Romo-less Cowboys lose to Rams
The Dallas Morning News
Oct. 20--ST. LOUIS -- The door to the Cowboys' locker room remained closed a little longer than normal Sunday.
Inside, a dejected Jerry Jones spoke to his team after coach Wade Phillips. Anger dripped from the owner and general manager's voice as the Cowboys digested a 34-14 pasting at the hands of the St. Louis Rams.
"He was pretty disappointed," linebacker Greg Ellis said, "but he also said some positive things. You're going to get knocked on your butt a whole lot of times in your life. It's how you choose to respond to that that will determine success or failure in life. This is our opportunity to show what kind of people we are made of and fight back."
Just a month ago, the Cowboys were considered strong contenders to win the Super Bowl. Two weeks ago, they were 4-1.
Now 4-3, they find themselves with more questions than answers, like not knowing when Pro Bowl quarterback Tony Romo will return from a fractured right pinkie finger.
After the game, Jones said, "emphatically, no," when asked if Phillips' job was in jeopardy.
"Jimmy [Johnson] was 1-15," Jones said. "Bill [Parcells] had rough years and didn't get fired. The coaches don't get fired for necessarily losing. They can get fired when they're winning Super Bowls, if we've got any humor in us."
There was nothing for the Cowboys to laugh about Sunday at Edward Jones Dome.
The loss came at the end of a three-week spell that was supposed to be the easy part of the Cowboys' schedule. But in the last three weeks, they struggled to beat winless Cincinnati, lost at Arizona in overtime last week and imploded against the Rams.
"I've had all the fire knocked out of my butt," Jones said. "That doesn't mean it's gone for good, but I know one thing, it's not time to sit around and feel sorry."
The Cowboys don't have time to feel sorry for themselves. Their next three games are against teams that made the playoffs last season -- Tampa Bay, New York Giants and Washington -- and are a combined 15-5.
Since beating Green Bay last season to improve to an NFC-best 11-1, the Cowboys are a pedestrian 6-5 in their last 11 regular-season games. Sunday marked the first time they have lost back-to-back games since closing 2006 with two straight.
