PHILADELPHIA – There's plenty that can be said about a Week 15 win within the division – the Cowboys are currently atop the NFC East standings, after all.
As many members of the roster pointed out Sunday night, however, beating the Eagles won't matter much if the Cowboys can't maintain the pace in the final two weeks of the season.
"If we lose two games we'll be 10-6 and out of it," said Orlando Scandrick. "It ain't time to start crowning or saying what this says about this team. We need to keep our heads down and have tunnel vision and move on to the next."
Scandrick's quote was in response to a questions about the accomplishment of downing the Eagles and winning a 10th game – and what it says about the Cowboys. It's true that the Cowboys achieved their first double-digit win season since 2009. The simple truth is, though, that Philadelphia holds the division tiebreaker. A Dallas loss and an Eagles win in either of the next two weeks sends the Cowboys back to square one – potentially missing the playoffs.
As Cowboys coach Jason Garrett has maintained throughout this season, the Cowboys' solution is to worry about themselves.
"We have two games to go, and we've got to stay focused. That's what it's all about," said Dez Bryant. "We've got to just pay attention to each other – we can't get caught up in what's going on around the league. Focus on what we're doing, and that's exactly what we're going to do."
That'll be music to Garrett's ears, as many of his players adhered to his oft-repeated mantra during the scrum of the postgame locker room. Regardless of any other NFC scenarios, defeating Philadelphia on Sunday means the Cowboys will make the postseason with two more wins.
"The standard for this team is higher than that," said Zack Martin. "We have two left, and we're looking to win them all. No one is satisfied with 10 wins."
At the same time, it's hard not to consider the big picture when considering the fact that this Cowboys team is guaranteed to finish with at least 10 wins – if not more. Coming off a disappointing 2013 season, and an offseason that saw so much turnover, it's reasonable to expect some degree of happiness at the accomplishment.
"You know, a lot of people chose us to win three games," said Jeremy Mincey. "I would look at it and see 'Oh, they're signing Mincey – they're not going to win.'"
That's bound to be short-lived satisfaction, however. The next opponent, already less than a week away is Indianapolis. By beating Houston on Sunday afternoon, the Colts clinched their division and a playoff spot – a great contrast for just how much the Cowboys have left to accomplish.
"We get to enjoy this a little bit. We've got a three-hour flight and a day off," Scandrick said. "We get back in on Tuesday, clean up the mistakes in this game and look forward to Indy. That's a good football team – that's a first-place football team and the AFC South champs."
