As a Dallas Cowboys' fan watching the New York Giants prepare to play in the Super Bowl, I can only shake my head and wonder what could have happened if Dallas had beaten the Giants in the last week of the season.
The Atlanta Falcons laid an egg in the Wild Card game. Of course, the Giants won that contest. The Indianapolis Colts could have won that game. Dallas, without a doubt, could have won that game.
But they didn't get the chance.
Sure, lots of people point at the Packers and claim that the Cowboys couldn't have won that game. I disagree. Tony Romo was one of the best quarterbacks in the NFL in 2011. He was actually better statistically than Eli Manning and look at what Manning did to the Packers.
Of course, the big difference here is that the Cowboys' secondary is not as good as the Giants, so maybe Rodgers could have played better. But, I question, better than what? Rodgers threw the ball 46 times, completing 26 passes for 264 yards and two touchdowns. He also threw one interception. That game was a shootout and Dallas has been in a few of those this year.
Dallas played close to almost everyone this season not named Philadelphia and I think they could have matched up well with the Packers.
But, it didn't happen.
Then the Giants got to play the San Francisco 49ers. I look at that game and remember back to Week 2 of the season when the Dallas Cowboys beat the 49ers. Dallas had been there and done that and could have beaten San Francisco again.
They did it once already but they didn't get the rematch.
Now, in the Super Bowl, the Giants play the New England Patriots. The Patriots already beat the Giants once this season but this is a revenge game for New England. See, when the Patriots were undefeated, the Giants beat them in the Super Bowl and spoiled their season. Now, it is time for the Patriots to get revenge.
Dallas played New England in 2011 too. They were winning that game until Tom Brady led his team down for a come-from-behind, 20-16, win. However, it was one of the toughest games of the season for New England. The Super Bowl would have been no different.
The Dallas Cowboys choked at the end of the season, but with the New York Giants where they are, I wonder if that one win at the end would have seen the Cowboys in the Super Bowl? I think they could have made it.
Author Shawn S. Lealos has a bachelor's degree in journalism from the University of Oklahoma (2000) and has been a Dallas Cowboys' fan since he was a child. His favorite players range from Roger Staubach and Tony Dorsett to the Triplets of the 90s and he enjoys talking about all Cowboys' related news, good or bad
