So who gets the blame?
Joe HUGHES LEDGER STAFF WRITER

It has been five days ... and I am still sick.

The pain and anguish of a season left with unfulfilled expectations hit me like a stack of bricks Sunday after Dallas' 21-17 loss to the New York Giants on Sunday. It was a game that was supposed to end a decade's worth of losses in the postseason and mark the team's arrival back at the top as one of the NFL's elite.

Instead, I woke up Monday morning with baggy eyes due to a night of tossing and turning in my bed and knots in my stomach the size of eagles that became larger once I turned on the radio just to hear the station say "...this is a day dedicated to celebrate a loss by the Cowboys."

Such an ending to an incredible season was unforeseen and left me and a scores of other Cowboys fans across the country scratching our heads and wondering what went wrong.

For starters, Jessica Simpson had nothing to do with how quarterback Tony Romo performed on the field - she distracted him enough the week before in Mexico. The media circus surrounding an outing during the team's bye week caused a stir in Valley Ranch, Texas for much of the week leading up to the game.

But Romo played a relatively consistent game with the exception of an intentional grounding penalty and his desperate heave to the end zone that was intercepted at the end of the game. So whatever Simpson did during that trip worked wonders ... just as long as she is not in Texas Stadium working her magic.

So who's next in the blame game - maybe the overrated Dallas defense that looked slow and unimpressive during the team's slide toward the end of the season. Players such as Roy Williams and DeMarcus Ware, supposed stars on that side of the ball, played out of position and tackled worse than a 6th grade schoolgirl.

However, the Cowboys defense gave the team multiple chances to win in the second half, giving Romo and the offense good field position setting up what could have been potential game winning drives. So scratch the defense off the list ... it's not their fault.

Terrell Owens injury could be used, but he played at a high level during the game, outrunning most Giant defenders throughout the contest.

The only other receiver who could get blamed for anything is Patrick Crayton, who for most of the year has backed up his high volume of trash talking by making clutch catches. But the "most dependable" receiver on the team could not even make the easy grabs when the opportunities presented themselves. Though he could be blamed for many things during the contest, I will not do that because without him, me and other fans could not celebrate a 13-3 season.

But after several days of not eating right, going through a period of mourning and not watching football, I came to a conclusion - Dallas was the better team, just not on that day.

The Giants did what it took to win, though it sickens me to admit it. The way they are playing leads me to believe they might be a team of destiny.

Now that my team is out of the race, who must I root for? Of the final four teams, here is my list:

1. San Diego: At this moment, anyone playing Tom Brady and New England are at the top of my list.

2. Green Bay: Who can't root for a team whose fans wear cheese on their heads and can simply flip a switch and snow begins to fall.

3. N.Y. Giants: They are down this far for obvious reasons, but in some ways are the NFC's only hope to possibly beat the Patriots in the Super Bowl.

4. New England: Do I really have to talk about these guys? The media talks about them enough.

There you have it...my rants, raves and all. So now could you leave me alone, I have to take some Pepto Bismol to ease this pain in my stomach.

Joe Hughes (joe@gaffneyledger.com) writes feature and enterprise stories for The Gaffney Ledger.