Must Win Game

[Dallas22]

I think that this upcoming game against the eaGALS in Philly is a MUST WIN GAME, MAINLY because of how tough their schedule is down the stretch. Basically, EACH GAME, game-by-game, is a MUST WIN for the Cowboys.

If our defense holds down opposing offenses, I think that we have a MAJOR chance to go a long way in the Playoffs. If not, or if the offense can't produce TDs in the red zone and consistantly make field goals from under 45 yards, then the Cowboys might only win only 7-8 games.

One game at a time, but EACH, to me, IS A MUST WIN.

GO COWBOYS!!!

Dallas22

[Yeagermeister]

All of our games are must win games

[Fletch]

Must win game indeed. But this one by far is the most important.

* It is a game coming off our BYE week. We will see if our Cowboys come out sluggish and if they have lost momentum.

* This is the game that could jump start the entire second half of the season.

* "Measuring Stick Game" ... We will see moreso this game than any other game this year where the Cowboys truly belong. Do they have the heart and the urgency needed to take it to the next level?

* Biggest game in that we could finally get the Iggle jinx off our backs with a season sweep, taking both games from Philly. Huge for the franchise and for the fans.

[InmanRoshi]

This is the most important game of the season, until next week.

[Hollywood Henderson]

It sure is a great chance to put a nail in Filthy's coffin...
Sweep them and we have a great chance at the division crown!

Unleash the D and DOOMSDAY returns!

[KingTuna]

IF we expect to make a superbwol run we MUST win this game on the road.

PERIOD.....

[Yeagermeister]

It sure is a great chance to put a nail in Filthy's coffin...
Sweep them and we have a great chance at the division crown!

Unleash the D and DOOMSDAY returns!
Cry havok and slip the dog of war....I think that's how the line goes :D

[CowboysFan28]

as long as we go 2 and 1 through this stretch to thanksgiving, we'll be fine. So no, it's not a must win game. But if we lost, the next two would become must wins.

[CooterBrown]

I don't see this as a "must win" game, but it a tremendous "measuring stick" game. If the Cowboys don't win this game, it will show that they are probably not quite ready for prime time and will need one more year for a serious run at the superbowl. The Cowboys SHOULD win this game. Top caliber teams nearly always win the games they SHOULD win.

By the way, if you use Aikman's rating system, the Cowboys should win by 17. (I know that isn't necessarily how his system is supposed to be used, but he has the Cowboys offense/defense twenty percentage points ahead of Philly. Count it as a point differential and take away 3 points for home field and the boys win by 17. No, I haven't done any research to see if this method actually has a history of acurately predicting point victory margins, but it worked perfectly in the Seattle game.)

So, I boldly predict: Cowboys 24, Eagles 7.

[Dallas22]

It just seems like there are so many tough games - There is no game on the rest of our schedule that you can say "This is an expected win" (except maybe against the Lions). All the rest are either TOUGH division rivals on the road or the very good AFC West Teams remaining. Also, the NFC Super Bowl pick right now by many, the Panthers on the road on christmas. And even the season finale at St Louis that could be very important.

Winning this eaGAL game would be huge for our team - we'd be the first team in the NFC East to beat them at their new home stadium. It would drop the eaGALS to last place by themselves. Of course, it would also give us another division win and a SWEET season sweep over the hated eaGALS.

First things first, the Cowboys MUST WIN THIS GAME on MNF... and winning big would be an even bigger BOOST to start the 2nd half of the season!!!

GO COWBOYS!!!

Dallas22

[big_neil]

6-3 (.666) vs. 5-4 (.555) is huge - our winning percentage will be 20% better if we win.

[Jimz31]

I've always considered EVERY game EVER played a must win game.

The season is so short that you never know which game kept you out of home-field advantage in the playoffs....or kept you out of the playoffs period.

I heard it said that each game is like 12 in baseball or something like that. Imagine a 12 game winning or losing streak in baseball...it would be talked about.

[CowboyFan74]

We must win this game, absolutely. furthermore an eagirl win could bounce the enemy back on track, kill the dogs while they are down. finish them bill!!!!

[Scotman]

6-3 (.666) vs. 5-4 (.555) is huge - our winning percentage will be 20% better if we win.

Closer to 11%, but I agree with the point.

[big_neil]

No, .555 * 1.2 = .666. Hence .666 is 20% greater than .555. It's 11 percentage points overall.

[Phoenix-Talon]

All of our games are must win games

Yeagermeister,

As you know, I've been here long enough to know who are the quality fans and the ones that can't a dialogue because they are half homer and half troller. You I have respect for! I say that because I want you to know that my comment to your post was inspired by your very "to the point" statement ..."All of our games are must win games" Wanted you to know that up front.

As such ...theoretically, all games are "must win" games -- some games more must win than others of course. I certainly undertand what you're saying from a Cowboys perspective, but the very same statement holds true with the Eagles, Redskins, and even the G-Men. With the NFCE being so tight, if any of the teams sneeze (lose a game or two), the standings could shift significantly.

This may be fun ...let's define a "Must Win Game! (MWG)"

Here's my interpretation of a "MWG"

Your team has lost several consecutive games and you need to make a statement

You want to propell you team out from the rest -- distance yourselves from the pack

The game that can put you out of the playoff race/wildcard birth, possibly needing help from an opposing team(s)

There's more instances of a MWG, but I think overall the term is highly proliferated. For example ...

If Dallas wins, your team would be in good position, but not necessarily locked into a playoff spot. On the other hand, if the Cowboys lose, you still are in the race. Therefore, how is the MNF game a MWG? Just curious.:cool:

[Dallas22]

Phoenix-Talon:

I understand your perspective as well. Well, like Yager and I said, ALL our games our MWG, but what makes THIS one even more important is that it is against the eaGALS - a hated division rival who lost in last season's Super Bowl... they are down right now and CAN NOT be let back up - TOO dangerous, not only for us, but for the rest of the NFC East. This would give the Cowboys ANOTHER division win, which makes it that much more important, with 2 left to go ON THE ROAD.

I guess that you can say that each and every game is a MUST WIN in its OWN WAY. Like next week at home against the Lions - to me it's another MUST WIN because the Cowboys should win this game... any team that is going to make a run to get into and win games in the Playoffs HAS to win a game at home against the Lions. So on and so forth, as the season goes on, so does each MUST WIN game for the Cowboys.

Granted, a loss here or there wouldn't do the Cowboys in for the rest of the season, but it would be a much harder UPHILL battle than they ALREADY have being 1 game back on the Giants, tied with the Skins (in which they have the tie-breaker against us), 1 of the Wild-Card spots probably already taken by the Atlanta-Carolina SOUTH Division loser, AND the toughness of the Cowboys schedule.

So even though a win wouldn't propel them into or out of the playoffs, it would be VERY important for the Cowboys to win because of how tight the NFC East Division is and the NFC playoff race is looking to be. EVERY GAME is a MUST-WIN from here on out for the Cowboys!

GO COWBOYS!!!

Dallas22

[ternce]

it sems to me it's a must win too because it is supposedly easier than most with the injuries and T.O and all so those situations predicate a must win also so we need to take advantage of the scenario as it gets tougher later and it's a division game

Must win

[Future]

* "Measuring Stick Game" ... We will see moreso this game than any other game this year where the Cowboys truly belong. Do they have the heart and the urgency needed to take it to the next level?

that will be the carolina, KC, and Denver games. i think all of them will be more important and better to see how good we really are

[Everlastingxxx]

You want to propell you team out from the rest -- distance yourselves from the pack

How about winning just to keep up with the pack makes it a must win? If we lose this game, we can only lose two more the rest of the season. 6 out of the next 7 are all against good teams. I dunno, sounds like a must win to me.

[Phoenix-Talon]

Listen ...too many of you are claiming this is a Must Win Game (MWG)!


How ("") about it being a MNLG ...Must Not Lose Game! The difference being is the Positive mentality going into the next few games and a pretty difficult second-half schedule!

[Billy Bullocks]

It's a must win because Philly has alot of talent. At 4-5, we pretty much can put them out of the division title race. They'll need to catch fire just to make the playoffs. 5-4 for us is not the end of the world, but 6-3 keeps us in a far better place.

Philly has been a huge hurdle for us the last lot of years. It might just be a mental thing to get over them. Even though most of hte players on this team haven't been for very long, they all can understand the significance of beating Philly twice. I think that sweeping Philly will bring a "movement into the future" kind of feel over here.

BTW, Pheonix is the kind of opposing fan that's money to have on the board. nice that he disagree's, but he's knowledgable and civil. Terps and Skins is pretty chill too, fer a skin

[Phoenix-Talon]

It's a must win because Philly has alot of talent. At 4-5, we pretty much can put them out of the division title race. They'll need to catch fire just to make the playoffs. 5-4 for us is not the end of the world, but 6-3 keeps us in a far better place.

Philly has been a huge hurdle for us the last lot of years. It might just be a mental thing to get over them. Even though most of hte players on this team haven't been for very long, they all can understand the significance of beating Philly twice. I think that sweeping Philly will bring a "movement into the future" kind of feel over here.

BTW, Pheonix is the kind of opposing fan that's money to have on the board. nice that he disagree's, but he's knowledgable and civil. Terps and Skins is pretty chill too, fer a skin

I think this will be a dogfight in Philly. Definitely a DWTLG ...Don't Want To Lose Game!

[Fletch]

I think this will be a dogfight in Philly. Definitely a DWTLG ...Don't Want To Lose Game!

Nice looking sig pic Phoenix-Talon. Nice change of pace from the last one.

[big dog cowboy]

JMO but this is a must win game very similiar to the Indy/NE game last Monday night. Until we beat the Iggles in their house, that monkey is still gonna be on our back.

[Billy Bullocks]

It's not going to be a cakewalk like last time. That just didn't seem right to me.

[jobberone]

We need this game given our schedule. We should win every game we are favored in to have a chance. We need to finish the Eagles off and claim our rights to the NFC east crown. Losing games we are favored to win makes games against oppenents with winning records more "must win" games. In the end a win is a win but you have to win the ones you are supposed to then beat winning teams to claim yourself as SB contenders.

[billknows]

I don't see this as a "must win" game, but it a tremendous "measuring stick" game. If the Cowboys don't win this game, it will show that they are probably not quite ready for prime time and will need one more year for a serious run at the superbowl. The Cowboys SHOULD win this game. Top caliber teams nearly always win the games they SHOULD win.

By the way, if you use Aikman's rating system, the Cowboys should win by 17. (I know that isn't necessarily how his system is supposed to be used, but he has the Cowboys offense/defense twenty percentage points ahead of Philly. Count it as a point differential and take away 3 points for home field and the boys win by 17. No, I haven't done any research to see if this method actually has a history of acurately predicting point victory margins, but it worked perfectly in the Seattle game.)

So, I boldly predict: Cowboys 24, Eagles 7.
I wish some off the more talented poster would keep track of Aikmans system. I think many here would have a Great deal of Intrest...

[DBoys]

The Eagles are mising a lot of players and have looked flat since the Cowboy game. Our D really exposed their weakness and other teams are doing the same things.

Our corners can cover ther WR's 1 on 1 all day long and blitz McNabb like a bunch of maniacs. We will have no problem with their run game but we need to watch the screen passes.

Offensively we have really missed JuJo because it totally changes the oppositions scheme. It is huge to have him back!! Hopefully our offense shows up that night because our defense will keep them from scoring over 15 points.

Key to the game will be the Eagles weak special teams. It continues to put opposition in good field position and get their D's backs to the wall. Crayton was non existent in punt returns until the Eagles game. To me Price looks smoother and faster than Crayton I expect Peerless to have a good game with returns.

Philly will really lock up on Glenn to avoid what happened last time. I think our joker in this game is Price. If Price starts to burn them it will cause them to free up Glenn. Witten should have a good game.

[Dallas22]

Told you guys... Now this game has become even BIGGER since the Giants and Skins lost on Sunday.

We HAVE TO WIN THIS GAME... we win we control our own destiny and are tied for 1st place with the Giants (we have the tie breaker against them right now), along with all the philly monkey's off of our Cowboy backs.

GO COWBOYS!!!

Dallas22