A birthday present for me and Emilio from Mom and Dad: Emilio's first Dallas Cowboys game! The game was originally scheduled to begin at noon, but NBC got to "flex" the game to a 7:30 p.m. start time because national audiences want to see the rookie QB Daz Prescott and rookie RB Ezekiel Elliot and the 11-2 'Boys take on the Jameis Winston-led 8-5 Bucs, who come into the game on a five-game winning streak.
Emi and I stop in Denton to visit Lisa, Melissa, and Norah and then meet Olivia and Brian on a Walmart parking lot in Fort Worth. From there, Brian drives the four of us to a shuttle parking lot. We arrive an hour-and-a-half early, which gives us plenty of time to make our way to our seats and watch the players warm up while we were eating popcorn and nachos. Brian's favorite Cowboy is center Travis Frederick, Olivia's is Dez Bryant, Emi's is Ezekiel Elliott, and mine is the now-benched Tony Romo.
Though we are on the top deck, we feel the heat of the flames that are lit when the Cowboys take the field.
Early in the second quarter, Terrell McLain sacks Winston, causing a fumble, which Maliek Collins recovers at the Tampa Bay 14. Five plays later, Ezekiel Elliott scores on a two-yard-run and subsequently jumps into a giant Salvation Army kettle.
The Bucs go 3 and out on their next drive, and the 'Boys follow with a 64-yard touchdown drive, that culminates with a 2-yard Daz Prescott touchdown to give the 'Boys a 17-3 lead. At halftime, the 'Boys dominate time of possession 20+ minutes to 9+ minutes and the score is 17-6.
The third quarter belongs to the 'Bucs. An eight-play touchdown drive and ten-play touchdown drive, sandwiched around a four-play Cowboy misfire, that ends with a failed end-around exchange between Ezekiel Elliott and Lucky Whitehead, has the 'Boys down 17-20 heading into the fourth quarter.The 'Boys defense does not allow the Bucs a first down on three consecutive possessions, while the 'Boys offense puts together three field-goal scoring drives--including one that features a 42-yard escape by Ezekiel Elliott, to give us a 26-20 lead. The 'Bucs take possession at their own 11-yard-line with all three time-outs and one-minute and thirty-six seconds to play. One minute later, it's fourth-and-twelve, and I record the video below.
That's an Orlando Scandrick interception to end the game, the Cowboys' 12th of the season. One more win, and we'll have clinched a bye and home-field advantage throughout the playoffs.
Jason Witten catches 10 passes, which moves him past Terrell Owens into seventh place on the all-time. A week after a deflating 2nd loss to the Giants, Daz completes 32 of 36 passes, the second-highest completion rate in NFL history (minimum 30 passes), and Ezekiel Elliott rushes for a season-high 159 yards. HE leads the league in rushing.
It is rare pleasure to be surrounded by so many people who share your enthusiasms.
