FRISCO, Texas – Let's go 9-8 should be the 7-8 Dallas Cowboys' battle cry, sort of a Christmas stocking stuffer at least.
Why not? In fact, a more plausible possibility than was existing to win their remaining three games and have the Washington Commanders lose their three remaining games to possibly squeak into the playoffs with the seventh seed, but also needing Atlanta, Seattle and Arizona to lose two of their final three games.
But the goal is now 9-8 after defeating the Tampa Bay Buccaneers 26-24 Sunday night before a rowdy AT&T crowd to the surprise of many, the erstwhile Bucs falling into a first-place tie in the NFC South with the equally 8-7 Atlanta Falcons, though ATL holds the tiebreaker, having beaten Tampa Bay twice.
So next up for the Cowboys are the Eagles, falling to 12-3 after dropping Sunday's 36-33 game to Washington (10-5), and still needing potentially one more win to hold off the fast-charging Commanders for the East title. And at this point after Sunday's loss to Washington, Philadelphia quarterback Jalen Hurts is in concussion protocol, and who knows if he will be ready to play by the time noon Sunday comes along at The Linc against the Cowboys.
And if you remember the first time around against the Eagles, the Cowboys only trailed 14-6 at halftime. Plus, this time Philly has a little pressure on them, needing to win one of their last two games to even clinch the division, plus are still a game behind both the 13-2 Lions and Vikings for the top seed in the NFC.
Plus, plus, as for playing the Commanders at AT&T in the final game of the season, the Cowboys already have beaten them once, 34-26, just five games ago. By the way their last loss, Washington now having won three straight to reach 10-5, thus eliminating the Cowboys with that 10th win from having a chance to reach the playoffs.
So the Cowboys need to take their best shots in these last two games, and as Cowboys COO Stephen Jones said, "This is playoff football, and that's the way we're facing it. It's a playoff game."
Might as well take your that best shot, knowing nothing now could be finer than beating NFC East foes Philly and Washington to potentially spoil something of theirs and of all things finish the 2024 season 5-1 for the best division record in the East as a consolation prize.
- More Motivation: This one almost escaped me, but if the Cowboys finish their schedule winning the final two games, they can redeem some solace by ending up 9-8, a winning season. The Cowboys finishing 9-8 would mean they would have strung together four consecutive winning seasons to place a small feather in their helmets. But get this, in the 65-year history of the Cowboys, that would represent the fourth-longest string of winning seasons. "Dang, I didn't know that," now starting right guard Brock Hoffman said. "It's hard to win games in this league. It's definitely an end goal just to have a winning season. … But definitely where we've been at on this journey, take it week by week, win these last two games, have a winning season, and it's definitely a big boost going into next season." Obviously, the longest streak of winning seasons in franchise history is the NFL record 20 straight established from 1966-85, all under the jurisdiction of Hall of Fame head coach Tom Landry. Then there is the six consecutive winning seasons from 1991-96, shared by Hall of Fame coach Jimmy Johnson for those first three years and then Barry Switzer in the final three years. After that, it's five straight from 2005-09, the first two belonging to Bill Parcells and the last three to Wade Phillips. Hey, sometimes, as the man said, if you can't get what you want, you gotta take what you can get, or something like that, right?
- What A Gift: To think kicker Brandon Aubrey just landed in the Cowboys' lap is one of the greatest stocking stuffers a franchise can have this holiday season. Think about this: Aubrey during his rookie season of 2023 made all 10 field-goal attempts from 50-plus yards, one of those from 60. This season, with two games to go, Aubrey has established an NFL single-season record with 14 field goals from 50-plus yards, and two of those from 65 and 60 yards. Aubrey is 14 of 16 from 50-plus yards after making three of those this past Sunday from 50-plus, including two 59-yarders that very well could have been good from at least 65. And consider one of his 50-plus-yard misses was from an unheard of 70 yards. Judging from the way Aubrey warms up on game days off the "sticks" (ball holding device), he thinks on a good day, indoors, he has 75-yard range. What a treat that would be to witness.
- Heisman Who: In case you missed it on the TV Sunday night in the Cowboys riveting 26-24 victory over Tampa Bay, starting quarterback Cooper Rush won his fourth game in seven starts this season, all of those in the past five, beating the Commanders, Giants, Panthers and Buccaneers, pushing his career starting record to 9-4. And get this: In his 13 starts, Rush has defeated four Heisman Trophy-winning quarterbacks in Joe Burrow, Jayden Daniels, Baker Mayfield and Bruce Young, three of those in his four victories this season. Rush and the Cowboys beat Burrow and Cincinnati in 2022. No other NFL quarterback in his first 13 starts has beaten four Heisman winners.
- Costly Injuries: Not only do the inordinate number of injuries the Cowboys have sustained this season cost players playing time, but they also are costly against the salary cap. Jones points out the Cowboys currently are using like 40 percent of their salary cap for players now on injured reserve, and that would include four of their highest-paid players: Dak Prescott, DeMarcus Lawrence, Zack Martin and now Trevon Diggs. That is a lot of dollars down the drain.
- Stocking Stuffers: The Parsons affect is real, judging from the defense's performance since his return from a high-ankle sprain. In the past seven games, the Cowboys having totaled 15 takeaways, going from a season-low minus-11 in turnover differential to now a minus-three … Oh, and then there are sacks since Parsons' return, 28 of them in the past seven games, 8½ belonging to the fourth-year player, taking aim at his fourth consecutive double-digit sack season with two games to play … The Eagles have established their NFC East best 12-3 record with seven of those wins by just one score and two of the three losses by one score … And one more time, the Cowboys defeated playoff contender Tampa Bay with their backup quarterback, backup right guard, backup offensive left tackle, at one point without two or their top three receivers on the field, backup defensive end and two backup linebackers. Just sayin'.
And once again the last word goes to owner Jerry Jones when asked about the possibility of playing now backup quarterback Trey Lance in the final two games of the season. During his Tuesday radio segment on flagship station 105.3 The Fan, he began by saying, "Listen to me closely."
Then came, "The very best chance that we have to make on the next play or the next series, the very best chance we have to make those plays like the ones we were making out there against Tampa, and the combination of execution as well as just the effort that is going on out there, that's what I want every play to be. And so the people that go out there are the ones that I want to give us the best chance to play like Tampa and play our best plays every play. Those interceptions, those ripping that ball out on turnovers, those really great passes by Rush, that's what I want on every play.
"There is no offsetting that with looking at how any player might play over these next two ballgames. That doesn't trump making the play, making the first down. The best need to be out there."
And with that, a Merry Christmas to all, and to all a good next two games.
