This game was a punctuation on the season which has been mostly a disappointment. Partly to blame is a 2016 season that was filled with so many breaks and last minute successes that had the everyone (including yours truly) far too optimistic. Some regression could have been predicted in even the best case scenario (and was by some) and this season was clearly not the best case.
Perhaps fittingly this game was against the Dallas Cowboys who have endured a similarly frustrating year for some similar reasons (QB and OL play both down from previous year).