News: BTB: Cowboys News: "The 2016 Cowboys Laugh At Logic."

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Latest Cowboys headlines from around the interwebs for your Saturday reading pleasure.

Cowboys Weren’t Their Best; Which Might Just Make Them The Best - Nick Eatman, Dallas Cowboys
This headline is probably the best summation of the game against the Vikings I've read. Eatman explains:

Going on the road, losing the turnover battle, getting out-gained in total yards and time of possession and having double-digit penalties … well that just screams a big fat L.

But not this team, and not this time.

This team isn’t average anymore. And they’ve surpassed good. This is the best team in the NFL and it’s not even close.

If Thursday’s win proved anything, it’s the Cowboys can win ugly. They can roll up their sleeves and grind out a victory even though all of the stats are against them. That’s when talent usually prevails. It prevailed here Thursday night, giving the Cowboys one of their toughest wins of the season. We’re pretty sure the competition will be better down the road. But after 12 games, I think it’s an even safer assumption to think the Cowboys will be better as well.
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VIDEO: Jason Garrett Speech After Minnesota Victory - Dallas Cowboys
Watch this video of Jason Garrett addressing the team following the win in Minnesota. You won't regret it.

"It was a hell of a win. It might be my favorite win out of the 11 we've had this year. We scratch. We claw. We FIGHT."

"Damn good job. Damn good job."


The 2016 Cowboys laugh at logic.

Road game ✅
Won turnover battle ❌
Won TOP battle ❌
Fewer penalties ❌
300 yards ❌
20+ points ❌
Won game ✅

— David Helman (@HelmanDC) December 2, 2016​

Over Last Six Weeks, Cowboys Have Beaten Four Of The Eight Best NFL Defenses - Blogging The Boys
Don't miss out on the top article in the entire SB Nation NFL network yesterday:

According to the Aikman Efficiency Ratings, the Cowboys have now beaten four of the eight best NFL defenses over the last six games, and three of the best four. And it's not just the Aikman Ratings that show the Cowboys have beaten some of the best defenses in the league. Football Outsiders' defensive efficiency ratings come to a similar conclusion, as does the more traditional ranking by points allowed.
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Dez Bryant breaking out in season's second half, eyeing Cowboys history - ESPN Stats & Info
Dez Bryant is on fire.

The difference with Bryant over the last month has been noticeable. Prescott has been far better targeting Bryant over the past four games compared to his first five games of the season.

With his receiving touchdown, Bryant tied Michael Irvin for second place on the Cowboys’ all-time receiving touchdown list, despite playing in 66 fewer games, and is now six away from tying the legendary "Bullet" Bob Hayes for most in franchise history.
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OG La’el Collins not ready for return yet, but Jerry Jones hopeful - Charean Williams, The Star-Telegram
Doctor Jones is in the house and ready to make broad, sweeping statements about the health of his players, one of which is guard La’el Collins, who had toe surgery Oct. 4 and has been on injured reserve since.

"Yes, I do," Jones said on his radio show on 105.3 The Fan when asked if he expected the Cowboys to use their designated to return from injured reserve on Collins.

"I think from here on out, we’ll be watching it. He’ll be improving. But he gives us the best chance and we learned from [Ron] Leary even though we’ve looked long with numbers there, when we bring La’el back, we’ve learned that boy, you drop one man out of that offensive front, and you can really compromise it. So that gives us depth going into the playoffs. We’ve got the quarterbacks. We’ve got our offensive line. I think we had a big contribution from a lot of our front seven last night, and that’s going to get better. This 10 days looks good. This thing looks good."
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NFL Ratings Hit Near-Record High On ‘Thursday Night Football’ - Matt Dolloff, CBS Boston
Sagging ratings? Cowboys to the rescue!

The game posted a 14.1 overnight rating, making it the second-highest-rated broadcast in the history of TNF, according to NFL PR exec Greg Aiello. It was ever-so-slightly behind the 14.3 that the Denver Broncos and Kansas City Chiefs posted in Week 2 of the 2015 season. The game even posted a better overnight rating than last Sunday night’s game between the Broncos and Chiefs, which posted an 11.8.

The Cowboys, of course, just proved that NFL fans are still willing to watch Thursday night games if they are good matchups with two popular franchises. Dallas right now has the luxury of being both the league’s most valuable franchise and best team in terms of win-loss record. There won’t be record ratings every Thursday night, but Dallas’ success won’t do anything but justify the league’s apparent plans to keep TNF around.
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Investing in an offensive line pays off in the NFL. Just ask the Cowboys and Raiders. - Mark Maske, The Washington Post
Dallas used draft picks. Oakland devoted salary cap space. The results have been dramatic.

It is a lesson that is clear when studying some of the league’s best and most surprising teams this season: Devoting resources to the offensive line can pay off handsomely. It has worked to make the Cowboys and Oakland Raiders two of the NFL’s elite teams in 2016, and to make the Tennessee Titans and Miami Dolphins relevant once more as playoff contenders.

No one has done it better than the Cowboys. They used a first-round pick on left tackle Tyron Smith in 2011. They used a first-rounder on center Travis Frederick in 2013. They went with Martin over Manziel in 2014, with Jones’s son and Cowboys executive Stephen Jones intervening to help keep his father from taking Manziel, and made Martin a starter at guard.

Smith, Martin and Frederick have been selected to a combined seven Pro Bowls, a number that is certain to grow this season, and the Cowboys have an offensive line that could be remembered as one of the sport’s all-time greats.
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Minnesota Vikings: Team upset about non-calls on TNF - Staff, SI.com
The Vikings and their fans are complaining about the refs in general, and specifically about the non-call on the two-point try, when defensive tackle Cedric Thornton hit Bradford in the helmet.

Lots of headlines about that non-call, but it's also cute how everyone is ignoring the blatant false start by the Vikings left tackle on that very same play.

Cowboys' Rolando McClain suspended indefinitely - Staff, NFL.com
Almost certainly the end of McClain's football career.

McClain has been suspended indefinitely without pay for violating the league's policy on substances of abuse. His previous 10-game suspension ended on Nov. 21 following the conclusion of Week 11.
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NFL playoff picture, 2017: Dallas Cowboys could have home field advantage clinching scenario in Week 14 - David Fucillo, Niners Nation
Don't you love reading Cowboys clinching scenarios on a blog for a team that is 1-10? I certainly do, and sat on my couch with a smug grin as a read what the 49ers SB Nation blog had to write about the Cowboys.

First off, the Cowboys can clinch a playoff spot this week with a loss by either the Tampa Bay Buccaneers or Washington on Sunday. Additionally, with the win they move to three games ahead of the 7-3-1 Seattle Seahawks atop the NFC and 2.5 games ahead of the New York Giants in the NFC East. The Giants travel to face the Steelers in Week 13, while the Seahawks are home against the Carolina Panthers.

The Steelers are a six-point favorite over the Giants. If the Steelers win that game and the Giants fall to three games back of the Cowboys, Week 14 presents a divisional clinching scenario for Dallas. Sunday Night Football next week features the Cowboys vs. the Giants at MetLife Stadium in New Jersey. The Giants beat the Cowboys to open the season, and considering the subsequent win streak, it makes that game hugely interesting.
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Defiant Giants on hot Cowboys : ‘They haven’t won NFC East yet’ - Howie Kussoy, New York Post
No kidding. But the Giants haven't won in Pittsburgh yet either.

For the second straight week, the Giants (8-3) enter their game already knowing they can’t make up any ground on the Cowboys (11-1). But with a loss at Pittsburgh — which would put the Giants three games back with four games to play — next week’s long-circled matchup won’t mean quite so much.

“They won and are still on a hot streak, so that’s pretty impressive,” linebacker Keenan Robinson said. “It hasn’t changed our goals at what we can still accomplish. We have to handle our duties in the game against the Steelers and worry about them next week.

“They haven’t won the NFC East yet, so there is still an opportunity available for us.”
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Eagles draft pick improved, thanks to Cowboys - Jeff Kerr, CBSSports.com
This one hurts a little bit.

The Philadelphia Eagles can thank the Dallas Cowboys for improving their first-round draft status. Philadelphia earned its first-round pick back thanks to the Minnesota Vikings giving the Eagles that pick for Sam Bradford.

The Eagles need to hope Minnesota continues to struggle as they fall out of the NFC playoff picture.
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Go Vikings!

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