Cigars

For the betterment of the Dallas Cowboys’ playoff chances, the New York Giants have to beat the Philadelphia Eagles. Of course, that won’t be an easy feat.

If the Eagles were to beat the Giants, the would have a 6-3 record, matching the Washington Redskins. At 5-4, the Dallas Cowboys would be a half game behind the Eagles and a full game behind the Redskins coming into next week’s match up at Fed Ex Field. The Giants would be 7-2 and hold a full 2.5 game lead over the Dallas Cowboys including the tiebreaker.

If the Giants were to win, they’d pretty much ensure a playoff berth barring no serious flop at 8-1 and also ensure the Dallas Cowboys won’t be able to win the division. It seems more and more that if the Dallas Cowboys make the playoffs, it will certainly be a wildcard berth.

Probable teams the Dallas Cowboys could face in any wildcard would be the Tampa Bay Bucs, Atlanta Falcons, or the Carolina Panthers. The Bears could be there, too.

The Dallas Cowboys making the playoffs is not a pipe dream yet. The match up against the Redskins will be a backbreaker if they lose. It will be the most important game of the season so far. Tony Romo returns but there is no certainty how well he will play. Terence Newman will be back but no one knows how well he will play. Felix Jones is expected to return, too, but is his hamstring going to be fully healed? Kyle Kozier is expected to anchor the middle again, but how well will he do?

All team sports information reports that for the first time all year, the Dallas Cowboys should have all of the key starters back for the game. But it means absolutely nothing right now. The Dallas Cowboys sure looked dominating against the Cleveland Browns in the first game, but ever since the loss to the Redskins, holes have shown up in just about every facet of the game. From the offensive line, to the secondary, to the running and passing games to the inconsistent defense, something has gone awry in every game since then. There was a wake-up call after barely defeating the Cincinnati Bengals that something wasn’t right.

There’s hope, a lot of it left on this site, that the Cowboys can turn this slump around. Fans are so used to the Dallas Cowboys crumbling late, so maybe it is a blessing in disguise that the adversity and trouble hit this team early, instead of in December. A few games in the win column against good opponents will do a lot for the confidence of everyone.

It all starts at Fed Ex Field. See you there!