Dallas Cowboys: Improbably, season begins anew on Thursday

Almost out of nowhere, the Dallas Cowboys have won two consecutive games on the road to salvage the last six weeks of the regular season.

It’s difficult to fathom at this point. Two weeks ago at this time, the Dallas Cowboys were left for dead after laying an egg at home against Tennessee. Their 3-5 record certainly sealed their fate as laughable doormats in the NFC playoff picture. Sure, they were still theoretically in the hunt, but who among us realistically expected them to win two straight on the road and climb back into contention?

Well, that’s exactly what happened. And it culminated in a skin-of-their-teeth, last-second 22-19 win against the Atlanta Falcons yesterday afternoon. One could counter that we’re getting worked up over a team with a 5-5 record. They’d be right. But regardless of the case, the season for the Cowboys pretty much restarted on the basis of their efforts over the last two weeks.

Irrespective of their overall record, the other impressive aspect of this is the way the Cowboys have gone about their business during this mini winning streak. Winning two games on the road is good enough. Winning them in high-leverage situations in the fourth quarter are what playoff teams are made of. Bottom line is, Dallas deserves credit for digging deep and figuring out a way to stay relevant.

So, what does this mean moving forward? It means that the last six weeks of the season hold some high intrigue. A win against Washington on Thanksgiving Day means a statistical tie for first place in the NFC East. Of course, “first in the NFC East” might also be akin to “fastest turtle”, but one needn’t sneeze a the prospect of a home playoff game in January.

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Obviously, the impending matchup against the Redskins holds precedent above all else. It’d be a shame for the Cowboys to gather all this momentum only to give it away. Washington already holds a head-to-head tiebreaker stemming from a pre-Halloween heartbreaker, in which kicker Brett Maher’s bid to send the game to overtime clanked off the left upright. That game was one of a few winnable games the Cowboys let slip away this year. In other words, the motivation for a little revenge exists. What better stage to extract it than a national audience on the advent of the American holiday season? The fact is that it feels like a traditional Cowboys vs. Redskins tilt for the first time in a while.

If you’re a fan of either of these teams, this has to hold your interest. If you’re a fan of the Cowboys, then for better or for worse, this is our lot in life. Ownership, general managing, and coaching situations notwithstanding, the players on the field are doing their level best to settle things on their terms. It’s not always pretty. But if we’re going to pile onto these guys when they’re failing, then it’s only fair to praise them when they succeed. Make no mistake, the last two weeks have exceeded the expectations of the most jaded fans, present company included.

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Yes, hope springs eternal for the Cowboys in the last six weeks of the season. This seemed almost impossible a scant two weeks ago, but somehow or another, we’re here. A loss on Thursday raises all the old doubts once again. A win, on the other hand, keeps hopes high and playoff prospects good. This is life for Dallas Cowboys and their fans, and I’m not sure we’d have it any other way.

Published on 11/19/2018 at 13:01 PM
Last updated at 11/19/2018 at 12:55 PM

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