The Cowboys best chance is their oldest rival

Here’s a positive thought during a time when everything that can go wrong, has, during a six-game losing streak for the Dallas Cowboys…

Losing that seventh game in a row becomes less shocking.

Sure, it’s still hard to stomach. I mean, unlucky number seven was just delivered by a team who had exactly one win at home since December of 2013. A team that managed a whopping ten points and still beat us. A franchise who has less wins in three years than the Cowboys had in all of 2014.

Hard to stomach, absolutely. Shocking… not so much.

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We could get into the typical post Sunday aftermath, consisting of finger-pointing and the blame game and point but you and me both do not own enough fingers to appropriately do that job.

I do want to say this one thing however. I saw a lot of people in various social media forums putting the blame for this loss on wide receiver Dez Bryant. You know, the same people who haven’t stopped praising his existence and return as a reason for hope.

What I did not see enough of was questioning the decision to throw on 3rd and 1 when you have an offensive line flush with three first round draft picks and a fourth guy who should have been. Would you rather lean on the third quarterback of the year or the supposed best line in football when you need one yard? You tell me.

So, here we are. Two wins and seven losses. Mathematically still alive, emotionally drained, spirit crushed.

Some people want to pull the plug on the season, play Kellen Moore the final seven games and put everyone that has any sort of value on IR to all but guarantee a top ten pick in the draft. Can’t say I blame this rationale, but it won’t happen.

What’s the next option? Well, there’s only really one.

Win out.

Forty teams have been 2-7 after their first nine games since 2002. Not a single one made the playoffs and rarely did any of them get more than five wins total.

That’s because if you’re pathetic enough to only manage two wins in nine tries, chances are, you’re not a good football team.

None of those forty-seven teams have the talent at key positions that the Cowboys do though. Oh… and there’s that whole return of the savior thing when it comes to getting quarterback Tony Romo back.

I just wonder what another post loss conversation will look like in the excruciating possible event that said hypothetical loss comes because Romo has an off day. Will everyone so adamant that Romo’s return equates an epic comeback still remember how loudly they beat this drum at that point?

The Cowboys can absolutely forget a run at the wild card. That ship sailed a long time ago.

The only shot is winning the division. Thankfully, the Giants and Eagles both lost on Sunday as well. Unfortunately, Dallas is still two games behind Philadelphia and, depending on next week’s outcome in Miami, two or three behind New York.

Let’s look at the other three teams and what their likely (not hopeful) results could be:

The Giants have probable losses coming their way at home versus Carolina and on the road against Minnesota. They have a likely win in Washington after the bye and three questionable games at home versus the Eagles and Jets and on the road at Miami.

Pencil in the Giants finishing 8-8.

The Eagles have probable losses coming their way at New England and home against Arizona. Give them two wins, even without quarterback Sam Bradford, against the Buccaneers and Lions. That leaves three questionable games at home versus Buffalo and Washington and on the road against the Giants.

Philadelphia should at least win eight and probably will win nine.

Lastly, Washington, the team everyone is forgetting about still has two games with the Cowboys, as well as one game each against the Eagles and Giants. Completing their season are road games against Carolina and Chicago and home date with Buffalo.

If Washington loses both to Dallas, as well as the Carolina game and one of those two against Chicago or Buffalo, that would mean the best they could do would be 7-9.

Since the Cowboys can only get to 4-2 at best in the division, they will need either Philadelphia or New York to have less total wins than they accumulate or tie and finish 3-3 within the division.

That means Washington is the key. If Washington can beat both the Eagles and Giants, whichever team wins that Week 17 matchup will also have no more than three division wins.

Next: Cowboys crumble in another 4th quarter meltdown

Cowboys fans looking for holiday cheer need to root for Washington the Sunday after Thanksgiving and Saturday after Christmas. That may just help set up a post New Year’s celebration on the final day of the regular season at AT&T Stadium.

Crazier things have happened… right?

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