A Call to Dedication and Sacrifice: One day for 3 Hours Part 1
By Jeff Magnia
The Dallas Cowboys still have an outside chance of getting into the playoffs as they take on the New Orleans Saints on Sunday. Of course, they must win out the remainder of the season and get help from several NFL teams. I am going to try my best to put together the scenarios that would get the Cowboys into the playoffs based off of the information from NFL.com.
The teams that are in the playoffs are the Atlanta Falcons and the San Francisco 49ers. Both have clinched a playoff spot and we won’t see them the first round. With this weekend and the next weekend only left, we have the Minnesota Vikings, the Green Bay Packers (who have secured their spot), and the Washington Redskins in the Wild Card round. Still in the hunt are the Cowboys, the Chicago Bears, New York Giants, and the St. Louis Rams.
The Minnesota Vikings are playing the Houston Texans this coming weekend and if our counterparts want any chance of a “Texas Super Bowl”, they need to beat the Vikings. How they are going to shut down Adrian Peterson, I am not sure? Either way, they must beat the Vikings.
The Cardinals and Bears faceoff this weekend and as far as I am concerned, I will be a 3-hour Cardinals fan. Arizona has a slim shot but it is going to be against a team that has lost 5 of their last 6 games. The Cardinals should be hungry for a win, especially after finally tasting a victory after nearly going 2 months without.
The New York Giants were shut-out last weekend against the Atlanta Falcons, 34-0. Needless to say, they play the Baltimore Ravens and the Giants are going to be head hunting after the embarrassment at Atlanta. This will be a good game, but again I will be rooting for the Ravens for 3-hours.
The St. Louis Rams play the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in a close match-up. Washington plays the Philadelphia Eagles this Sunday and quite frankly, the way the Eagles have been playing; we can probably count on the Redskins to win this one. Especially after the play of their backup QB Kirk Cousins, you can probably see a win in their future no matter who is playing quarterback on Sunday. As much it would hurt to try to do get the words out, we want Philly to pull one out and play spoiler.
Seattle is playing the 49ers on Sunday night football and this game promises to be a good one. Seattle is averaging 44 points per game in the last three games and San Francisco has been playing very well despite the fact they changed quarterbacks. I dislike the 49ers as much as anyone, but for one night for 3-hours; I will be a 49er fan.
Of course, let’s not forget the most important of 3-hours as the Cowboys play the New Orleans Saints. Kickoff is set for 12:00 pm CST at Cowboys Stadium. New Orleans has struggled quite a bit, losing the last 3 out of 4 games. Dallas is having their best December, going undefeated so far in the month that usually sees a huge collapse. This team has become a team of the second half, so let’s hope they play some complete games like they did last weekend, this the second half of the season.
So for 3-hour increments, I am going to be showing my best Cowboy colors by rooting for the teams we need to so our beloved team can be closer to the Promised Land in New Orleans. It is going to be hard to root for those teams because like many of you, I don’t care to root for any other team than ours. If we want our team in the playoffs, let’s sacrifice those 3-hours and get our team to New Orleans!!