One minute left in the fourth quarter. Cowboys trail the Seahawks 13-12. Time for Matt Cassel to get the Boys together and lead a game-winning drive. WOOO CRUNCH TIME LET’S DO THIS. Let’s see how it went!
The majestic failure of Matt Cassel’s attempted game-winning drive
Matt Cassel led the Cowboys on a heroic game-winning drive against the Seaha-- pffffffffft, lol, just kidding, he threw three incompletions and got sacked
FIRST DOWN
Cassel threw a pass that started slipping out of his hands after he was hit by a rushing defensive lineman. The play was actually ruled a fumble returned for a touchdown on the field, but review showed that Cassel’s hand was coming forward on the play, and this was just an incomplete pass.
SECOND DOWN
The pocket collapses on Cassel, and he sees Darren McFadden streaking across the middle... and shotputs it well over his head. Maybe he was trying to throw an incompletion to preserve clock? Sure. That’s what happened here.
THIRD DOWN
Cassel sees nobody open -- or maybe just nobody open he feels comfortable throwing to -- and jogs out of the pocket. Bruce Irvin chases him down for a sack and a loss of 11.
FOURTH DOWN
Cassel just hurls the ball up at Jason Witten, Terrence Williams, and Gavin Escobar, who have gathered together on the sidelines. It looks kind of like a Hail Mary, which is odd, because the ball only travels about 30 yards in the air. I guess that’s about as far as Cassel can throw, and the Cowboys needed to run it since they needed to pick up 21 yards.
Anyway, it does not get through the four assembled Seahawks. Game over.
Potential game-winning drive totals: 0-3 passing, 1 sack, -11 yards
Sure, the Seahawks passing defense is one of the best in the NFL, and they knew Cassel was throwing. It’s hard to do anything! But this sequence reflects an abysmal game from Cassel: He finished the game 13-25 for 97 yards. He completed zero passes that traveled 10 yards or more in the air.
In 125 career starts, Tony Romo has never had a game this bad. In 2010 against the Giants, he threw for just 39 in a game, but that was a game he broke his collarbone. In 2007, he threw for just 86 yards against Washington, but that was in a Week 17 game where he was pulled early to preserve his health. It’s not just that Cassel isn’t as good as Romo, it’s that he’s worse than the worst performances Romo has ever had.
Cowboys fans, set your alarm clock for Week 11.
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