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Once the third cornerback on the Dallas Cowboys' roster, Orlando Scandrick has proven to be one of the most consistent players in this secondary. His mindset heading into the final three weeks is one that the entire team should have.
The Dallas Cowboys have sent fans on a roller coaster of emotions to this point in the 2014 season. After starting the year at 0-1 with a brutal loss to the San Francisco 49ers, it was easy to believe in all of the preseason belief that this team would be miserable. Then, something beautiful happened. The Cowboys reeled off an incredibly impressive six-game win streak, which included a road win over the Seattle Seahawks. The Cowboys had shot up all of the different power rankings, and people were throwing around the words "Super Bowl."
Then came the sharp turn on the roller coaster ride, as the Cowboys lost back-to-back games with Tony Romo suffering a back injury in the first one, and Brandon Weeden struggling mightily in his only start against the Arizona Cardinals. At this point, the worry began to creep back into the minds of most. After a nice bounce back from that though, with two straight wins, it set up the game that seemed like it would decide the Cowboys' 2014 fate. A matchup with their most hated rival, the Philadelphia Eagles, to decide who would grab control of the NFC East. The Cowboys were fired up, hungry, emotional and ready to go. And then something strange happened.
This team got absolutely dominated, in every way that you could imagine.
That was it. The Cowboys were looking at a wildcard spot at best, and the Eagles were poised to ride off into the sunset with their divisional championship. That is, until those previously mentioned Seahawks came along and dominated the Eagles on their home field this past weekend. Pair that with the Cowboys winning without much of an issue against the Chicago Bears, and now we get the revenge game. It's the matchup that could almost completely make up for the Thanksgiving debacle.
Many players have had things to say about the first loss to the Eagles, as well as how they are approaching this game, but no one put it better than Orlando Scandrick did.
"The playoffs are here now. They've started," he said. "If we want to go somewhere and do something, it starts now."
That's what you call "hitting the nail on the head."
Scandrick has stepped up as a leader of this defense in many ways, and the man who has made the rise to becoming the Cowboys' most consistent cornerback, isn't going to hide his emotions anymore. If you think I'm lying, look no further than his absolute blow up after the Cowboys gave up two touchdowns in 1:08 during the fourth quarter of their win over the Chicago Bears.
Those two scores made it a 10-point game with just over six minutes remaining, and while everyone else seemed frustrated, but not concerned, Scandrick wanted none of it. He was not going to let this defense fall apart and blow this lead, and he backed up his sideline explosion by picking off Jay Cutler in the end zone to secure the Cowboys' win.
Scandrick has the right mindset, and the Cowboys need to be on board with what their young cornerback is saying. After the brutal loss to the Eagles just two weeks ago, though, there's no question that this team has their head on straight, and that they are ready to right the ship.
Buckle up your seat belts, because this game has the potential to set up one of the craziest, and best finishes to a season for the Cowboys in recent memory.
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