Cowboys receive added motivation the day after loss to Dolphins
It was a painful loss in Miami for the Dallas Cowboys the night before Christmas. But as Cowboys fans start to get out of the Christmas whirlwind and back into the routine, they should be relieved by an undeniable fact: Nothing really changed in terms of their chances at stealing the NFC East at the […]
It was a painful loss in Miami for the Dallas Cowboys the night before Christmas.
But as Cowboys fans start to get out of the Christmas whirlwind and back into the routine, they should be relieved by an undeniable fact: Nothing really changed in terms of their chances at stealing the NFC East at the last second other than having one fewer week for it to happen.
That might not be enough consolation for fans wanting to see the Cowboys win on the road but their Super Bowl chances would increase significantly if they secure home-field advantage for a week or two so it's only worth it bringing it up.
The Cowboys still need the same two things they needed before losing to the Dolphins in Week 16 to be crowned division champions:
- Win their last two games vs Lions, at Commanders
- Eagles lose one of their last two: vs Cardinals, at Giants
On Christmas Day, the Cowboys received some added motivation entering the final stretch of the regular season, by the way. Let's dive in.
Eagles might really lose one game
Even though the New York Giants benched Tommy DeVito halfway through the game, the Eagles were close to dropping a game in Philly to a Giants squad that is 5-10 entering Week 17.
That's just the reality of the Eagles right now: They're a very good roster that doesn't make it easy on themselves. When they win, it's usually a close, one-score type of game.
Their rushing offense is struggling to generate explosive plays and Jalen Hurts isn't quite looking like the best passer in the NFL. They've shown many times they can be beaten. So much so that while I'd make them the favorites in each of their last two games, I can't pretend they're guaranteed ones.
Are we really convinced Kyler Murray's Cards can't catch them off guard? Or that they won't struggle against a Tyrod Taylor-led Giants team that put them in danger in Philly? Next time, it'll be at MetLife.
I'm not ruling anything out and the Cowboys better be ready to take advantage of the potential opportunity by taking care of business on their end.
49ers are beatable… kind of?
The other source of motivation for the Cowboys after a tough loss on the road was Monday Night Football: The Baltimore Ravens took down the Goliath of the NFC, the boogeyman of Dallas, the unstoppable force that is the San Francisco 49ers.
Here's the catch, though: It wasn't pretty. The Ravens still allowed 6.3 yards per play and three players with 100+ yards from scrimmage. They just happened to take the ball away five times!
Sure, you can bring down the Niners, but you've got to take the ball away. And man, you can't fall behind on the scoreboard, which the Cowboys did in Week 5.
Monday was proof that Kyle Shanahan's squad can be beaten, especially if you manage to go up on the board and force Brock Purdy to drop back and pass. And that's not even hating on Purdy, it's just true that when things are going their way, they're a relentless yard-gaining unit. But when they're forced to play more traditional football, teams have a chance.
That's when an opportunistic defense like Dan Quinn's could get different results against them in the playoffs.
Overall, the week will still feel like an L to the Cowboys and rightfully so. But the NFL games on Christmas certainly provide some motivation moving forward.
