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Sure, coach Jason Garrett is a one-day-at-a-time, process-oriented taskmaster with no room for the useless emotion.
So miss him with talk of payback and chatter about making amends from the 33-10 blowout loss to the Eagles on Thanksgiving Day.
That game is over.
But not even Garrett can deny what’s at stake Sunday against the Eagles at Lincoln Financial Field in Philadelphia. The game kicks off at 8:30 p.m. ET.
With both teams having matching 9-4 records, the game is a showdown for sole possession of first place in the NFC East with two games to go in the season.
The winner controls its own destiny for the postseason.
But with the Cowboys having already lost the first game against the Eagles and falling short in tiebreaker scenarios for the two wild-card spots, there is little margin for error on their side.
The Cowboys may have to win their final three games to clinch the division title to even reach the playoffs, thus making the Eagles game a must-win and essentially the beginning of the postseason.
The Cowboys, from owner Jerry Jones on down, are treating it as such.
“I just feel that it’s like a playoff game,” Jones said. “It’s almost one of those that you have to win. I know you can do some math, and it isn’t necessarily that, but I certainly feel like every player, every coach has to do our very best out there. Every down, every possession, every first down has Super Bowl meaning to it, as though you were in the Super Bowl game itself. We’re not saving anything for anything.”
The Cowboys have an 84% chance of making the playoffs if they beat Philadelphia. 36% if they lose. http://t.co/zpoRvWzTfb
— Nate Silver (@NateSilver538) December 10, 2014
The Cowboys plan to leave nothing to chance.
They have no choice.
With the way things are shaping up in the NFC, the Cowboys could finish 11-5 and not make the playoffs.
That has happened only twice in NFL history, with it last occurring in 2008 when the New England Patriots were left at home with a 11-5 record.
But it is among the things staring the Cowboys in the face if they don’t beat the Eagles and win the division.
Right now, the Eagles are in control of the NFC East because of their victory in the first game, and the Cowboys would lose out on the wild-card spots to the Seattle Seahawks (9-4) and the Detroit Lions (9-4) because of a poorer conference record.
Feel like there could be an 11-win team left out of #NFL playoffs. It could very well be the #Cowboys.
— Gil Brandt (@Gil_Brandt) December 8, 2014
Anything could happen in the final three games. But if the current situation holds serve, they would be left out in the cold.
What the Cowboys do know is that the surest way to guarantee a postseason berth is to control their own destiny by wining the final three games, starting Sunday against the Eagles.
“This is as big as it gets,” Cowboys executive vice president Stephen Jones said. “Certainly, I know it will be for the Eagles and for us as well, a playoff-type of game. There’s a lot at stake. Both teams right now control their own destiny.”
As a result, there is no need for any contrived motivational speeches from Garrett, who often says he tells the same story 16 different ways before each game to get his team fired up.
He acknowledges he probably doesn’t need to say “a whole lot” to the Cowboys to get ready for Sunday’s game against the Eagles.
The players know what’s at stake, and they are ready.
“If he has to say something to you to get you pumped up, you don’t need to be out there,” safety J.J. Wilcox said. “This is one of these games here where you should be fired up automatic because it’s a rival game. It kind of dictates our future. So if he has to talk to you, I might tell them myself to get out of the game. It’s pumped me up. I’m ready to go.”
Now saying it and doing it are two different things.
Garrett wants the Cowboys to be passionate and emotional about the game, but he wants it channeled in the right direction. He doesn’t want them trying to play over their heads and trying to do too much. He wants them to trust their preparation and play to the best of their abilities.
"[Legendary UCLA basketball coach] John Wooden said years and years and years ago that it's not about rising to the occasion, it's about being who you are," Garrett said. "You don't focus too much on your opponent; you focus on being your best. The idea that we're going to rise to the occasion is not something we focus on a whole lot. Just be your best and be the best version of yourself in everything you do."
"Ultimately what you want to be able to do is play well once the game starts," Garrett continued. "You want your preparation to be such that you can just go play as naturally and instinctively as possible. That's our objective because that's when you want to play your best."
That’s the attitude the Cowboys have taken heading to Sunday’s game. When they talk about making amends for the 33-10 loss on Thanksgiving Day, it’s more about not letting themselves down again than necessarily getting payback against the Eagles.
The Cowboys didn’t play up to their own standards in the first game.
They have no choice but to do so Sunday and then the rest of the way.
There are no more second chances. There are no more tomorrows in their minds.
“The playoffs have started,” cornerback Orlando Scandrick said. “It’s here now. If we want to go somewhere, if we want to be something, we have to win right now. You got to be the best team you can be Sunday. If we can play like the team we are capable of, everything will take care of itself.”
Clarence Hill covers the Cowboys for the Fort Worth Star-Telegram. All quotations obtained firsthand unless otherwise noted.
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