“Don’t blink,” is the message Dak Prescott energized his teammates before the decisive steering stroke that finally gave meaning to Sunday afternoon in Arlington. In the previous three hours, though, dalas cowboy blinked and blinked again and blinked again.
Cowboys blinked very often against Houston Texas it’s like making the eyes water, and there are almost real tears about to fall from a nail biter 27-23 that you may have seen, captured the highlights or read, so now is the time to find out what it all means.
We’ll go through the steps of that here, but provide an introduction right on top. If you’re looking for Sunday’s results to mean the Cowboys’ fighting spirit warrants their playoff readiness or their inconsistent performance suggests otherwise, you’ll be disappointed. .
Because we’re over.
We’re so used to forensics on Cowboys screens this time of year that we just can’t give up the habit. This time it’s different.
Mid-December has arrived and we know that Dallas will enter post-season. There’s clear enough evidence to suggest it’s a team capable of doing some damage there. And, naturally, has the potential to flare up and frustrate its legion of fans.
This fact is not new and nothing that happens on Sunday changes it. Dallas has a definite place in the NFL’s hierarchy this season, one of the few teams that can focus on the knockouts and prepare accordingly.
A loss to the Texans would be a shock, but is it doom and a damning indictment of whether Mike McCarthy’s team has a chance to make a splash after the season? Answer yes if you must, but doing so may seem a bit overreacted.
The opposite also applies. Is it possible to cross the line late against Houston with a calm final hit – behind the strong arms of Prescott and by Dalton Schultz firm hand and by Ezekiel Elliott skillful footwork – does that mean they are now battle-tested and tempered and can use the memory of the experience to positive effect in January?
No.
It’s a fun game, a performance full of Texan spirit, and a solid job of getting out of the Cowboys congested state. And that’s really it; there is no cause or benefit to be derived from withering.
Prescott saw it as something more than that, because he’s smart and knowledgeable and that’s what QB does; Show positivity and put some verbal light on a performance that often lacks luster.
“We need that game,” he told reporters. “You’re going to play some tough games. You have to play one point games at the end, just to gain confidence and trust each other.”
Truth be told, we don’t know more than we did over the weekend. We know Dallas is likely to play poorly during game periods, and we knew that before, because we know that applies to every team in the league, including the Philadelphia Eagles 12-1 .
We know the Cowboys have a good quarterback who can serve when under duress and that’s not a big reveal either. We knew Dallas had the intelligence and timeliness to fight back against adversity against a 1-10-1 team and yes, we could have guessed that score too if we bothered to think about it. it.
The rest of this Cowboys season is a pure business of results, not a quest for deeper meaning. Can Prescott’s offensive ability and fiery, hungry defense produce enough wins to put pressure on the Eagles? Can they make the second best record in NFC and the 5th seed the best and the 1st record, with all the advantages it will bring?
That’s the important thing. There are no positive signs and worrisome signals as well as major indicators and moral victories or psychological failures. It’s about winning and losing.
A season is approaching in which the Cowboys are a legitimate threat and deserve to be considered one of the top NFC favorites.
Time from now and then will pass. Blink and you will miss it.
Don’t blink… and sometimes you get an interesting ending and an interesting comeback. But not much more. Not yet, anyhow.
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Martin Rogers is a columnist for FOX Sports and the author of the FOX Sports Insider newsletter. Follow him on Twitter @MRogersFOX and Sign up for the daily newsletter.
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