Dallas Cowboys: Should Cowboys coach Jason Garrett admit he was wrong playing in the occupational therapy game? Prepare to be disappointed

FRISCO – If you thought that the return flight from Houston would give Jason Garrett time to think about not doing the first try, recognizing his mistakes and apologizing, you were wrong.

If you were convinced that the Cowboys head coach would dissolve into a pool of self-doubt and incrimination in the hours that followed his decision to play in those ultimate decisive moments, you were wrong.

There was no mea culpa at the Monday afternoon press conference following the 19-16 team's loss against the Texans. Garrett did not break under the media interrogation nor change his story. He patiently answered all questions without ever presenting himself as conflicting or defensive.

This gives no comfort to the legion of critics who condemn Garrett's decision to play in the last quarter of an hour of overtime. Many have no interest in hearing his reason. In their opinion, the head coach has been deceived, especially in light of the data showing that the Cowboys have managed 18 of the 19 successful attempts in fourth and a second place since the finish. Ezekiel Elliott.

The Cowboys lost to .500 for the third time this season. Critics dismiss Garrett as passive and frightened. They have no interest in what he has to say unless he concedes these points.

Prepare to be disappointed.

Again.

Just a reminder: The Cowboys faced a third and a 42-yard line in Houston in overtime. The call was an area read. Dak Prescott handed the ball over to Elliott, who was allowed to fall without a win.

Should the Cowboys quarterback have kept the ball instead of giving it to Elliott?

"He made the right decision," said Garrett, adding that the game had not allowed him to reap the necessary distance due to a blocking outage of the offensive line.

This set up a fourth and-1. The Cowboys got a fourth and a point on a point almost identical to two minutes from the first half. A quarterback s' is snuck to two meters.

But in the spirit of Garrett, this fourth and an extra hour was quite different.

"The reason we were aggressive was because we were good in these situations," Garrett said of the team's approach in recent years. "A lot of confidence in the team at the front, a lot of confidence in our runner.

"But again, the situation of the game, what we had done in attack, what we had done in defense, how long this fourth round was …

"All these factors played out."

Garrett had just seen that the Houston defense, which kept Elliott 54 yards in 20 carries, filled the league's third goal. He had no gain or lost distance on nine of his litters of the evening.

Did this go through Garrett's mind in fourth place?

"Absolutely," he says.

"It was long. I was standing right there. It was probably a yard and a half when we had it. We had a [third-down] play that we liked. Unfortunately, they did a good job arriving and stuffing. In fact, we probably lost a bit in the third part. "

Dallas's defense performance also went through Garrett's mind at this point.

The Cowboys forced three kickoffs and two turnovers and stopped the Texans on a goal line in the eight possessions before Garrett faced his fourth-and-one decision. The two goals scored by Houston in this sequence were made on 26 and 27 yard runs.

The Houston offense had gained 127 yards and averaged only 3.4 yards per game.

"It seemed logical to me, at that moment, to play and take a position on the field," Garrett said. [punter] Chris Jones a chance to trap them on the 10-yard line. Let's play defense.

"Physically, during the match, we really used them, our line of defense was towards the runner, heading for the quarterback, they were not really efficient at the wheel or at the points.

"We just felt like then, that's the way we wanted to play."

It has turned out to be a losing game. The Texans collected 72 yards, thanks in large part to the 49 yards completed by DeAndre Hopkins, who scored.

Garrett said that he thought the players understood what had been made in his decision and had not discussed it with them. Jerry Jones was part of Monday morning's post-mortem team to hear the head coach explain why he had made the decision.

Does he still have the owner's support?

"Yes," Garrett said.

Not ambiguous.

Next door: Jacksonville.

Catch David Moore on the ticket (KTCK-AM 1310 and 96.7 FM) with The Musers at 9:35 am every Monday, Wednesday and Friday and The Hardline at 4:30 pm. Tuesday and Friday during the Cowboys season.