The Dallas Cowboys’ and the Texas A&M Aggies’ recent games had coincidental connections.

Never having played a down in football, I asked ESPN Austin’s Sean Adams what similarities he saw between the Cowboys and Aggies in their recent performances.

“Mistakes, focus and leadership,” Adams said.

Before defeating Texas Tech last weekend, A&M had two games where first-half leads ended in losses. A&M started out strong against both teams, leading 35 to 17 at the half against the University of Arkansas Razorbacks and 20-3 at the half against the Oklahoma State University (OSU) Cowboys.In both games, they lost momentum after halftime and let turnovers take control of their offense. They fell 30-29 against the Cowboys and 42-38 against the Razorbacks.

When the Dallas Cowboys faced the 4-0 Lions at home, Dallas came out strong, just like A&M. The Cowboys led the Lions 20-3 at the half—sound familiar?

Returning to the field, Dallas gave the Lions 31 points due to turnovers, ultimately falling 30-34.

A&M’s mistake against OSU was turnovers in the third quarter, allowing the Cowboys back in the game. The same thing happened against the Razorbacks.

The Cowboys had similar mistakes against the Lions. Tony Romo threw three interceptions. Cowboys’ head coach Jason Garrett said after the game, “Tony Romo made critical mistakes.”

While many blame the loss on conservative play calling, referring to the decision not to go for it on fourth and short while A&M offense averages over seven yards per carry, the offense’s inability to keep control of the ball didn’t give head coach Sherman any confidence to go for it in these situations. When A&M traveled to Lubbock, they didn’t let any second half turnovers cause another collapse. In fact, A&M completed a game with no turnovers. “It seems like it’s been forever since we’ve had this feeling,” Sherman said after the 45-40 win.