IRVING, Texas – You'll hear a popular refrain when you ask a Cowboys player what makes the team so successful on the road in 2014 – "I don't know."
There's bound to be a few different answers for such a startling trend. The Cowboys, with a 5-0 road record, aren't just the only undefeated road team – there isn't another team in the NFL with fewer than two road losses.
"I don't know, I just think we've done a really good job of focusing on those details. I wish we would've known what it is," said Jason Witten.
Whatever "it" is, the Cowboys will be hopeful to harness it at Soldier Field on Thursday night. As poorly as they've played at home at times this season, they've gutted out several of their best wins of the year in opposing venues.
"I don't know, I don't know. I feel like we maybe focus a little bit better, we come together more as a team," said DeMarco Murray. "I just think you capitalize on their mistakes, and a couple times they've had more mistakes than we've had. So I just think it's more of a togetherness."
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Murray's viewpoint on the issue was shared by several other teammates. Given the quick, efficient nature of NFL road trips – roughly 30 hours, most of which is spent either in a hotel or a stadium – several Cowboys agreed it can be easier to focus on the task at hand.
"The guess I will take is that when we travel, it's mainly just the people in here, you know? It forces us to play for each other," said Terrance Williams. "We don't have a lot of people telling us stuff to do. We go out there, it's time to wake up, it's time to go, it's time to get back on the plane, so it feels more like a business trip."
Cowboys coach Jason Garrett doesn't buy into theories of road versus home, preferring to point out that the quality of your play dictates whether you'll win or lose – regardless of whether you play. Any little bit can gain an edge, however, and that's just what the Cowboys should have on their hands on a cold night in Chicago.
That's just fine for Murray.
"I think, for me, I think that turns me on a little bit – to come into someone's house and hear the boos and all that. I think it's a great thing," he said. "We've just to focus and have more patience, especially on the road, and not make many mistakes. I think we'll be fine."
