Troy Aikman Sounded Fed Up With the Cowboys After Their Brutal Loss to the Ravens
He didn’t hold back
It wasn’t too long ago that things were looking up for the Cowboys. Inspired by Mike McCarthy’s destruction of some watermelons, they beat the Vikings in Week 11 to improve to 3–7. It would have been a disaster in any other year, except every other team in the NFC East also had just three wins. Just take care of business in the division and a playoff berth was well within reach.
So much for that.
Dallas got wrecked by Washington in its game on Thanksgiving and then on Tuesday night got run over by the Ravens, 34–17. America’s Team is now 3–9, well behind Washington and the Giants (both 5–7) in the division race. The Cowboys are toast, headed for their first losing record since 2015—left to play out the rest of a meaningless season with a backup quarterback and an atrocious defense.
Cowboys legend Troy Aikman, calling the game on TV for Fox, sounded despondent when throwing to a commercial at the two-minute warning.
Since he’s on the top crew for the network that airs the NFC, Aikman is often in the booth for Cowboys games. He’s one of the biggest names in the history of that franchise and yet he never really sounds like a homer. In that clip, though, he definitely sounds like someone who cares about this team and is totally fed up with how things are going.
He’s right, of course. This is not a team that’s anywhere close to competing. The offense might have been better if not for injuries to Dak Prescott and a big chunk of the offensive line, but the defense is a complete abomination. It’s dead last in points allowed and rushing yards allowed on a per-game basis. Just look at this play from the Ravens game. Watch everyone bite on the fake to the running back, allowing Lamar Jackson to go right up the middle literally untouched for a touchdown.
The guy in the middle of the defense getting faked out of his shoes is former first-round pick Leighton Vander Esch, who was a Pro Bowler and Second-Team All-Pro as a rookie in 2018. He’s a good player, but everyone (himself included) screwed up that play so badly that he was thoroughly humiliated. A better coaching staff would have prepared the defense for that play. But as Aikman said, it’s not just one thing that needs fixing.
The best of SI
Why did the Mets give $750,000 to a minor leaguer who had an ERA over 8 in Triple A in 2019? ... Louisiana coach Billy Napier’s intentional safety seemed like a certain disaster. This is what he was thinking. ... What will the Big Ten do now that Ohio State–Michigan has been canceled and the Buckeyes are ineligible for the conference title game? ... Behind the scenes of Sting’s WWE exit and AEW arrival.
Around the sports world
The NHL is reportedly moving toward a 52- or 56-game season that will begin on Jan. 13. ... The Champions League match between PSG and Istanbul Basaksehir was suspended after players walked off the pitch following an alleged racist incident involving a referee. ... Mara Gomez is the first transgender woman to play top-level soccer in Argentina.
The Ravens’ outbreak is clearly under control
But he’s just a running quarterback
Here we go
Yikes
All right, man. If you say so.
Only at Rutgers
They put the Kobe photo in a solemn black and white!
Awesome to see young Americans killing it on the Champions League stage
He found a new job a lot sooner than a lot of people thought
And he probably won’t
Not sports
The first man to receive a non-trial COVID-19 vaccine in England was named William Shakespeare. ... Construction on a Tesla factory in Germany was halted over concerns about the impact on snakes and lizards. ... A nine-pound goldfish was discovered in a lake in South Carolina. ... Apple is coming out with an over-the-ear, noise-canceling version of AirPods that cost $550. ... A bunch of actors from previous Spider-Man movies are reportedly joining the cast of the upcoming Spider-Man 3.
A whale showed up in the Hudson River
He spared no detail, including his “very nasty lunch”
They make a hell of a team
A good song
Email dan.gartland@si.com with any feedback or follow me on Twitter for approximately one half-decent baseball joke per week. Bookmark this page to see previous editions of Hot Clicks and find the newest edition every day. By popular request I’ve made a Spotify playlist of the music featured here. Visit our Extra Mustard page throughout each day for more offbeat sports stories.
