The Landry Hat
Fansided

Why no one should give up on the Dallas Cowboys yet

By Matthew Conner

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History suggests that the Dallas Cowboys were virtually eliminated from the NFC playoff race with Sunday’s overtime loss to the Philadelphia Eagles. But while history may often repeat itself, it can also be rewritten.

Optimism for the Cowboys to make a playoff run is not high, but two unusual factors combine to give fans reason to believe that the Cowboys are not dead yet.

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First, almost every team that starts a season 2-6 is an awful team, even at full strength. This is not the case with the Cowboys.

When Dallas opened the season at full strength, the team was one of the most talented teams in the league and a Super Bowl favorite. Most teams find themselves at 2-6 because they are rebuilding or are just awful, but the Cowboys are at 2-6 because the team has been without its starting quarterback Tony Romo and All-Pro wide receiver Dez Bryant for the majority of the season’s first eight games.

Next, when a team finds itself at 2-6 that team is usually so far behind the division leader that there is no hope of capturing the division title. However, this year the Dallas Cowboys are fortunate enough to be in the worst division in the NFC.

If Dallas were in any other division in the NFL (other than the AFC South led by the 4-5 Indianapolis Colts), they would trail either the 8-0 New England Patriots, the 8-0 Cincinnati Bengals, the 7-1 Denver Broncos, the 6-2 Minnesota Vikings and Green Bay Packers, the 8-0 Carolina Panthers and the 6-2 Arizona Cardinals.

Luckily, the only team in the NFC East with a winning record is the New York Giants at 5-4. Unfortunately, Dallas missed out its opportunity to sweep the season series from the Giants on October 25, when former Cowboy’s wide receiver Dwayne Harris’ kickoff return touchdown doomed his former team.

But looking at the Giants’ remaining schedule, it is hard to see the team running away with the division. The Giants still must face New England, the New York Jets, Carolina, Minnesota and Philadelphia, which beat the Giants by 20 points in Week 6.

The seven remaining opponents the Giants play have an average .661 winning percentage. These teams at 37-19 thus far and include two undefeated teams meaning that the Giants’ face the toughest schedule in the entire NFL in the second half of the season.

Meanwhile, the other team considered a possible NFC title contender (despite how awful the team has looked thus far), the Eagles have a much easier second half of the season. Their opponents’ combined record is 33-32 for a winning percentage of .507.

How does the Cowboys’ remaining schedule stack up? The Cowboys’ future opponents have a record of 35 – 29 for an average winning percentage of .546.

In the NFL, assumptions are always dangerous but assuming that New England will beat the Giants this weekend is not illogical. That would put the Giants at only 5-5 and if Dallas can find a way to beat a bad Tampa Bay team on the road, the Cowboys will be only 1.5 games back of the division leaders with their starting quarterback set to return for the next game.

A 3-6 Cowboys team could realistically find its way to 9 wins putting it in the mix for a divisional title. It is hard to imagine the Giants or the Eagles winning more than 10 games.

Rather, it is more likely that the winner of the NFC East ends up with 10 or fewer wins.

A full-strength Dallas team is clearly the best team in the division. The talent disparity is obvious and it seems that the team has rediscovered its running game with Darren McFadden as the lead back (but don’t forget that he has been an injury liability during his career).

The Giants and the Eagles are basically what their records have shown them to be, average football teams. However, Dallas will soon have its best player back giving America’s team a reasonable shot at winning the division.

Next: Cowboys release the wrong quarterback

With Tony Romo under center, there is not a team in the NFL Dallas can’t beat and  Romo is known for his magical escapes and miracle comebacks. If he is able to lead this 2-6 team to the NFC playoffs, it will be the greatest magic trick of his career. But would it really be a shock to anyone?

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