Dallas Cowboys: Sunday’s loss alleviated this major concern

The Dallas Cowboys lost horribly to the Indianapolis Colts on Sunday but it still accomplished something important, potentially alleviating a major concern

It’s difficult to take any solace in defeat. No matter how hard players, media, and fans try to spin it, a loss is unequivocally a bad thing. Yes, there is the occasional “moral victory” (I just threw up in my mouth typing that). And there have been a few nicely timed “wake up calls”. But for the most part, those are just things people say to make themselves feel better.

In other words – citing the sunny side of a loss is usually a fresh pickup load of B.S.

One thing that’s doomed the Dallas Cowboys in the past and threatened to doom them again this postseason is a little thing called “momentum”. Momentum is when things go right, they have a tendency to keep going right. It also means when things go poorly, they have a tendency to keep going poorly (see also Dallas Cowboys red zone success).

While the most recent loss was terrible by all accounts, it offers something good as a byproduct: It forces the Dallas Cowboys to pick up the intensity down the stretch.

Lately, the Dallas Cowboys have been enjoying the positives of momentum. So much so, the remainder of the regular season almost seemed like a moot point. Think about it: Dallas basically locked up the division and secured their playoff spot three weeks before the season even ended. A win on Sunday would have made it official and the Dallas Cowboys would be tempted to rest up and mail in the last two weeks.

Remember last time the Dallas Cowboys rested up two weeks before their playoffs?

In 2016 the Dallas Cowboys were 13-2 heading into the last week of the season. They had the division, they had their bye, and they had their playoff seed all locked up. With nothing to accomplish, they mailed it in in Week 17.

Resting their starters that last week and utilizing the bye week in the playoffs got the players happy and healthy heading into the divisional round. Unfortunately it also left them out-of-sync and sloppy. The Green Bay Packers, who had been playing with their backs against the wall for quite a while, came in firing on all cylinders. While Dallas eventually got up to speed and mounted a valiant comeback, the slow start ultimately killed them.

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While we’d all love to wrap this thing up and get this team healthy heading into the postseason, we can’t afford for them to start slow or sloppy in the Wild Card Round. They need to be clicking. They need to hit the ground running. They need momentum on their side.

Rest? Rest would be nice but the Dallas Cowboys need something more than that heading into the postseason. They need momentum.

While the most recent loss was terrible by all accounts, it offers something good as a byproduct: It forces the Dallas Cowboys to pick up the intensity down the stretch. They will no longer be tempted to coast, and now look to head into the postseason on the up-swing (rather than plateaued or on the decline).

Additionally, so much needs to be accomplished before the Dallas Cowboys can be considered a viable postseason threat. Execution, preparedness, and cohesion all need to improve on this young team. They need the rest of this season to get that done.

• Published on 12/18/2018 at 14:00 PM
• Last updated at 12/18/2018 at 13:54 PM