Cowboys Can Enjoy Bye Week, Await Their Next Opponent

Now that playoff seeding is established, the Dallas Cowboys can get healthy and observe the results of wild card weekend.

Seventeen weeks came and went. A season seemingly set to repeat last year’s disaster turned on its ear behind the strength two rookies. Well, them and an inexorably punishing offensive line. Nevertheless, after the upheaval in the preseason, few could see the dominance of the Dallas Cowboys reasserting itself.

To say that fans and haters alike were surprised by the Cowboys’ success would be something of an understatement. Fans dreaded another Tony Romo-less spiral into irrelevance. Haters just wanted to continue to point and laugh. But after an opening week loss to the Giants, the wins started piling up. Thirteen victories later, here we stand. Of all places, the road to Super Bowl 51 goes through Arlington, Texas.

Of course, nothing is given in the NFL. For all the great times, feel-good stories and unbelievable team chemistry, a 13-3 record won’t mean much if a divisional round flame out happens. The specter of inexperience may rear its ugly head at the worst possible time. For a fan base that used to be extremely spoiled, we’ve spent the last twenty years expecting the other shoe to drop. Without fail, it has.

But enough with the negativity. The Cowboys have absolutely earned their place at the post season table. In fact, they did so with a certain panache that even the 2014 squad lacked. Sure, the running game shredded defenses en route to the NFC East crown that year. But it was more of a plodding attack. This year’s bunch employs a certain explosiveness. The home run can occur at any time, anywhere on the field.

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This is precisely what makes the Cowboys especially dangerous this time around. The game plan has changed very little throughout the year. It is repeatable and has proven to be mostly unstoppable. Opposing defenses might hold up well early in games, but they eventually wear down. The week sixteen clash with a desperate Lions team was an apt microcosm. Detroit hit Dallas with their best shot, but it was ultimately not enough. In a game that meant nothing for their playoff seeding, the Cowboys still came out and put on a show that typified the relentless attack they’ve employed all season.

So does it mean anything now? No, not really.

Fortunes will turn on a dime in the tournament.

Names like Wilson, Manning, Rodgers, Ryan, and Stafford pepper the NFC side of the bracket. There is also that Brady guy on the other side, not to mention Roethlisberger. Every last one of them potentially stands in the way of a potential sixth Cowboys’ championship. Oh, and a rookie quarterback has never won a title, ever. Suffice to say, the deck is stacked against Dak Prescott.

But as is often said, there is a first time for everything. The fortuitous byproduct of the Cowboys’ unlikely success is that they get to sit and watch while four other teams scratch and claw for the “privilege” of coming to Arlington to deal with the Cowboy buzzsaw. This is the type of first-world problem every NFL team fights for every year. From the perspective of a long-time member of the fawning Silver-and-Blue congregation, we’ll take this option any day of the week.

Next: Dallas Cowboys at Philadelphia Eagles: What stood out

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If you happen to be old enough to remember, this is something we got used to back in the days of grunge music and no NFL salary cap. First-round byes came easily, and we relished the opportunity to watch the plebes fight among themselves. Meanwhile, our ‘Boys rested and licked their blood-flecked chops in anticipation. Improbably, this is the case today. No matter the challenge–yes, New York Giants included–chances for playoff success loom large for the Dallas Cowboys.

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