erod
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Nine-wins streaks are crazy talk. They just don't happen around here, even in the best of seasons lore.
This has been a fun and unexpected ride with a defense made of duct tape and super glue and a QB we're watching evolve from embryo to the larval stage, past pupa and into a full-grown NFL quarterback right before our eyes. It's like time-lapse photography.
But there's still this gnawing curiosity surrounding this team and this season, which wasn't supposed to be this, but suddenly is. Is this team really a 9-1 caliber team, or is the other shoe going to drop soon?
Wins in September and October are cute and all, but seasons are decided and remembered from Thanksgiving forward. That's where legendary seasons are forged. And while this team has important ingredients to that measure, there are some still major blemishes to cover.
Yes, a forceful running game with a great line is valuable as the elements turn wintery. Yes, a quarterback and offense that possesses the ball and doesn't turn it over is tremendously critical as well. A defense that doesn't give up big plays is vital, and a kicker like Bailey is gold in a bottle, too.
But this remains a flawed roster in key areas. The pass rush is anemic. The run defense is exposed. And an opponent with a talented receiving corps can run free and easy through this secondary, especially with Claiborne and Church out and Scandrick playing with no confidence.
The Dallas offense is incredibly efficient, but is it capable of outscoring high-caliber teams? That's the only ticket to the show.
You can only play the teams on your schedule, but this Cowboys schedule is looking weaker by the minute. Only two teams that Dallas has played have a winning record right now, and Dallas only beat one of them. Even that came with an asterisk as Kirk Cousins missed easy touchdown passes that would have given the Commanders a semi-blowout win in Washington. Cousins isn't doing that these days.
Sure, had some of these teams beaten Dallas, they'd have winning records, so the Cowboys are partly responsible for those records, but I only see three teams that Dallas has played that might make the playoffs. The Giants, Commanders, and either the Steelers or Ravens.
The combined record of the teams Dallas has beaten is 31-67-1. It gets tougher from here.
New York 7-3 Loss
Washington 6-3-1 Win
Chicago 2-8 Win
San Francisco 1-9 Win
Cincinnati 3-6 Win
Green Bay 4-6 Win
Philadelphia 5-5 Win
Cleveland 0-11 Win
Pittsburgh 5-5 Win
Baltimore 5-5 Win
Washington 6-3-1
Minnesota 6-4
New York 7-3
Tampa 5-5
Detroit 6-4
Philadelphia 5-5
We're going to know a lot about this team in the next three weeks. An expected shootout with Washington this Thursday, followed by back-to-back road games capped by a what could be a first-place shootout with the Giants in their stadium.
A defensive offseason should prime this team for many years to come, but the here and now is very much a mystery.
Wow. 9-1. That's crazy. But what will it mean come playoff time? I think we all share in that curiosity.
Just what have we here?
This has been a fun and unexpected ride with a defense made of duct tape and super glue and a QB we're watching evolve from embryo to the larval stage, past pupa and into a full-grown NFL quarterback right before our eyes. It's like time-lapse photography.
But there's still this gnawing curiosity surrounding this team and this season, which wasn't supposed to be this, but suddenly is. Is this team really a 9-1 caliber team, or is the other shoe going to drop soon?
Wins in September and October are cute and all, but seasons are decided and remembered from Thanksgiving forward. That's where legendary seasons are forged. And while this team has important ingredients to that measure, there are some still major blemishes to cover.
Yes, a forceful running game with a great line is valuable as the elements turn wintery. Yes, a quarterback and offense that possesses the ball and doesn't turn it over is tremendously critical as well. A defense that doesn't give up big plays is vital, and a kicker like Bailey is gold in a bottle, too.
But this remains a flawed roster in key areas. The pass rush is anemic. The run defense is exposed. And an opponent with a talented receiving corps can run free and easy through this secondary, especially with Claiborne and Church out and Scandrick playing with no confidence.
The Dallas offense is incredibly efficient, but is it capable of outscoring high-caliber teams? That's the only ticket to the show.
You can only play the teams on your schedule, but this Cowboys schedule is looking weaker by the minute. Only two teams that Dallas has played have a winning record right now, and Dallas only beat one of them. Even that came with an asterisk as Kirk Cousins missed easy touchdown passes that would have given the Commanders a semi-blowout win in Washington. Cousins isn't doing that these days.
Sure, had some of these teams beaten Dallas, they'd have winning records, so the Cowboys are partly responsible for those records, but I only see three teams that Dallas has played that might make the playoffs. The Giants, Commanders, and either the Steelers or Ravens.
The combined record of the teams Dallas has beaten is 31-67-1. It gets tougher from here.
New York 7-3 Loss
Washington 6-3-1 Win
Chicago 2-8 Win
San Francisco 1-9 Win
Cincinnati 3-6 Win
Green Bay 4-6 Win
Philadelphia 5-5 Win
Cleveland 0-11 Win
Pittsburgh 5-5 Win
Baltimore 5-5 Win
Washington 6-3-1
Minnesota 6-4
New York 7-3
Tampa 5-5
Detroit 6-4
Philadelphia 5-5
We're going to know a lot about this team in the next three weeks. An expected shootout with Washington this Thursday, followed by back-to-back road games capped by a what could be a first-place shootout with the Giants in their stadium.
A defensive offseason should prime this team for many years to come, but the here and now is very much a mystery.
Wow. 9-1. That's crazy. But what will it mean come playoff time? I think we all share in that curiosity.
Just what have we here?
