FRISCO, Texas – PLAYOFFS?
You got to be kidding me?
But then that's the world we live in, grabbing whatever's next.
Why, it was just the early evening of Nov. 23, the six Cowboys charter buses making their way from BWI Airport to the team hotel, already a week since Dallas was clobbered by Houston the previous Sunday, dropping their record to 3-7, their fifth consecutive loss, spurring local media members, radio talk show hosts and fans alike to basically dig the Cowboys' 2024 grave.
That was it. Season over with seven games yet to play. Fire the head coach. Turn the attention to the NFL Draft. Play the young guys, as if the injury-riddled Cowboys hadn't already been doing that out of sheer necessity.
Then within five days, two NFL games, one the next day against the Washington Commanders and a second on Thanksgiving Day against the Giants at what had been the unfriendly confines of AT&T Stadium, those very same "some people" began invoking the P-word.
The Cowboys won back-to-back games for the second time this season, the first of these two rare occurrences so far this year occurring on the road back on Sept. 26 and Oct. 6, when they beat Giants the first time around and then Pittsburgh. They pulled to 5-7, still two games under .500, breathing life back into what was fast becoming a brutal season by breaking that five-game losing streak and winning their first game of the season at home.
Now, with Christmas on the horizon, of all things, the "playoff" push suddenly was diametrically on.
Leave it to head coach Mike McCarthy to tap the brakes on such talk, becoming the voice of reason, saying the Cowboys had taken a couple of steps forward, but that they still were in the "valley of adversity."
No kidding, still, but now at least a pinhole of light shining on those previous dim hopes.
So let's take a practical look at the NFC playoff picture as the calendar has turned to December. First, let's take the current four first-place teams in the NFC out of the picture, meaning Philadelphia in the East, say Atlanta for now in the South, Detroit in the North and again for now Seattle in the West. Then the three wild-card berths, at this point with five games to play, the first two currently would be going to the 10-2 Vikings and the 9-3 Packers.
That leaves the 8-5 Commanders with the third wild-card entry. That would seem the prize the Cowboys must eye, though still 2½ games behind Washington, idle this week. But here is what makes the challenge so tough. There still are three other non-first place teams ahead of the Cowboys in the NFC with better records, all 6-6: Tampa Bay (Cowboys play Dec. 22), Arizona and the Los Angeles Rams.
Plus, who knows what takes place in the South since Atlanta technically is in first place, with a 6-6 record identical to Tampa Bay. And Seattle leads the West at 7-5, but just a one-game advantage over Arizona and the Rams.
Then there is San Francisco with the same 5-7 record as the Cowboys, but the Niners beatDallas, 30-24, back on Nov. 3.
Crowded, right? And no time to start counting on others to help your cause. Take this past Week 13 of games. Of the seven non-first place NFC teams with better records than the Cowboys, or the same (Niners), they went 5-2 – Commanders, Buccaneers, Vikings, Packers and Rams all winning, with only the Cardinals and 49ers losing.
So word to the wise: Cowboys just need to worry about winning themselves. Because chances are if they don't go at least 4-1 down the stretch to finish 9-8, with Minnesota already 10-2 and Green Bay 9-3, odds are when it comes to that third wild-card berth at least one team will finish with a 9-8 record or better.
As for the Cowboys, just keep your head down and pay attention to Cincinnati.
• Schedule-meister: So here is a deeper dive into the playoff possibilities for the seven aforementioned teams trying to fit into three potential playoff positions: NFC South champs, NFC West champs and the third wild-card spot. These seven teams have a combination of facing one another 14 times, meaning there are still 14 losses to go, assuming no ties. For example, the Cowboys must play Tampa Bay and Washington. Someone has to lose those games. Washington must play the Cowboys and Falcons (plus Eagles and Saints). Rams and Cardinals each have three games remaining against teams in this group of seven. Rams still have to play Arizona, Seattle and San Francisco, while the Cardinals still must play the Seahawks, Rams and Niners. Sure seems wise, at least with three seemingly open spots, not to starting counting anyone out, including the Cowboys. There are losses out there to be had.
• On The Corner: As a reminder, the Cowboys on Thanksgiving without Trevon Diggs still not playing and starter Josh Butler going down with a torn ACL just before half, were down to the barebones at cornerback. DaRon Bland at right corner, Jourdan Lewis moving from the slot to left corner and then in nickel Israel Mukuamu in the slot. That was it, with special teams ace C.J. Goodwin available as the emergency corner. But the picture became a little brighter on Wednesday with Diggs at least returning for the very light practice and Cowboys former starting corner Amani Oruwariye, on IR since Oct. 30, beginning his 21-day return-to-practice window, with the possibility of being available for Monday night's game against Cincinnati. That helps since rookie Caelen Carson and Butler have been moved to IR.
• The Maz: Yep Mazi Smith, the second-year nose tackle living up to his first-round draft status, especially in these past four games. After a rough rookie year, The Maz as emerged, using his strength up front to record 15 tackles over these past four games, a half-sack and two tackles for loss. "Just trying to be a force," Mazi said after the Cowboys returned to practice on Wednesday. And when asked his thoughts on the praise being heaped upon him by Micah Parsons of late, he says, "I can't let him down, have a lot of respect for Micah – I can't let myself down." His play over this time period, along with having played right at 50 percent of the defensive snaps this season, is one reason why Dallas has done a much better job stopping the run over the past two games. The Cowboys went from giving up 160 yards rushing per gameover the previous eight outings to now during this two-game stretch allowing 130, which is half of the combined 261 opponents rushing yards gained, though 131 of that total has come on quarterback runs. That's progress.
• Holiday Leftovers: How about this one, still talking about DeMarvion Overshown's Thanksgiving Day performance in the 27-20 victory over the Giants. He became just the third Cowboys players since sacks became an official NFL stat in 1982 to record at least five sacks, an interception, a fumble recovery and a forced fumble in the same season, joining DeMarcus Ware (2006) and Greg Ellis (1999) … So what about all that and scoring a touchdown, too? Cowboys PR discovered De-Mo is the first Cowboys player since Roy Williams in 2002 with a pick-six and fumble recovery in the same game … With the Monday night game coming up against Cincinnati, the Cowboys will have two extra practice days this week, so even though Zack Martin did not return to practice on Wednesday, nor did CeeDee Lamb, there still is hope by Monday they will be ready to go … Good to see tight end Jake Ferguson out there in the light practice, the Cowboys hoping he's working his way out of concussion protocol.
And for this week's last word we turn to McCarthy talking about his relationship now with backup quarterback Cooper Rush, and if he listens to his now starter as much as he did with Dak Prescott when it comes to not only preparing a game plan but also when particular plays are called and holding those after-practice Thursday meetings with his starter.
"Coop, he definitely, he knows what he wants, knows what he likes," Mike begins. "What I've always felt, what I've learned, the Thursday meeting with the quarterback, as long as I've done it, the importance of it is the time you have spent with the quarterbacks. Particularly the quarterback during the course of the week because those conversations are really a continuation of the conversations you've been having all week. Because if you get to Thursday night and you're going, 'Well, I like this, and he likes that, or I like this and he likes that,' then obvious it's, 'What the hell have you guys been doing all week?' So you are on the same page.
"My history just talking with other coaches, some coaches don't do that, have that type of meeting – everybody does it differently – but I think the importance of the meetings is showing the confidence in the connection you do have with the play-caller and the quarterback, and I do want his input. Because I learned back in 2000, my first year as a play-caller, you love plays. There are things you watch all week, and you can't wait to call them. And then you're sitting there on Monday morning and the quarterback says, 'You know, I wasn't quite feeling that all week, maybe I could have used a couple more reps,' and I always thought that was an indictment on me as a play-caller.
"So, I'm very big into … it's the confidence and connection in the players. It's not what you call, it's when you all call it."
And that is great insight into game prep.
