For only the second time in 2024, the Dallas Cowboys have a chance to win three-straight games.
The last time they had a chance to win three in a row, they got blitzed at home by the Lions, 47-6. Chances are they won’t get blown out by the Bengals on Monday night.
Whether or not they can actually beat the Bengals for that third-straight win, and second in a row at home, remains to be seen.
But the fact is that, for the last two weeks, the Cowboys as a whole have looked much better than they have in several weeks.
There is one simple reason why this is so.
Pound That Rock
Dallas has discovered the benefits of having a running game.
It’s been one part by design and another part by accident. Injuries shuffled the offensive line.
The line as it is constituted now favors running the ball.
At some point, Mike McCarthy has finally realized that throwing the ball 50 times in a game isn’t going to work.
Over the past two games the Cowboys have thrown the ball 32 times against Washington and 36 times against the Giants. Those same two games had 28 and 32 rushing attempts.
In other words, the Cowboys have discovered a balanced attack on offense.
They are also taking care of the football. Cooper Rush has gone 11 quarters and 117 pass attempts without throwing an interception.
Rush’s streak dates back to the first quarter of the loss to the Texans.
Dallas has had just one turnover, a Rico Dowdle fumble, in the last two games.
Dowdle has been the biggest beneficiary of the return of the running game.
Against the Commanders two weeks ago he had 19 carries for 86 yards. On Thanksgiving Day, he had 22 carries for 112 yards and scored his first rushing touchdown of the year.
Keeping that balance, and feeding Dowdle consistently, will give Dallas their best chance to keep winning.
Defense, Special Teams Rise Up
The Cowboys’ defense is starting to gel, making life miserable on their opponents. DeMarvion Overshown recorded the unit’s first touchdown on a Pick Six on Thanksgiving Day.
Last year, the defense had six touchdowns, thanks mostly to DaRon Bland’s record-setting season.
The special teams unit is also stepping up, scoring two touchdowns on kickoff returns against the Commanders.
That was the first special teams score since KaVontae Turpin’s 60-yard punt return against the Browns in the season opener.
With the offense becoming more of a low-scoring, ball-control unit, the defense and special teams will need to keep playing the way they have the past two weeks.
Going Forward
Putting it simply: The playoffs began for the Dallas Cowboys two weeks ago.
The Cowboys almost certainly have to win out over their final five games to make the postseason for the fourth straight year. At worst, they have to go 4-1 and then they’d need help with a 9-8 record.
At 5-7, they currently have less than a 4% chance to make the playoffs. At best, they’d sneak in as the seventh seed.
The odds of them making it as a higher seed is less than 1%.
They are already eliminated from getting the top seed in the NFC as well as winning the NFC East division.
So yes, they should be in playoff mode. They really can’t afford another loss in 2024.
Dallas needs to take it one game, one win, at a time.
Starting with the Monday night game against the Bengals. The only reason the NFL isn’t flexing this game back to Sunday is because of a previously scheduled The Simpson’s simulcast.
“The Simpsons Funday Football” is an animated simulcast of the game that features Bart Simpson leading the Bengals and Homer Simpson teaming up with the Cowboys.
Since the voice-over and animation work is already in progress, there’s no way new teams could be brought in and still run the special.
Like Dallas, the Bengals are still alive for the seventh seed. But they also cannot afford a single loss the rest of the way.
If the Cowboys can keep Joe Burrow from becoming the Joe Burrow that took Cincinnati to the Super Bowl a few years ago they have a chance.
The Bengals’ defense can be run over. Cue feeding Dowdle the ball at least 25 times.
There’s win number one.
Trap Games Ahead?
Dallas should be able to travel to Carolina and leave with a win, but they can’t get caught looking ahead.
The make-or-break game will be the following week at home against Tampa Bay. The Buccaneers are in a dogged battle with Atlanta for the NFC South title.
If the Cowboys leave that game with an 8-7 record, it will be an interesting final two weeks.
They head for Philadelphia, who are battling both the Lions and Vikings for the top seed in the NFC.
Then comes the season finale against the Commanders at home.
How wild would it be if that game ends up being for the seventh seed? The winner keeps playing while the loser goes home?
Stick To The Plan
The only way the Cowboys turn this modest two-game winning streak into a storybook, season-saving seven-game streak is to keep doing what they’ve been doing.
If the Cowboys’ offense remains balanced, and the defense and special teams can provide key plays, it could happen.
But if Dallas reverts to Rush throwing the ball 40-plus times at any point the rest of the way, it’s game, and season, over.