Football is a fickle sport.  It’s a game of inches.  Just ask Kevin Dyson.  Games can be won or lost by a missed tackle, an errant pass, or a poor coaching decision.  Entire seasons can be deflated by a botched snap or hold.  Just ask Tony Romo.  In the NFL, the difference between 8-8 and 9-7 can mean someone’s job and toy with the emotions of avid fans nationwide.  Often 14-2 isn’t good enough.  Just ask Marty Schottenheimer.  This year 4-1 and 5-0 separates a Super Bowl contender from a team that still has weaknesses.  We were all witness to this Monday night in what has become an instant classic as the Cowboys eked out a victory over Buffalo with history stacked against them.

This past Monday night’s game featured everything… interceptions, fumbles, game winning field goals, runbacks, recovered onside kicks…. everything except for a Bills victory.   In a game that featured six Dallas turnovers, for all of which QB Tony Romo was accountable, the Cowboys miraculously completed a (second) field goal from 53 yards as the game clock struck zero.  This was the type of game that can catapult the Cowboys into continued success this season.  It’s also the type of game that can destroy morale for the losing team.  The Bills, who have now lost their second game of the season to a last second field goal, if not careful, can easily head in that direction.

In every quarter except the one that mattered most, Buffalo was able to put points on the board after Dallas miscues.  In the first quarter, George Wilson stepped in front of a Tony Romo pass and returned it 25 yards for a touchdown.  In the second quarter, Romo was intercepted yet again, this time by defensive end Chris Kelsay, who almost effortlessly ran the ball in for another score.  Dallas seemed cooked, well-done even, if you count the 103-yard kick-off runback by Terrence McGee.  The Bills were up by 11 points going into the fourth quarter and clearly had momentum, and Romo’s errant arm, on their side.  Then the Bills remembered they’re the Bills.

Lesson to NFL coaches who haven’t already learned this the hard way…  don’t stop playing until the clock reads 0:00.  Dallas narrowed the lead to eight early in the fourth quarter then scored again with twenty seconds left on the clock.  Patrick Clayton caught the touchdown pass, but Big D still needed a two-point conversion to tie… which they failed to convert.  Dallas recovered the onside kick attempt and proceeded to chew up enough yards to get into field goal range.

Then Nick Folk broke Buffalo’s hearts… twice.  After splitting the uprights with a booming 53-yard field goal, the referees revealed Coach Jauron had called time out in time.  Well, the second time was a charm for Nick Folk as he put his next attempt in nearly exactly through the uprights, like a dagger through Buffalo’s heart.

This game served as a reminder to just how little it takes to lose a game that you’ve already inked in the win column, and how easily a team on a roll can steal victory from the arms of defeat.  The undefeated Cowboys now take on arguably the best team in the league, while the Bills are left to salvage their season and wonder what could have been.