by Mack Prioleau

The 2015-16 season for the Dallas Cowboys will be one that many fans hope to forget. The team currently sits in last place in the NFC East, with a 3-8 record. However, the team and fans are not suffering because they their playoff hopes are dead, it is actually the opposite.

The Dallas Cowboys remain just two games out of first place in the division. The Washington Redskins beat the New York Giants on Sunday, giving both squads a record of 5-6. With five games left in the season, the Cowboys are still actually in contention to win the division.

Unfortunately, the Cowboys are once again Romo-less. The quarterback suffered a hairline fracture in his left collarbone in the vicinity of the previous break. The team will not be forced to finish the season with Romo on the sidelines.

This is a devastating blow for a team that is has endured a painful 0-8 record in his absence. Matt Cassel will now be thrusted back into the spotlight, with everyone wondering if he can lead the Cowboys to even one win this season, let alone enough wins to secure the division.

“We have to look at ourselves in the mirror and take full responsibility for it,” Garrett said after the loss to the Panthers. “We have to decide over the next few days what we want to be; what we want to be individually; what we want to be collectively. When we get back together again, early next week to recommit and be the type of team we’re capable of being. There’s nothing we can do to what’s happened up to this point. What we have to do if focus on going forward, learn from the experience we’ve had and be hardened by the experience we’ve had and move forward, take it day by day, game by game.”

Until the Cowboys can prove they are capable of winning a game without Romo, there is no use going through the calculations to see how the Cowboys can make the playoffs. This is a tough pill to swallow for a team with so much promise and a huge opportunity right within their grasp.

Cassel will get his second run as the Cowboys’ starting quarterback after posting four touchdown passes and five interceptions in his previous four starts.

The Cowboys will play a pivotal division game against the NFC East leading Redskins next Monday night. If the Cowboys wish to remain in contention for the playoffs, they will need to secure a victory. The Cowboys still remain confident and ready to reverse the current trends this season.

“We’re still trying to battle,” safety Barry Church said. “It’s definitely going to be hard. We put ourselves in a huge hole right now. We definitely got to battle. There’s no conceding anything. Hopefully the rest of the team feels that way.”

Tony Romo made his long anticipated return to the field against the Miami Dolphins on Sunday. The Cowboys struggled greatly in his absences this season, having lost seven consecutive games.

The star quarterback did not necessarily have a great game in his return, but he provided just enough of a spark to lift the team to a 24-14 victory. Romo finished with 227 yards passing, along with two touchdowns and two interceptions.

Romo’s presence in the pocket was exactly what the team has been missing. With the passing game more of a threat, the ground attack opened up for an impressive 166 yards. Darren McFadden accounted for 129 yards alone

The Dallas Cowboys’ defense, which found itself on the field far too often during Romo’s absence, benefited from Romo’s return as well. His command of the offense helped the Cowboys dominate  the time of possession, 28:50 to 21:20.

The Cowboys entered the season as the favorites to win the division, but after Romo broke his left clavicle in a Week 2 win, the team struggled to move the ball. Their 0-7 record in his absence was the team’s longest losing streak since 1989.

Following the win Sunday, the Cowboys now find themselves at 3-7. Despite their record, the Cowboys remain only two games back in the N.F.C. East. The New York Giants currently sit at the top of the division with a record of 5-5.

The Cowboys will have their work cut out for them this week with the undefeated Carolina Panthers coming into town on Thursday. Each game will be a must-win should they want any chance of making the playoffs this season.

The Dallas Cowboys released backup quarterback Brandon Weeden on Tuesday, in an effort to make room for Tony Romo’s return to the active roster.

Cowboys officials announced that they were still determining what to do with their quarterback depth, but it appears the team will look to finish out the season with just Romo and Matt Cassel at the position.

The news to release Brandon Weeden does not come as much as a surprise. Weeden started in three games for the Cowboys this season, failing to win a single one of them. The Cowboys signed Weeden to the veteran minimum deal during the 2014 offseason, after he was released by the Cleveland Browns. During his stint in Dallas, he filled in admirably, helping lead the teams to wins against Jacksonville, Indianapolis and Washington in 2014, in addition to helping the team close out a Week 2 win in Philadelphia this year.

Weeden was eventually replaced by Matt Cassel as the starting quarterback during the Week 6 bye, however, Cassel has been unable to get the job done either. Following their loss to Tampa Bay over the weekend, the Cowboys record has now fallen to 2-7.

Tony Romo fractured his left collarbone back in Week 2 and has missed every game ever since. Romo is expected to return to the field this week against the Miami Dolphins. He was placed on short-term injured reserve after the injury, making this week (Week 11), the earliest that he could return.

In two games this season, Romo has thrown for 551 yards and three touchdowns with a 98.8 passer rating. Romo has a career record of 77-48.

While Romo’s return to the field may be too late to help push the Cowboys into the playoff race, nonetheless, his return to the field will provide some much needed excitement and firepower to the offense.

Despite the loss to the Philadelphia Eagles on Sunday night, Matt Cassel has managed to keep the Dallas Cowboys competitive. Cassel was able to lead the Cowboys down the field to tie the game with a field goal at the end of regulation.

After taking over quarterback responsibilities for Brandon Weeden in Week 6, Matt Cassel has done a solid job. Last night was definitely his best performance thus far.

Cassel led the team on three scoring drives in the fourth quarter to force overtime. He finished the game a passer rating of 105.0, which included 299 yards on 25 of 28 passing, along with three touchdowns and one interception.

Most importantly, Cassel understands the urgency to keep the Cowboys competitive. This was evident after his 18-yard lob into the end zone, intended for none other than Dez Bryant.

“I was exactly throwing it to Dez, There’s no doubt about that,” Cassel said post-game. “That’s where I wanted to throw it.”

Unfortunately, the desperation plays that kept the Cowboys in the game, were accompanied by some painful mistakes. On a short pass to Darren McFadden on the previous drive, Eagles linebacker Jordan Hicks was able to jump the route and return the interception 67 yards for a touchdown.

Eagles vs. Cowboys | Week 9 Highlights | NFL

“Every week that you are in this offense and every week that I am here, I feel better and better and more confident in the huddle,” Cassel said. “I feel more confidence understanding the plays and the premise of the plays, where we are supposed to be going with the ball and also understanding our personnel.”

Although he played a great game, Dallas, yet again, found themselves on the losing end.

The Cowboys have been plagued by injuries this season, most notably losing pro-bowlers Dez Bryant and Tony Romo for much of the season. Thankfully Dez Bryant has returned to the field, but after 6 consecutive losses, the Cowboys appear desperate to get Romo back as well.

Romo is eligible to return November 22 at Miami. Assuming that he is healthy enough to play, Cassel would have one more start against Tampa Bay next Sunday. The team needs a win to get their season back on track and keep their playoff hopes alive.

New Zealand defeated to Australia in the final game of the Rugby World Cup Finals, becoming the first team to ever win consecutive titles. The All Blacks took down the Wallabies at Twickenham by a score of 34-17.

Despite a second-half surge from Australia, New Zealand’s veteran presence held guide the squad to their third World Cup title in history. New Zealand finished off the Rugby World Cup with two impressive over some of the worlds best teams, including South Africa last week. 

Dan Cater proved to be the man-of-the match, providing four penalty goals in total, as well as two conversions and a late drop goal. The dropped goal from Carter came at a critical time at the match, as Australia had narrowed the score to 21-17.

“I was just yelling at the ball, ‘Go! Go!'” Carter stated amid the celebrations on Twickenham. “I wasn’t sure I had enough. I was just relieved to see it go over.”

The All Blacks executed an impressive game plan. They were able to shut the Wallabies out of the game for long stretches of the match. The Wallabies defending was able to keep the game competitive for much of the match, but in the end New Zealand proved to be too powerful a team.

Australia coach Michael Cheika was even impressed with New Zealand’s performance, admitting his team had been outplayed by one of the best squads rugby has seen. “New Zealand won the game fair and square. They have been probably the best team since the last World Cup.”

“It’s a special feeling to be part of such a great team,” stated Carter after the match.

At a ceremony held in London on Sunday, Dan Carter was named the World Rugby player of the year for the third time. Carter has announced his retirement from international rugby with a career that includes a record 1,598 points in 112 appearances. Dan Carter expected to continue his rugby career at the club level in France.

New Zealand, the reigning champions, beat South Africa over the weekend to reach their second straight World Cup final. New Zealand is now only one win away from becoming the first team in rugby union history to successfully defend a world cup title.

South Africa played an exception match, despite the weather conditions, but it proved to not be enough to take down their southern-hemisphere counterparts. The final score resulted in a 20-18 score in favor of New Zealand.

Although they have been ranked as the number one team in the world, early on the All Blacks played nothing like that of a champion. The Springboks were consistently able to breakdown any fierce scrap New Zealand provided. New Zealand trailed by five points at halftime and a man down to follow.

However, the All Blacks responded in the second half and it was clear that the game changed. By the time Jerome Kaino returned, Daniel Carter had reduced the deficit to two points with a 40-metre drop goal and a key substitution had been made.

The All Blacks entered the final quarter with a 20-15 lead. As the rain poured down from the sky, New Zealand proved to have just enough in the tank to turn the lights out on the Springboks World Cup campaign.

South Africa was able to redeem themselves and provide great competition, after beginning the tournament in the worst way possible against Japan. Although both defeats ended with a two-point defeat, they can at least walk away from the loss to New Zealand was honour. The Springboks left nothing behind, playing a ruthless match for its entirety.

As for New Zealand, they move on to the final match against Australia for the right to be crowned champions. While the All Blacks entered the tournament as strong favorites to claim back-to-back world titles, Australia appears ready to prevent the All Blacks from achieving such a feat. The match will take place at Twickenham Stadium, London on Saturday, October 31.

The Rugby World Cup is heating up, as the remaining four teams prepare for semifinals action. South Africa, New Zealand, Argentina and Australia all secured spots over the weekend, bringing them one step closer to the championship match. This is the first time in World Cup history that the penultimate round will not include a European nation.

South Africa was the first team to advance over the weekend, with a 23-19 win over Wales at London’s Twickenham Stadium. The Springboks have rebounded well, after beginning the tournament with an embarrassing first-round loss to Japan.

While it appeared that Wales was poised to take down South Africa on Saturday — having led for the majority of the second half — in the end Wales could not hold on. A 75th-minute try by Fourie du Preez lifted South Africa past the determined Welsh squad.

The second quarterfinal match, between New Zealand and France, proved to be much less competitive. New Zealand dominated to match, eventually winning by a score of 62-12. Julian Savea played an amazing game, finishing with three tries, including one in the 38th minute where he crushed the French defenders.

Argentina, arguably the most surprising team to reach semifinal play, took down Ireland on Sunday morning by a score of 43 to 20. Ireland played great during pool play, outscoring opponents 134 to 35, but struggled against Argentina without star flyhalf Johnny Sexton.

The last semifinals spot was taken by Australia, after knocking off Scotland 35-34 in the most intense match of the tournament thus far. It appeared that Scotland was going to pull of the upset after Mark Bennett intercepted a pass in the 75th minute and took it in for the go-ahead try. But a controversial call with 5 minutes left in the match on a Scottish lineout gave the Wallabies a penalty kick in Scotland’s end. Bernard Foley was able to capitalize on the kick to give Australia the stunning win.

South Africa will face the defending champion New Zealand on Saturday, which will be broadcast on NBC at 11 a.m ET. Argentina will match up against Australia on Sunday.

South Africa has rattled off three consecutive victories since their shocking loss to Japan in the opening round of the Rugby World Cup, giving them a great deal of confidence going into their quarter-final match against Wales.

The Springboks believe they have the ability to repeat their 2007 World Cup success. “This team has the same potential to achieve something great,” said winger Bryan Habana, who scored eight times in 2007. “After that first weekend shock loss against Japan we had to stand up and be counted.”

South Africa’s World Cup campaign began in quite possibly the worst way possible with the loss to Japan. However, the team responded well with victories over Samoa, Scotland and most recently the United States to finish out Pool B play. The Springboks, the top performer in Pool B, finished with a total of 16 points edging out Scotland who finished with 10 points.

Habana has been dominate thus far, scoring three times in 21 second-half minutes against the United States. His hat trick on Saturday lifted him to join New Zealand legend Jonah Lomu at the top of the all-time World Cup try-scorers list with 15 tries.

The winger is among eight remaining players from Jake White’s squad that lifted the Webb Ellis Trophy in Paris back in 2007. The leadership from these remaining players, especially Habana, has provided much needed stability for the team, which has faced a great deal of criticism over the last several weeks.

“We have learnt quite a few lessons over the last three weeks and we can use those going into this knockout phase where you have eight of the best teams in the world competing for that little cup called Bill.” stated Habana.

The Springboks 2015 World Cup campaign certainly has a different look than it did in 2007. This year the squad has been plagued with injuries, had inconsistent play and of course the opening round loss. In 2007 South Africa had a fairly smooth run into the World Cup.

But just because there have been obstacles along the way, does not mean Habana or anyone else on the roster questions their ability to finish on top. “What happened in the past needs to stay in the past, Saturday is the only thing that counts now,” said Pat Lambie of the Springboks.

South Africa will face Wales on Saturday, who recently ended a run of 16 consecutive defeats against the Springboks back in November 2014. “We’ll have a look at what happened back in Cardiff in November and try to learn from those experiences, but we want to focus on ourselves and what we do well,” continued Lambie.

The South African Rugby team pulled out another win over the weekend to keep their Rugby World Cup hopes alive. Pitted against Scotland, arguably their toughest competition thus far, the Springboks secured the victory by a score of 34-16.

Heading into the World Cup, many expected South Africa to advance through Pool B fairly easily. Afterall, they are the third-ranked ranked team in the world and one of the best in the history of the sport. But after the Springboks were upset by Japan in their first game, doubts began to spread and many questioned how strong the team truly was.

South Africa has responded well to the embarrassing loss to Japan, finishing with two consecutive victories. They came out strong against Scotland, with flanker Schalk Burger and Winger JP Pietersen dominating the first half, leading to a 20-3 lead at the interval.

Scotland was able to fight back in the second half, pulling the score to 23-16 at one point. But South Africa proved to be the stronger of a team and continually halted any momentum by Scotland. It was clear that South Africa was not going to let another game get away from them.

The Springboks coach, Heyneke Meyer conveyed his relief after the match. “I thank the Lord for being with us. It’s been a tough two weeks,” he stated. “In the second half we lost momentum. But you have to give credit to Scotland. We knew this was a must-win.”

In the end, the Springboks had to overcome a great deal of adversity  in order to advance to the next round of the tournament. The win over Scotland shows that the Springboks are once again a formidable opponent.

South Africa will finish out Pool B play against the the United States on Wednesday. Scotland, ranked second in the Pool B table, will take on Samoa next Saturday. A victory in that game will qualify them for the next round of play.

Check out highlights from the exciting match below.

A week has passed since the Springboks opened their 2015 Rugby World Cup push with a surprising loss to Japan. The South African national team is one of the sport’s most successful teams. Japan entered the game with only one win in 24 previous World Cup matches.

There was no question that the defeat was an embarrassment for South Africa. The team’s coach, Heyneke Meyer publicly actually apologized to the nation for the loss. The Springboks’ captain, Jean de Villiers, warned that the loss could potentially break the country apart. This shows just how serious South Africa takes their rugby and how shocking this loss truly was.

All eyes were on Springboks as they entered play against Samoa yesterday, in the north of England. No one in South Africa new what to expect despite having one of the best teams in the world. There was no hiding that there were doubts about the Springboks chances following the loss to Japan; doubt is not a word commonly associated with South Africa when it comes to rugby.

“Before the Japanese match, I wouldn’t have been worried,” said Paul Fields, a South African fan who had journeyed from London that morning to support his beloved team. “But after how we played, you just can’t tell what’s going to happen.”

Despite the doubts, the passionate Springboks fans came together to cheer on their team. The 42,000-person stadium turned into a sea of green and gold, with South African fans outnumbering the Samoans by a ratio of 10 to one. For all intents and purposes, this was a home game for South Africa.

The Springboks got off to a slow start, adding some additional stress to the lives of the South African faithful. But the team soon got it together and finished the match strong. The electric atmosphere in support of South Africa helped push the Springboks towards a decisive victory by a score of 46-6. South Africa will face Scotland next, which will likely the toughest challenge yet.

Information courtesy of NY Times.