Read Ebook {PDF EPUB} Mounted By The Cowboys by Blane Thomas ‘We weren’t supposed to win’: How the Cowboys mounted one of the greatest comebacks in team history. ARLINGTON — said the Cowboys were flat. Four on the first five possessions of a football game will do that to a team. Down 20-0 in the first quarter with a 19-point deficit at halftime adds to it. The Cowboys kept believing. There was no choice but to believe and when kicker Greg Zuerlein made his 46-yard as time expired Sunday afternoon at AT&T Stadium, it allowed the sidelines, ' suite and the 21,708 in attendance to forget about social distancing. The Cowboys completed one of the great comebacks in franchise history, with a 40-39 victory over the Falcons. Do you know what the Cowboys' record is now when they trail by 19-plus points at halftime? 2-35. You could say the Falcons choked. “We weren’t supposed to win that game,” Elliott said. “But it’s a testament to everybody in this locker room and we went out there and got it done.” Asked to describe the scene in the locker room, the said, “It’s crazy. A lot of juice in there. A lot of happiness.” The entire day seemed surreal. The Cowboys allowed fans to buy tickets to an NFL game in the midst of a pandemic. They had social distancing rules, towels placed on seats to signify where people were allowed to sit. There were no standing room tickets, some booing when the Falcons ran onto the field, no reaction from the fans when Dontari Poe knelt during the national anthem. As the Cowboys trailed 20-0, the place sounded like an Arizona Fall League game. When the Cowboys ran into the locker room at halftime, boos came quickly. “We were just flat,” Elliott said. “We didn’t have any energy. But I think after that third turnover, we got together. ‘Man, look they’re not stopping us. We’re only stopping ourselves we’re giving them the ball. If we take care of the ball we’re going to have a chance to go win that thing.’ We took care of the ball and scored and the defense made the stops they needed to make and we ended up getting the dub.” The Cowboys started this contest like they were taking their dogs for a Sunday afternoon trip to the dog park. At some point the Cowboys needed to wake up. “You’re never out of a fight,” linebacker Jaylon Smith said. “This league is won at the last minute, at the last second a lot of the times that we play. You got to fight to the finish and that’s what we did and we came out victorious.” It sounds like a cliché, but it’s the truth. Sometimes you need breaks to win much like Julio Jones dropping a pass on a of a throw from fellow receiver Russell Gage. You need to land his backside inbound after he made a leaping catch for a 38-yard gain. And sometimes you have to overcome your own mistakes, like a fake at your own 29 and making questionable decisions like going for two points after a touchdown while trailing by nine with five minutes left. “Hey man, that was one of the best games I’ve been a part of,” linebacker Joe Thomas said. “I still can’t believe we came back and won that game. We talked about at halftime to win the second half, and I think we did that. We counterstepped and came out with a ‘dub.’” The Cowboys had life when Prescott sneaked in from the 1 with 1:52 left to make the score, 39-37. The home team had no timeouts and was desperate to recover an onside kick. Smith believed a recovery was possible. Zuerlein’s kick kept spinning and spinning and spinning until C.J. Goodwin dived on the ball, giving the Cowboys life. The sideline erupted, the fans erupted and the Falcons faltered. All that was needed to reach field goal range. Prescott spiked the ball when the Cowboys reached the Falcons' 28 with five seconds left. Zuerlein jogged onto the field and calmly made the kick to complete the comeback. Jerry Jones hugged Jerry Jones Jr., in the suite, and players mobbed Zuerlein on the field. Elliott’s mother, Dawn, posted a selfie of herself on : “Ugly Game. Zeurlein has me crying? #That’s my kicker.” Yeah, it was that kind of day, a game that you kept believing. If not, you were crying. “Ecstatic,” Smith said of the locker room scene. “We understand how tough it is to win in this , and we’re blessed to get a victory and we needed it. And now we’re 1-1 and were .500 and we got to keep this thing going.” The Cowboys' comeback from a 20-point deficit tied for the fourth-largest deficit overcome in a victory: mounties v. cowboys. ​ 1. Sarah Vowell reverses her friend’s assertion of Canada not being inspirational by writing about the Royal Canadian Mounted police, and how they are different from American cowboys who were taught to shoot any Indian that approached camp. The Mounties knew to avoid America’s problem with the western Native American tribes. She compares Canada’s one law for everyone to the America that always spoke of equal rights, yet they still have a lot of work to do about it. Although Canada may seem like a boring country that hasn’t really done much, it was actually a place of refuge for the north-west Native American tribes back in the day. The Indians called the border line between America and Canada the “medicine line”, and if they did not want to be shot at for approaching American settlers, that is where they needed to go. It may look like the Mounties haven’t done anything dangerous or victorious, but they are known for their fairness to Indians who seek refuge in their country, and that is how I see Sarah Vowell reversing her friends’ assertion that Canadian history “isn’t inspiring”. 2. I think Sarah Vowell was expecting her readers not to be so surprised that Americans don’t really think about Canada at all. Canada isn’t really considered a threat to America because it’s such a peaceful and harmless country. Sara vowell even mentions how Canada gained independence through polite meetings with Britain. Other countries would just go to war to gain their independence. If Canadians could gain their independence just for being nice and cooperative, what is there to worry about? People don’t really take Canada seriously anyway. Canada is like that one neighbor that never leaves the house, but is always happy and welcoming when people go to visit. So when an American says they don’t think about Canada at all, they mean it. 3. “Cowboys v. Mounties” is a Rhetorical mode compare and contrast essay. Sarah Vowell compares the Canada and America’s patriotism. She compares the Canadians who are so selfless and non-violent, to the Americans who are so aggressive and prideful. One way we know for sure that this is would be a compare and contrast essay is just by reading the title. It says “Cowboys V. Mounties”. Another way we know that this is a compare and contrast essay is by the way the Canadian woman asked an American man what Americans really thought about Canada. His response would later lead into the author comparing two countries. 4. Sarah Vowell’s introduction strategy begins with relevant background material. She starts off her first sentence in all capital letters, and that definitely catches the readers’ eye. I like the way Sarah Vowell keeps her readers interested and curious through her opening sentence “CANADA HAUNTS ME”. Of course, people want to know how a very peaceful country could haunt someone. I think that the audience that Sarah vowell was trying or expecting to hook was the Americans, and that her whole purpose was to change their point of view on Canadian history and their country. 5. Sarah Vowell’s opinion in the sermon is similar to her ideas about American and Canadian culture in “Cowboys v. Mounties”. Just from synthesizing the article and quote from the book, we could tell that in general, Sarah Vowell thinks that the “peaceful and cooperative” America that everyone dreams of is actually Canada. In the quote and article, it looks like Sarah admires Canada for the way they handle things, like their fairness to everyone. It looked like she was trying to say that America needs to be calmer instead of being all aggressive, and that they need to start acting on things they always speak of. Both of these countries were under the rule of Great Britain and they both wanted independence. They just achieved it differently. America went to war and Canada went to meetings. I think what Sarah vowell is trying to say through her writings is that America doesn’t need to be so prideful and mean just to be a great country. Die größten Hörerlebnisse nur bei Audible. Erlebe Audible auf dem Smartphone, Tablet, am Computer oder deinem Amazon Echo. Auch offline. Die größten Hörerlebnisse. Entdecke genau das, was du hören willst: Wähle aus 200.000 Titeln und inspirierenden Audible Original Podcasts. Natürlich werbefrei. Genieße dein Hörerlebnis ohne Unterbrechung. Einfach ausprobieren. Teste Audible 30 Tage kostenlos. Du kannst jederzeit kündigen. Hör die Welt mit anderen Augen. Mit Audible Originals und exklusiven Geschichten. Wir können dich kaum erwarten! Entdecke Audible einen Monat lang völlig kostenlos. Genieße jeden Monat ein Hörerlebnis deiner Wahl - und so viele exklusive Audible Original Podcasts, wie du willst. Keine Bindung, keine Frist – du kannst dein Abo jederzeit pausieren oder kündigen. THOMAS EXCELS, GAINING 143 YARDS. SAN FRANCISCO, Jan. 3 — The Cowboys marched to the today. Out in front was , the rookie running back who gained 143 yards as the Cow boys, with a punishing ground game, beat the , 17‐10, before 59,625 fans in . Dallas thus won the National Conference championship and, after failures in four previous seasons, qualified for the Super Bowl riches. The 49ers tried to get there by air. But 's of a pass by , the 49er , led to the first of two Dallas in the third period that broke open a tight, excit ing game. Jordan, the Dallas middle linebacker, picked off Brodie's pass 13 yards in front of the 49er goal posts. On the next play Thomas went to his right, veered sharply to the left be hind a block by , the guard, and raced to the goal. That touchdown put Dal las ahead, 10‐3, and the Cow boys scored again five minutes later to lead, 17‐3. The 49ers could not catch up. Interception Is Key Play. “Lee Roy's interception was the key play,” said , the Dallas coach. “But the key to the game was our ability to run the football.” , the Cowboy quarterback, completed only seven passes in 22 attempts. But Dallas had 51 rushing plays that averaged 4.5 yards, the most successful being sweeps to the weak side by Thomas. The teams played to a stand off in the first half, which end ed In a 3‐3 tie. Following the two Dallas touchdowns, the 49ers struck for a score on a 26‐yard pass, Brodie to Dick Witcher, his . This came at the end of a 73‐yard drive, the only one the 49ers could mount against the rug ged Dallas defense. This defense gave up its first touchdown in 24 periods but stopped the 49ers as they gamely tried to rally in the final quarter. Cowboys Drive 62 Yards. “The ball bounced right for them and not for us,” said Dick Nolan, the 49er coach. “But you have to contend with that.” There was one other Dallas interception of a Brodie pass, by at his 18. The Cowboys then took off on a 62‐yard drive that ended when Morton hit , his halfback, on a 5‐yard pass for a touchdown. Of help on the drive was a 29‐yard pass‐interference pen alty against Mel Phillips for fouling that put the Cowboys on the 5. The Cowboys fumbled four times but recovered every time. The 49ers dropped three passes by Brodie who deserved a bet ter fate. Playing in his first champion ship game at the age of 35 after 14 seasons with the 49ers, Brodie completed 19 of 40 passes for 269 yards. He earned respect. “When you stop a guy like Brodie, you take pride in it,” said Jordan. The point of interest as the game began was how the two teams were going to attack each other's defenses, which were alike in style and philoso phy if not personnel. The re sult through the first half was a 3‐3 tie as both defensive units were outstanding. The 49ers, with Bruce Gos sett's 16‐yard kick, scored first in the opening quarter. A 42 yard pass, Brodie to Gene Washington, had brought the 49ers downfield. A 21‐yard field goal by tied the score in the sec ond quarter. Clark had missed from 40 yards out in the first quarter. The Cowboys again had trouble with the pass, but their running game worked. Thomas ran the sweeps on a 66‐yard drive that carried to the 49ers’ 14. The Cowboys missed a first down by a yard and Clark kicked his field goal. In the first half Morton completed only three of 14 pass attempts. Two were screen passes to Thomas for 28, yards and one to for 5. The San Francisco pass rush on Morton was fierce. The Cow boy pass rushers put pressure on Brodie, too. In the third period Brodie, under pressure by , threw quickly to Ken Willard over the middle. Jordan stepped into the pass and inter cepted it at the 49er 13. This was the first big turn .over of the game and the Cow boys quickly exploited it. On the first play Thomas ran all the way in. “That Thomas Is a good run ning back,” said Frank Nunley, the 49er middle linebacker. “But he had those blockers, too, that knocked down people like me. You know, the game was darn near a standoff.” Nunley and his teammakes earned $5,500 as losers while the winners gained $8,500. In two weeks, the Cowboys can win $15,000 more by beating the Colts in the Super Bowl. Redskins don’t fare well against the Cowboys on Thanksgiving Day. There’s no doubt that Thanksgiving has a little extra sauce this year, especially for the Redskins fans who chanted “We want Dallas” at the end of Sunday night’s affirmative 42-24 beatdown of the at FedEx Field. They want Dallas, and Dallas they will get Thursday afternoon, with an ascendent 6-3-1 Redskins squad taking on the league-best 9-1 . Washington plays against its arch-nemesis, on one of football’s biggest stages of the year, in a game with huge playoff implications — it’s enough to make any Redskins fan wistful for the days when playing the Cowboys late in the season felt like life or death just about every year. The last time the Redskins traveled to Texas for Turkey Day — in 2012 — then rookie Robert Griffin III punished the Cowboys 38-31, throwing four touchdowns and 303 yards, out-dueling then-Dallas starter , who threw for three touchdowns and 441 yards himself in a losing effort. “The Washington Redskins will be a force to be reckoned with for some time,” one NFL writer wrote at the time, as RG3 and his fellow rookie in the backfield Alfred Morris led the Washington to what looked like the first of many NFC East titles to come. That didn’t happen, but at least Griffin lifted the holiday curse for the Redskins. Before 2012, the Cowboys had won six consecutive Thanksgiving showdowns between the franchises. Here’s a look back at some of the Redskins’ highs and (mostly) lows in the annual Thanksgiving Day game in Dallas: Nov. 28, 1968: Cowboys win 29-20. The 1968 season wasn’t particularly kind to the Redskins. With only five wins on the season, Washington finished third in the division. The Cowboys, who would finish 12-2, squeezed out a fourth-quarter comeback. Washington went up 20-19, but Dallas retook the lead on a 25-yard Mike Clark field goal. Redskins’ quarterback tried to lead the Redskins downfield, but an interception returned for a touchdown by Larry Cole sealed the Cowboys’ victory. Nov. 28, 1974: Cowboys win 24-23. The infamous game. Washington entered this Thanksgiving matchup at 8-3, needing only a win to secure a playoff spot. With less than 10 minutes left in the third quarter, the Redskins took a 16-3 lead. Victory seemed assured after Redskins’ linebacker Dave Robinson knocked future Hall of Fame quarterback out of the game — forcing Dallas to bring in obscure, unknown rookie Clint Longley. But Longley — nicknamed “The Mad Bomber” — went 11 of 20 passes for 203 yards and two touchdowns to mount the comeback. Washington’s offense struggled, with quarterback throwing for just 112 yards on eight completions, and Duane Thomas and Moses Denson combining for just 105 yards rushing. The Redskins still made the playoffs, losing in the divisional round to the . One-hit wonder Longley was traded a couple of seasons later, but had firmly cemented his place in Redskins-Cowboys lore with his Thanksgiving Day heroics — a performance Cowboys lineman Blaine Nye famously referred to as a “triumph of the uncluttered mind.” Nov. 23, 1978: Cowboys win 37-10. Again, the Cowboys entered as heavy favorites over a mediocre Redskins squad. The Redskins were shut out through the first half, and the game was ultimately never within reach, as the Cowboys jumped out to a 13-0 lead in the first quarter. The key to the matchup? The Redskins simply could not stop the Cowboys’ rushing attack. Running back finished with 122 yards rushing and two touchdowns on just 16 carries, and running back added another 72 yards rushing. In total, Dallas rushed for 289 yards. The Redskins managed just 81 yards on the ground, led by ’ 40 yards. Nov. 22, 1990: Cowboys win 27-17. Once again, the Thanksgiving matchup featured a Redskins defense that could not solve a Cowboys’ running game. This time, Washington had fits with , who ran for 132 yards on 23 carries, scoring two touchdowns. added another 222 yards in the air. The Redskins relied heavily on quarterback , who threw the ball 54 times, completing 26 for 267 yards and a touchdown. Running back Earnest Byner led the Redskins with just 39 yards on the ground. Nov. 28, 1996: Cowboys win 21-10. The Redskins started the season with an 8-3 record only to close 1-4, playing themselves out of the playoffs. In the midst of that losing streak was Washington’s Thanksgiving loss to the Cowboys, led again by Smith, who rushed for 155 yards on 29 carries, scoring all three of Dallas’ touchdowns. Aikman threw for just 63 yards, but the Redskins offense managed to record just 221 yards of total offense. Washington’s lone touchdown would come on a 26-yard pass to Leslie Shepherd. Frerotte threw for 175 yards, and running back Terry Allen led the Redskins in rushing with 34 yards. Nov. 28, 2002: Cowboys win 27-20. Smith again torched the Redskins’ run defense. This time, Washington kept him out of the end zone, but Smith still managed to rush for 144 yards on 23 carries. Quarterback kept the Redskins in the game, throwing for 243 yards on 21 completions and three touchdowns, but his three proved to be quite costly. An 11-yard touchdown pass by Wuerffel to Derrius Thompson gave the Redskins a 20-10 lead with 12:52 left in the third quarter, but a Wuerffel interception, caught by , was returned for a 5-yard touchdown. That, followed by a 41-yard touchdown pass by to Joey Galloway gave Dallas its sixth-straight Thanksgiving victory over Washington. Nov. 22, 2012: Redskins win 38-31. Griffin, who had won the Heisman while playing in nearby Waco at Baylor University, introduced himself to the Cowboys with four touchdowns as the Redskins totaled 437 yards of offense in a 38-31 victory. It was, in retrospect, one of the high points of Griffin’s career as a Redskin.