Dallas Cowboys: Playoff bound in the division driver’s seat

Make no mistake, the Dallas Cowboys can still make the playoffs in the weakest division in the NFL.

There was a signature moment in the Dallas Cowboys’ humbling 33-14 loss to Carolina on Thanksgiving. It was iconic. It was a moment that perfectly expressed who the Cowboys are in 2015.

No, it wasn’t the image of quarterback Tony Romo writhing in pain on the AT&T Stadium turf, having fractured his left collar bone for the third time in six seasons.

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It wasn’t the interception linebacker Rolando McClain dropped at the end of the first quarter, which, had he returned it, could have tied the game at 10-10 and perhaps turned the tide of an eventual blowout.

It wasn’t the missed pass interference call in the red zone a drive earlier, when running back Darren McFadden was clearly mugged by Carolina linebacker Thomas Davis and the Cowboys had to settle for three points.

Injuries, turnovers, and poor officiating have certainly impacted this season. The Cowboys can’t seem to catch a break on any of those three key fronts. While important, though, they aren’t the central storyline to 2015. They aren’t who this team is.

The signature moment of this campaign took place with two minutes left and the Cowboys down by three scores. With the franchise quarterback lost, the season over, and facing humiliation in front of a holiday home crowd, the Dallas Cowboys blocked a field goal.

Who does that? Who goes that hard in a game that can’t be won during a season that’s already lost? AT&T Stadium is a far cry from Thermopylae, but that’s who the Cowboys are in 2015. They are outmatched, and they are relentless.

And now they are back in control of the division.

This year 8-8 can win the East. The Giants lost to the Redskins 20-14 on Sunday, giving them three division losses. If the Cowboys can win out, they will finish 8-8 with the best division record in the East at 4-2. They’ll have the head-to-head tie breaker against the Redskins and the division tie breaker against the Eagles and Giants.

At 5-6 the Giants need four more wins to get to nine. They host the Jets, Panthers and Eagles, and travel to Miami and Minnesota. You see four wins in there?

The Eagles need five more wins to get to nine. They host the Bills, Cardinals and Redskins, and face road games against the Patriots and Giants. The Eagles are done.

The Cowboys need help to win the division, but it’s help they’re likely to get from the Eagles and Giants.

To win out the Cowboys will have to beat the Redskins twice, with the first win coming this Sunday at FedEx Field. Funny, since at the start of this season no one circled those games on the calendar as critical. We’ve heard a lot of “must win” talk going all the way back to Week 4, but this is the first game of the year the Cowboys truly cannot afford to lose.

If they win, they’re in the driver’s seat. The ‘Skins are 5-1 at home, having beaten the Giants, Rams, Eagles, Bucs and Saints. Not a winning record in the bunch.

These Cowboys haven’t won without Tony Romo, but they can. And maybe now that Romo is gone for good, they will. Tony’s brilliance has bailed out this franchise for a decade. That has an effect on the psyche. Maybe now that everyone knows Romo won’t be back to make everything OK, they’ll go out and find a way to win without him.

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They went 5-3 down the stretch without him in 2010. That was with a worse defense, an aging and battered offensive line, and less explosive skill position players. This is a better team. This is a relentless team.

A Thanksgiving blowout loss turned the season around last year, and the Cowboys won out. Don’t be surprised if it happens again this year.

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