NewsBot
New Member
- Messages
- 111,281
- Reaction score
- 2,947
Sure, the Cowboys felt good about Sunday's 38-27 victory against the Philadelphia Eagles.
It gave them satisfying pay back from the embarrassing 33-10 loss on Thanksgiving Day. More importantly, it gave them sole possession of first place in the NFC East and control of their own destiny for the division title and the playoffs with two games to go.
The Cowboys (10-4) also know they haven't accomplished anything yet.
A loss in one of their final two games against the Indianapolis Colts and Washington Commanders could give the division back to the Eagles (9-5) if they win out.
And the NFC playoff chase is so stacked that they could miss out on a wild-card spot with an 11-5 record because of an inferior conference record to the Green Bay Packers (10-4), Detroit Lions (10-4) and Seattle Seahawks (10-4). The Dallas Morning News tweeted a story that reminded the team that it's not the time to "relax":
5 thoughts: Cowboys in driver's seat with win over Philly, but they can't relax http://t.co/JbNiZgbsUK | @jonmachota pic.twitter.com/MDY4pONxoP
— Morning News Sports (@SportsDayDFW) December 15, 2014
"It was important for us to play better than we did the last time," quarterback Tony Romo said. "It was important to win. We're playing Philadelphia and with the records and the way they beat us in Dallas, you had to come and and play your best game to beat these guys.
"I'm proud of the effort and the way the guys played. But we haven't accomplished anything yet. Next week is as big as this week. We have to put our head down and go back to work."
Things certainly won't be easy with the Colts coming to AT&T Stadium next Sunday. The Colts have already clinched the AFC South title and are a prime Super Bowl contender in the AFC. The Cowboys surprisingly play their worst football at home.
Dallas is the NFL's only undefeated road team, winners of seven straight in 2014. They are 7-0 on the road for only the third time in team history (1968, 2007), as SportsCenter pointed out:
Cowboys are 7-0 on road this season. Every other team in the NFL has at least 2 road losses. pic.twitter.com/Km2YndBqXo
— SportsCenter (@SportsCenter) December 15, 2014
But the dirty secret is the Cowboys are 3-4 at home this season, including three straight losses.
The Cowboys will have to reverse that nasty trend if they hope to continue this run to the playoffs.
"I can’t even fathom a Cowboy team that is not ready and inspired to go back to our stadium for the last game of the year and not be prepared and understand what’s at stake and have that place full of Cowboys fans out there," owner Jerry Jones said.
"So there’s no question in my mind that we will be a team with a fine edge when we play Indianapolis. These are like playoff games. And that’s where we are. We could go completely out of the picture if we don’t do good against Indianapolis.”
The Cowboys have the opportunity to "do good against Indianapolis" and take another step toward the playoffs because they did good against the Eagles Sunday night.
They did really well.
The Cowboys got off to a fast start, jumping out to a 21-0 lead in the second quarter only to watch the Eagles score 24 unanswered points to take a 24-21 lead in the third quarter.
Momentum was not on their side, and the Eagles fans at Lincoln Financial Field were whipped into a tizzy.
Yet the Cowboys responded with championship resolve and mettle with two touchdowns, a two-yard run by DeMarco Murray and a 25-yard touchdown pass from Romo to Dez Bryant take back control of the game and the lead in the NFC East. NFL.com's Ian Rapoport is optimistic about the Cowboys "closing in on the playoffs" based on how well they played Sunday:
#Cowboys on national TV didn’t involve a brutal Romo pick. Lost a lead & came back. They are closing in on the playoffs. Times have changed
— Ian Rapoport (@RapSheet) December 15, 2014
Romo completed 22 of 31 passes for 265 yards and three touchdowns with a 129.1 passer rating on Sunday.
Bryant had six receptions for 114 yards and three touchdowns. It was the first three-touchdown game of Bryant's career.
"Truthfully, we never lost focus," Bryant said. “That was big. I could feel like. We just never got uncomfortable, and we came back out and did what we needed to do. We were very confident coming into this game and came out with the W. We were ready to go. We wanted this victory, and we got it."
The Cowboys have 10 wins for the first time since they went 11-5 in 2009 and last won the division title.
But the Cowboys, who have missed the playoffs in each of the past four years and have finished 8-8 in each of the past three, know there is still work to be done.
The Cowboys got sweet revenge against the Eagles. They are currently in first place in the NFC East.
But they haven't been guaranteed anything, not a division title or even a playoff berth.
One loss and they could be home for postseason for the fifth straight year.
“We ain’t won nothing yet,” cornerback Orlando Scandrick said. “If we lose we are out. It ain’t time to start crowing or saying what this says about the team. We need to keep our heads down and have tunnel vision and move on to the next.”
Clarence Hill covers the Cowboys for the Fort Worth Star-Telegram. All quotations obtained firsthand unless otherwise noted.
Read more Dallas Cowboys news on BleacherReport.com
Continue reading...