came flying off from the act and he laid, facedown and barely moving, for quite some time. Reports later showed that he was briefly knocked out by the hit.

In some good news, Dalton was able to walk to the locker room after spending some time in the blue medical tent on the sideline. It was announced that Bostic is not expected to face suspension.

This leaves the Cowboys with number three quarterback, Ben DiNucci, who finished up the game against Washington. Bison fans should be familiar with DiNucci since he was JMU’s quarterback in the FCS National Championship game last season.

Somehow and in some unbelievable way, the 2-5 Cowboys are still very much in the fight for a division title. This has led to some people calling for the Cowboys to trade for another quarterback instead of trusting their season in the hands of DiNucci. Some names that have been thrown around ranging from Tim Boyle to Ryan Fitzpatrick to Jacoby Brissett. Some have even suggested Dallas sign Colin Kaepernick.

The Cowboys are right behind the 2-5 Washington and 2-4-1 Philadelphia Eagles, so I guess they could win their division and make it to the playoffs. What then though? This isn’t a Super Bowl team. It’s laughable to even imagine them contending in the playoffs. In this writer’s opinion, the Cowboys should let DiNucci play until Dalton can return. They shouldn’t be trading away valuable draft picks or players to make it to the playoffs just to lose.

So is there a curse? Probably not. Curse or not, it’s tough to see good players (good both on and off the field) suffer tough injuries. It’s not fun to talk about, especially around a fun time like Halloween. What happened to Andy Dalton, that’s what’s really scary.