Lacie's Line-Up: NFL News
Lacie's Line-Up: NFL News
A TIE IN FOOTBALL.....NO THANK YOU!
One second on the clock. A kick that erases a night of grit. And a result that leaves everyone unsatisfied. We walk through a chaotic Cowboys-Packers showdown that delivered everything but a winner—then pull the lens back to ask whether the NFL’s overtime rules are doing right by players and fans. From the opening gut-punch to the halftime surge, we break down how Dak steadied the offense behind a battered line, why George Pickens clicked as a go-to option without CeeDee, and how KaVontae Turpin’s speed kept Green Bay honest down the sidelines.
The most revealing moments came late: a brilliant adjustment by Jalen Tolbert to set up first-and-goal, conservative play selection that tightened the field, and a field goal that put the game on the defense’s shoulders. On the other side, Green Bay’s bizarre time management—burned timeouts, inbounds checkdowns, and a late heave into traffic—nearly handed Dallas a signature win before that final tick survived review. We don’t hold back on the bigger issue either: a 10-minute overtime that can end in a tie undermines the sport’s promise of a definitive result. We explore better solutions, from post-possession sudden victory to mandatory two-point tries, that keep fairness without accepting limbo.
Looking ahead, we size up the Jets matchup and the swelling injury report that could reshape roles again. The path forward is clear: lean into the run game that’s quietly become the offense’s backbone, keep Dak on schedule with movement and play action, and clamp down on penalties that extend drives. If this tie felt like a loss, the response has to look like a reset. If you’re fired up about the OT rules—or the fourth-down call near the goal line—drop your take, subscribe for next week’s breakdown, and share this with a fan who hates that third column as much as you do.
No tying in football shouldn't be a thing. I don't think it's right. We are not soccer. There is a lot to unpack with this game that happened on Sunday night. So let's not waste any more time. Lacey's lineup kicks off right now. All right, let's set the stage on Sunday night football. Packers are coming in. They have dominated us at home. Obviously, Micah Parsons returned to home. And it's all stacked against the Cowboys. Not only did we lose CeeDee Lamb, we were out of crucial offensive linemen like Tyler Booker and Cooper BB, all of them. So we had less protection for Dak. So in my mind, I'm like, preparing for this loss, maybe even a beating like we endured for the playoff game against them. But then you have Micah who's hungry and wanting to prove a point, and we don't have an offensive line. Like I was scared for Dak's life. I was scared for Dak's life. So that was kind of the mentality that I had going into this game. I was laid back. I kind of was like, this is what it is. Um, I still think we won the trade because of how we're gonna be in the future based on what they are now. But what the heck happened, guys? We were we were hanging with them. I mean, we truly were. And now it started off, right? They scored really quickly, and then all we got was a full goal, and then they scored again, so it's 14 to 3. So you're kind of starting like, this is how this is gonna be. We're just kind of accepting this loss like it is, but then all of a sudden, like Dak is playing extremely well. Extremely well. I have to give it to him. I mean, he is producing, he doesn't have you know all of his weapons available. He was moving in the pocket, he ran when he needed to, which is crazy, and he was avoiding sacks a lot. I mean, they they tried to give Micah Parsons us a sack, which Dak was moving, and it was a crucial one that stopped us from scoring. So I will give Micah his roses on that one, but it's not a sack because it wasn't in the pocket, so I'm not gonna agree with that stat. But here we are. We're up at halftime, and we're like, okay, like what is this? George Pickens. I don't know. Dallas looks good on George Pickens. We know that he comes from being a hothead. We know the turmoil that he caused at the Steelers, and I didn't know how it was gonna go because he wants to be number one, but he was coming into CD, who is clearly our number one. But he has taken his role and he was great, guys, on Sunday. He was so good. He was making the plays when we needed him to. He was Dak's go-to guy. He that one unbelievable catch right there at the goal line where he jumped up and that 50-50 ball and was able to secure it and put us at first and goal. Those were huge catches. I mean, he now has four touchdowns or five touchdowns with the Dallas Cowboys, where he only had four the year before, the entire season with the Steelers. So Pickens, I am loving this pickup, if that makes sense. Pickens pickup. But I do like what he's doing. I think he's got this mentality. Now, I don't know if it's short-lived. We'll have to see how that finds out. But so far, through these first weeks, I've been very impressed by him. Yes, he had a couple of moments of missing some crucial balls, but overall, he has come through for us more than he hasn't. So very, very proud of the way that he was. And then you have Turpin, guys. Turpin is our secret weapon. I've always said, I was like, just give him the slant pass and he will just fly. But we were throwing him some long deep balls, he was tippy-toeing in bounds, he made some crucials. So the guys stepped up and with CD being out, and they filled those roles beautifully. Turpin and pickens were unstoppable. It was great. And then you had, you know, what happened in overtime, which we're about to get to, so I don't want to jump ahead of myself here. But we were hanging, and then it became kind of stagnant in the second half to where it was just trading off, you know, one touchdown, touchdown, like we were just trading off. So I was like, oh man, like if we can take it this into overtime, this will be great. And of course, when it comes down to Brandon Aubrey, who is butter, like I was feeling really good about it. So here we are, overtime. Overtime. So I'm like, you know, at this point we're winning, right? Like we went into overtime with the Packers, who are supposed to be the team to beat in the NFC, and who stole Micah from us, and this is their all-in year. So with our banged up crew and the environment that we were in for this game and the mentality and the emotions flowing, guys, we're in overtime. So now, Cowboy fans, we're finding hope, we're getting excited, we can do this. Then overtime. Let's talk about it. So they changed the rules for anyone that didn't know. It used to be that whoever scored first won the game in overtime, unless it was a field goal. So whoever got the touchdown first. So if a team got a touchdown on their first drive, the game was over and the other side didn't even get to touch the ball. I don't mind changing that because I don't think it is fair for a team to go in and just rely and not be able to have the ball back in their hands for a chance in overtime. So I'm okay with that change. What I'm not okay with is now it's just 10 minutes, and if it's no, if it's still a tie at the end, you just end in a tie. When is football, is it okay to end in a tie? We are not soccer. We don't agree with that. We don't think it's right. Like we are not okay with this outcome. I mean, it was just like a win knocked out of us, I think, for both teams. I mean, what does it even mean? It doesn't help us. I mean, it might as well be a loss, right? Because you don't get that win column. I mean, that third asterisk, what is that? Like every time I see it come on, I'm like, what even is this? Like, we don't do this in football. It shouldn't be a thing. What if you had all these teams start tying? How would you even consider a playoff run? Like, what would you do then? Would it take that in order to change this rule again? Not okay with it. I don't even think I had kind of grasped that it could end in a tie because we've never really seen it or been around it, and I just wasn't expecting that it would come down to that. But a tie. So we're in overtime. We decide that we, you know, are gonna kick off because that's what you want to do in overtime now, because you want to see what you have to get based on what they get before that. So I'm okay with that choice that we gave. Well, it came down, and the Packers. Um, I guess it was us first. So we came and we were moving the ball. We were great. Now, I think it was very lucky. It was a Hail Mary in a in a sense, not truly a Hail Mary, but Dak threw that ball out, ball up, and Tolbert came back to the ball. Unbelievable catch. The way he know identified that the ball was short, he came out of the end zone, caught this ball, made sure two feet were down. We are inside the 10. I mean, I think we're inside the five, maybe first and goal. Like, score a touchdown. What's if you guys listened to me last week, what is the best part of our game right now? Our running. Our running game. Surprisingly so, our running game is the best part about us. Had they stopped Javante Williams all game? No. He was averaging at least five to six yards per carry in that game. The play calling killed us. I don't know why we thought we had to do it in the air, and then it was you just go backwards. You know it, like do a run, do a play action, do something like that, but don't let it come to where you know that we have to throw it on third down. So they stop us. We have to hit a field goal. Obviously, Aubrey gets us the field goal, we're up three, four minutes left to go. Long drive. Now we gotta rely on our defense, which we do not feel good about that at all, which is another reason I feel like you kind of just go for it on that fourth down. But it's a 50-50 call. I get that. But when your defense is playing horrible, I think you go for the kill shot. I mean, really, you're the underdog in this game. You're at home, you had the momentum going on you. I think you go for it. But we didn't. We hit, and now Packers are on offense. Their time management was so bad. So bad. I mean, we gave them some penalties, which is what our defense is doing, which sucks, to help them move down the field. They called timeouts, which was crazy. This is where I have a question mark over Jordan Love. I really do. I think he has all the weapons. I think he's a good player, but I still think he is not experienced enough to know what to do in those moments because he literally was trying to give us the game. They're moving down. It's like 40 or I guess we're under a minute now. He holds the ball way longer than he's supposed to, and then he did his check down, guys. Check down inbounds with no timeouts. So he's inside. I mean, they are in field goal range, but he does a check down, they're out of timeouts, and so it's seven seconds left in the game. He snaps it, he pulls back, he holds the ball way too long, throws it into a lot of coverage, it hits our defender in the back, falls. One second left on the clock. No, come on. Like, aren't we at home, cowboy fans? Isn't our guy the one controlling the clock? I'm not saying cheat, but I'm just saying let the time run out. I really think if you go back and watch these, like, you know, where they do it in slow motion of when the ball hits the ground and when it hits, you know, strikes zero, it's like our guy stopped the clock when it hit the defender. I really think time would have run out if we would have looked for it, or at least let it run out and let them review it and see. I don't know. I just, and then it's like if it would have hit that, if it wouldn't have hit that defender and flew, it definitely would have been one second out. It's just all things had to go terribly wrong in order for this outcome to happen. And it just, it did. It did. We let it stop one second left on the clock. It allowed, you know, the time to stop because it was an incomplete pass, and it allowed their kicker to come out. And after such a dramatic game, they kick the field goal and it ends in a tie. I still can't wrap my head around it. I don't think most people can, not even cowboy fans. Um, it's just it's a terrible feeling. You don't you don't watch a game like that and have your emotions high or things and you walk away with nobody winning or losing that game. I don't think it's right. I think football needs to reevaluate it. I don't care if we have to go into, you know, kind of college football rules where, you know, the next time I think both get it. If they hit it, it's just the next person to score because now both sides have held the ball. Or you make them go for two or anything like that. Like you have to have a winner. This tie has just made me sick, guys. It has made me sick, and I know it's made a lot of you guys sick as well, but this is just not what football fans are accustomed to, nor do we want. So whoever's making these calls and making these decisions, please listen clearly. We do not do ties. It does not, I mean, it doesn't help us. Like it's over there. It didn't give us a win, so it might as well be a loss. Like it is a loss for both teams in my eyes. It's not like anyone else, I think, is gonna tie the rest of the season to make this a bigger deal than it is. The only thing I could take away from it was I think it was a bigger loss for Packers than it was for us because of, you know, our personnel, our injuries, kind of our team makeup compared to theirs on paper. I mean, there was a huge spread on Packers beating us at home, and that's just kind of been the case. And I think everybody was expecting that. So for us to hold on and end in this stupid tie, I mean, really, if you're gonna look at who benefited from it the most, I mean, you would have to say the Cowboys, just because we weren't expected to be in it, and this is their all-in year, and they're the NFC team to beat, and they lost to the Browns the week before, and then they tie the Cowboys. Something's wrong in Green Bay, which I'm not mad about. I I like seeing them not be dominant, especially, you know, taking one of our generational players. So it's a lot to process, guys. I'm not okay with it. Tie, I don't think I'll ever be okay with it. I think we need to voice up and let people know that football does not end in ties. Uh, this year, maybe it was a you know, see how it goes year, but we want to see it go next year. Not good. I mean, even last night, if you were looking at the 49ers LA game, which is a crazy game too, based on all the injuries that the 49ers are, and they somehow find the win, but it almost came down to a tie too. And I was like, oh my gosh, if they tie here, like it really is gonna explode. But it's just it's not what we want. Football fans, we want a clear winner, we want a clear loser, and we want to see that. We do not want that third line, and that is not something that we want ever again. So, NFL, we need to get rid of that ASAP. We're tired of it, not gonna happen. And I think coaches and everybody will see that too. So it's a tie. First time I've seen it in my lifetime. I hope I never see it again. It's just sickening. You just don't really know how to feel in that moment. I know the players don't, I know the coaches don't, I know the fans definitely don't. So let me know what you guys think. I mean, there's no tying in football, there's tying in soccer, and that's why we don't play soccer, or at least talk about soccer on here. So it is what it is. We got to move on this weekend. Um, obviously, it's the Jets, they've been struggling. It is something that we should, but if anybody's following the Cowboys, if you've seen the injury report for the week and how it grew from Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday, it's got me extremely worried. I mean, our injury port is bad. I mean, Turpin didn't play on Thursday. We added Nealand. Um, he didn't play, he has an injury now. There is a lot of banged up guys. Now, will they play? I don't know. I just normally when it's did not play on a Thursday, normally we don't see them play on a Sunday. So things could get, I don't want us to underestimate. I mean, Justin Fields is a good quarterback and he can change the game. And if we don't have, if we have a lot of injuries, also with the defense that we are right now, I mean, this could not, this is definitely not in the win column. I don't think cowboy fans ever think any game is just a win column, but this could get interesting this weekend. We'll see what the final injury report says and see what we do against the Jets. Play at noon. I'm hoping I can report a win next week for you guys, for myself as well. Definitely no ties. We are done with ties, but we'll see how it goes. Hopefully, these guys can get back once we get over, Sean. But we just can't dig ourselves too big of a hole. Like I said, this tie is like a loss. So we are already way behind and we got to start turning this around, especially in this little stretch before Thanksgiving when our schedule gets even more insane. So come on, cowboy fans, come on, cowboy players, let's find a way to get this win this weekend. So I will look forward to reporting next week. Until then, your girl is signing off.