Bad luck and karma.
Those were a couple of the words Micah Parsons used to describe what has become a lost season for the Dallas Cowboys. The team dropped to 5-8 on the season after a 27-20 loss to the Bengals on Monday Night Football, a primetime matchup featuring two teams that are fizzling out of the playoff picture amid disappointing seasons.
“I’m hurt. I wouldn’t wish this on anybody,” Parsons said. “It seems like we’re paying a due that’s not fair.”
The latest due paid was a special teams blunder in which the Cowboys botched a blocked punt. Nick Vigil blocked Ryan Rehkow’s punt in the fourth quarter, which would have given the Cowboys great field position for a potential go-ahead drive. But Amani Oruwariye tried to return the ball after it had crossed the line of scrimmage, allowing the Bengals to recover it.
Cincinnati capitalized on the extra opportunity and won the game.
It capped another forgettable night for the Cowboys. The team saw three players exit with injuries, notably DeMarvion Overshown with a right knee injury described as “very concerning” by Cowboys owner Jerry Jones. Cooper Beebe (concussion) and C.J. Goodwin (hamstring) were also injured.
The Cowboys’ playoff chances continued to dwindle. It’ll take a borderline miracle for the Cowboys to reach the postseason as the talk around the team shifts toward the 2025 season.
The biggest question is the status of coach Mike McCarthy. McCarthy and his entire staff are in the final years of their contracts, providing Jones a buyout-free pathway to parting ways. However, Monday Night Football analyst and Cowboys great Troy Aikman created some pregame buzz when he said he expected McCarthy to return in 2025 during a radio interview with 105.3 The Fan in Dallas.
“Short of Bill Belichick, I don’t know who you’re going to bring in that has a better resume,” Aikman said. “I just feel that for a team that I really do not think is that far away ... I like the way this team is playing right now, even without their franchise quarterback (Dak Prescott).
“I sense that it’s a team that really believes in Mike McCarthy. I feel the locker room wants him back. I think he’s a really good football coach. I believe Jerry Jones thinks he’s a really good football coach too. As we stand and talk right now, I expect Mike McCarthy to be back in 2025.”
The Bengals are in a similar situation where much of the conversation around their organization is on the 2025 season and whether Zac Taylor is still the right guy to lead the team. And, as a sign of where the focus is—on next season, not this—one of the main storylines coming out was Bengals quarterback Joe Burrow saying he was confident the team would be able to re-sign receiver Tee Higgins in the offseason.
“I know that I’m going to do what it takes to get him back and so is he,” Burrow said.
In the end, it was a lackluster primetime game between two teams that entered the season as contenders and are now focused on next season. At least there was a "Simpsons"-themed simulcast to go with it.