IRVING, Texas -- Poor Jerry Jones spent $1.2 billion to build the snazziest football stadium in the world, but his team can't seem to figure out how to consistently win at AT&T Stadium.
You can blame the tepid atmosphere created by the wine and cheese, if you want, or you can blame the folks in the corporate suites, who are too busy networking to get emotionally invested in the game.
Some folks talk about how the home schedule has been considerably more difficult than the road schedule.
It's all poppycock.
When the Dallas Cowboys have played good football at home this season, they've won. When they've played something less, they've lost.
That said, it would be a shame to have this unexpected feel-good season end without a trip to the playoffs because the Cowboys failed to win a home game yet again.
The Cowboys are 3-4 at AT&T Stadium this season and 25-22 overall since Jerry World opened in 2009.
Dallas leads Philadelphia by one game in the NFC East, and it needs a win Sunday against Indianapolis in AT&T Stadium to remain in control of its playoff fate.
That's why coach Jason Garrett is pondering a change to the team's game-day routine. He's loath, however, to make a change without tangible evidence that it can serve as a catalyst.
After all, one of Garrett's mantras is "home, away, moon or parking lot, it really shouldn't matter where we play. You need to be your best, regardless of circumstance."
Just so you know, the Cowboys are the only good team in the NFL that can't seem to figure out how to win in front of the hometown fans. The other five teams over .500 in the NFC are a combined 33-4 at home. In the AFC, the nine teams over .500 are a combined 48-16-1.
But if you talk to enough players, especially the leaders, they scoff at the notion there's some mysterious reason the team has struggled to win at AT&T Stadium.
The Cowboys haven't played good football in each of their four losses, and it's easy to find the tangible reasons they lost each game.
• In the opener against San Francisco, Tony Romo, who had played sparingly in preseason, threw three interceptions in his first 14 passes, and the Cowboys fell behind 21-0 in the first quarter.
• Against Washington, Romo broke two bones in his back and didn't play well after missing a portion of the game during the third and fourth quarter to have his back injury diagnosed. He returned with 1:52 left but couldn't rally the Cowboys in a 20-17 overtime loss.
• The following week, the Cowboys lost backup quarterback Brandon Weeden's only start of the season 28-17.
• On Thanksgiving Day, the Cowboys were playing their third game in 12 days and fell behind 14-0 after the first quarter.
"I went and looked at the tape from the Philadelphia game to see what really happened," defensive lineman Jeremy Mincey said. "I was running as fast as I could, but I wasn't going anywhere. I had no legs.
"We lost all those games at home, but we know why we lost them. There's no mystery: We just need to play better."
Like playing better in the first quarter.
The Cowboys have failed to score a first-quarter offensive touchdown at home in three consecutive games, and they've scored only two in seven home games.
The biggest issue for Garrett and the players is that there's no reason to legitimize an issue if the players and coaches don't really believe it's an issue.
"It has been a good thing for our team to go on the road and win in some tough environments," Garrett said. "That's something we embrace and try to apply to all areas of the team.
"The mental toughness we displayed against Philadelphia [in Week 15] was similar to the mental toughness we displayed in some other games. We really try to foster that and grow that within our team. I think our team has adopted that attitude, and we have to do a better job playing at home this week against a good opponent."
For as much as Jerry spent on the stadium, that's the least the Cowboys could do.