The Dallas Cowboys and fans enter the final week of the regular season with a renewed vigor.
Just over a month ago, the Cowboys collapsed at the end of the game in Philadelphia to drop their record to 5-3 while the Eagles improved to 8-1.
Two weeks later after a pair of wins, Dallas sat at 7-3 while the Eagles continued to soar with a 10-1 record.
Cowboys Nation had all but accepted the fact Dallas would end the regular season as the 5th seed in the NFC to visit the NFC South winner in the Wildcard round.
Christmas came and went with two straight losses at Buffalo and Miami, but do not fret.
The Eagles' warts came to the surface after incredible fortune through the first 11 weeks of the season, and they have dropped four of their last five games.
Here come the Cowboys to pick up the pieces, and they now control their destiny on the path to the NFC East title and the 2nd seed in the conference.
On the slate is a date with the Commanders in Washington, a place that hasn't been too kind in recent years.
It may not seem like it because of the disparity in their records, but the Cowboys will likely need some bold performances to head into the playoffs with a victory.
As always, my bold predictions are just that: BOLD. They are meant to come across as farfetched yet still attainable. Don't at me, bro…
Dak Prescott Will Tie His Own Record
Back in 2021 and a year removed from his horrific ankle injury, Cowboys' QB Dak Prescott had the best season of his career. Prescott threw for 4,449 yards and 37 touchdowns to lead the Cowboys to an 11-5 record and a playoff berth.
The 37 touchdowns broke a long-standing franchise record for single-season passing touchdowns held by Tony Romo since 2007.
Dak is having an MVP-worthy season since throwing three interceptions during a bad loss at San Francisco.
The 2nd seed mentioned above isn't a given.
Dallas will have to enter a hostile environment in Washington where they always seem to struggle, regardless of the Commanders' talent.
On the other side of the coin, Prescott and the Cowboys have been known to light up the scoreboard on the final week of the regular season.
Trades and poor draft choices have gutted Washington's defense, and Prescott could be in for a feast.
My bold prediction is that Prescott will throw five touchdown passes to tie his own single-season record set just two years ago.
Jake Ferguson Will Catch 3 Touchdowns
On a day where I predict Dak Prescott to throw five touchdowns, it's too easy to choose one of his pass-catchers for a hat trick.
TE Jake Ferguson is that pass catcher this week.
Ferguson received much criticism when chosen by the Cowboys in the 4th round of the 2022 NFL Draft out of the University of Wisconsin.
Fans felt that the emergence of Dalton Schultz as a security blanket for Prescott meant a tight end wasn't needed.
In year two, Ferguson emerged as that security blanket that everyone thought Schultz was going to be.
Ferguson has caught 65 passes on 96 targets for 692 yards and five touchdowns.
The young tight end has never caught multiple touchdowns in a single game so my prediction of three this Sunday is bold.
Micah Parsons Will Record 4 Sacks
LB Micah Parsons recorded 13.0 sacks in his rookie year and followed it up with 13.5 in his sophomore campaign.
With one game left in the regular season, Parsons is sitting with 13.0, and he commented earlier this week on how he can't stand the number 13.
Enter the Washington Commanders, who have allowed 61 sacks in 16 games this season.
That's nearly four per game, and my bold prediction is that Micah Parsons will get all those four himself.
That will increase his season total to 17.0 and catapult him over Myles Garrett and T.J. Watt for NFL Defensive Player of the Year.
