Former rival sends a message about the Cowboys that no one would have imagined before Thanksgiving win over Chiefs

The Dallas Cowboys are causing some crazy Thanksgiving reactions following their big win.

Mauricio Rodriguez — Dallas Cowboys News Writer
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The Dallas Cowboys were done, finished, ended. Or at least it seemed like it. At the bye week, at 3-5-1 and with the worst-ranked defense in the NFL, it appeared head coach Brian Schottenheimer would have to wait until his second year on the job to have a winning season.

Now, on the heels of back-to-back victories against the Kansas City Chiefs and Philadelphia Eagles—the two teams that played in Super Bowl LIX—there’s at least one former NFL coach calling them the best team in football. And he happens to be a former rival.

Former Washington head coach Jay Gruden took to social media on Thursday night to call Dallas the best squad in the NFL. You can see the post below:

Now, let’s pump the brakes a little bit.

Best team in the NFL? That may be the holidays magic talking. You need a little bit more to earn such a title. A 3-0 run is important but it’s extremely premature to call them that. Not to mention, it’s not like the Cowboys are blowing opponents out of the water. Their win against the Chiefs—who have been banged up and have been known for their struggles this year—came down to the wire. At one point, they were down 21-0 against the Eagles.

And yet, Gruden’s Thanksgiving overreaction says a lot about the Cowboys’ late-season turnaround. And the NFL world should absolutely take notice.

Cowboys may not be the best team, but they’re a good football team

While I’m not going to agree with Gruden’s extremes, don’t get it twisted: This is a good football team. It has a solid defense that’s been playing top-tier football. Will it hold up at an elite level against more consistent offenses? We’ll find out. Probably not. But it doesn’t need to be a top unit. It just needs to be viable. It needs to pressure the quarterback, create turnovers, and create tackles for loss.

The Cowboys have done all of that since the bye week. With Quinnen Williams in the lineup, offensive coordinators have someone to worry about on a weekly basis. His addition has been so impactful that Williams has more pressures in three games in Dallas than he did in eight games with the New York Jets. Osa Odighizuwa has played his best football since Williams’ arrival as he sees more one-on-ones.

That’s all Dallas needs to take advantage of their biggest asset: A Dak Prescott-led offense that features two monster wide receivers in George Pickens and CeeDee Lamb. Double them, and you’ll deal with a physical run game spearheaded by Javonte Williams and a mean interior offensive line.

There’s no denying it. It’s a good football team. The best? Nah.

With that being said, the Cowboys have a winning record and their playoff hopes remain alive. Let’s see what they do in the next five games and maybe, just maybe, they earn the right to call themselves the top squad in the game.

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