Dallas Cowboys vs. Miami Dolphins: Full Dallas Game Preview
The 2015 season began with Super Bowl-level expectations, but as the disastrous injuries piled up—from Orlando Scandrick to Dez Bryant and finally Tony Romo—those expectations collapsed around them. Being forced to survive five games without Bryant and seven without Romo was a stroke of poor luck that few teams would be capable of withstanding.
The Cowboys are 0-7 since September 20, but the quarterback famine in Dallas is coming to an end. Romo is set to make his return to the lineup for the Cowboys, and he has sent a message to fans that his confidence isn’t waning. The comeback begins this Sunday against the Miami Dolphins, as the Cowboys look to their captain to lead a miraculous charge in an attempt to make the playoffs.
Location: Sun Life Stadium; Miami Gardens, Florida
Time: 1 p.m. ET
TV: Fox
Week 10 Results and Recap
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The Cowboys defense put forth a stellar effort in the team’s Week 10 matchup with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. Rod Marinelli’s group held Tampa Bay to only 10 points and 330 total yards, but the Dallas offense was unable to match the defense’s quality, managing only two Dan Bailey field goals, along with a missed field goal from the normally reliable Cowboys kicker.
A perfect storm of a rare Bryant drop on third down with about four minutes remaining in the game, combined with Chris Jones’ worst punt of the day, set the Buccaneers up near midfield with a chance to drive down and win the game.
Ten plays, 51 yards and a defensive holding penalty on Jeff Heath later, Jameis Winston trotted into the end zone on a bootleg run to help put Tampa Bay in front 10-6 with just over a minute left.
On the Cowboys' ensuing drive, Matt Cassel threw a third-down deep ball to Bryant in the end zone, who was running a post route and was matched one-on-one with a Tampa Bay safety. The ball wasn’t thrown perfectly, and when the defender gave Dez a slight push in the back, the receiver wasn’t in position to make a play, and the ball was intercepted, which effectively ended the game.
NFC East Standings
New York Giants (5-5)
Philadelphia Eagles (4-5)
Washington Redskins (4-5)
Dallas Cowboys (2-7)
News and Notes
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Romo’s Return
The most important position in all of sports is the quarterback position in the NFL. Having a top-flight starting quarterback gives you an inherent advantage over at least two-thirds of the NFL. The easiest pregame indicator to follow in predicting winning teams is the quarterback matchup.
In their seven-game losing streak, the Cowboys have faced the likes of Matt Ryan, Drew Brees, Tom Brady, Eli Manning, Russell Wilson, Sam Bradford and Jameis Winston at the quarterback position, all while playing with Brandon Weeden and Matt Cassel.
There are probably only two names among the opposing quarterbacks in the last seven games that arguably didn’t present a significant mismatch compared to Weeden and Cassel, and those are Bradford and Winston.
This week, the equation changes. Romo played at a level that earned him MVP votes in 2014, and he had continued his excellent play through two weeks of 2015. Upon his return, it’s likely the Cowboys will have an advantage at quarterback in each of their remaining games, excluding the matchup with Green Bay and Aaron Rodgers.
They face a tough road to the playoffs after losing seven games in a row, but with Romo back at the helm, the Cowboys are capable of beating any team in the NFL.
Shuffling the Roster
The Cowboys made several roster moves early in the week. According to CowboysHQ.com, the team released Weeden, linebacker Keith Smith, running back Christine Michael and defensive back Corey White on Monday and Tuesday.
Three of those roster spots have been filled, according to DallasCowboys.com, as the team signed free-agent running back Robert Turbin, activated rookie linebacker Mark Nzeocha from the reserve/non-football injury list and elevated cornerback Deji Olatoye from the practice squad.
Romo is expected to take the fourth roster spot when the Cowboys activate him from the injured reserve/designated to return list.
Latest Injury News
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Sean Lee
Sean Lee returned to practice Wednesday as a full participant, according to DallasCowboys.com, signaling he has progressed through the league’s concussion protocol. He should be expected to play Sunday in Miami.
Although Lee missed the game in Tampa Bay due to his concussion, the linebackers played their best games since Week 2. It will be important for Lee to come ready to play to the highest possible level, as Miami presents a significant threat with Lamar Miller running the football.
Dez Bryant
It has become somewhat of a routine for Bryant to miss practice on Wednesday, as he did this week, according to DallasCowboys.com, before returning to practice later in the week and playing in the game.
Dez has shown signs of his typical explosiveness the last few weeks despite the foot fracture that caused him to miss five games, as well as the knee injury suffered against the Philadelphia Eagles in Week 8. The routine of missing practice Wednesday and ramping up practice on Thursday and Friday has put him in position to succeed, giving the team little reason to seek change.
Romo will look to Dez early and often against the Dolphins as the team attempts to set a tone offensively with its leader back at the helm, and it will be important for Bryant to be ready to make the plays that are available for him.
Defensive Backs
Both starting cornerbacks, Brandon Carr and Morris Claiborne, appeared on the Wednesday injury report, as did starting safety Barry Church and rotational safety Jeff Heath.
These injuries mean one thing: The Cowboys are short on healthy bodies in the secondary on defense. It is unclear whether Claiborne will be able to return from his hamstring and ankle injuries by this weekend, but the other three either participated in Wednesday’s practice, even if on a limited basis, or in the case of Church, have shown they can play a game on Sunday even if they don’t practice on Wednesday in order to rest an injury.
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X-Factors and Matchups to Watch
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Matchup to Watch: Zack Martin vs. Ndamukong Suh
Zack Martin’s play early in the year didn’t live up to the standard that he set in his All-Pro rookie season, but he seems to have settled in over the last few weeks as the offensive line has played better as a whole. Martin and his linemates will have their hands full dealing with Dolphins defensive tackle Ndamukong Suh.
Suh was a prized free-agent signing this offseason for the Dolphins, but for most of the year, he had failed to meet the expectations placed on him. In the Week 10 game against the Philadelphia Eagles, Suh finally lit up the stat sheet, finishing with 10 tackles, one sack, four tackles for loss and three quarterback hits. Most of his production came in the final three quarters of the game, and he will be looking to continue the trend of productivity in efforts to disrupt the Cowboys offense.
If Dallas is going to have a chance to win on Sunday, it is going to need Martin to get the upper hand in that matchup.
X-factor of the Week: Tony Romo
There really can’t be another answer for this spot this week. Romo impacts a game in so many ways outside of throwing passes.
Whether it’s changing to the perfect play at the line of scrimmage, giving the coaching staff confidence to take an extra risk on special teams or defense, as well as forcing the opponent to play more aggressively to keep up with the production they know will come from the quarterback position for Dallas, having Tony in the game makes the Cowboys a more dangerous team.
If Romo comes out dialed in and gets in a rhythm early, he could be difficult to stop this week—or any week in the future.
Prediction
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Romo will help the Cowboys regain their winning ways. He will throw for close to 300 yards and at least one touchdown, and the rest of the offense will be back to the high-scoring unit from years past.
The defense will continue to play well, although the Dolphins do better than the 10 points Tampa Bay put up. The Cowboys defense will finally get a chance to play with the lead as their pass-rushers are designed to play, and Dallas should contain the Miami attack.
Prediction: Cowboys 24, Dolphins 13
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