Cowboys playoff hopes still alive despite loss to Packers

The Dallas Cowboys are now two games off the division pace with three contests left to play.

The Dallas Cowboys slim playoff hopes took a hit on Sunday when the team lost to the Green Bay Packers 28-7 at Lambeau Field. The Cowboys defense kept them in the game until late in the fourth quarter, but the offense once again showed that it is simply not good enough as a unit. Dallas’ offensive ineptitude has cost the team wins on several occasions, and Week 14’s loss to the Packers was just another in a long list of uninspiring 2015 performances. And yet somehow the Cowboys are still alive in the hunt for the postseason.

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Dallas entered the week having just beaten the division leading Washington Redskins on a late fourth quarter Dan Bailey field goal to pull within one game of first place. Looking to build momentum and confidence against the Packers, the Cowboys did just the opposite. Defensively Dallas played very well. The numbers will show that the team gave up 28 points and 435 yards to Green Bay, but much of that total can be attributed to a Dallas offense that was unable to operate at a level that even resembles consistency.

Quarterback Matt Cassel and the Cowboys offense were shutout in the first half, and were unable to convert on third down throughout the game. In fact, Dallas ran 11 third down plays and was able to achieve a first down only once on the afternoon. The offense had put together an impressive opening drive to start the game only to have Cassel’s 3rd & goal pass intended for wide receiver Dez Bryant deflect off of Bryant’s shoulder pads and into the waiting hands of Packers defensive back Sam Shields for the interception.

The Cowboys would put together a touchdown drive in the second half to pull to within one touchdown of Green Bay. That drive was powered by running back tandem Darren McFadden and Robert Turbin. The two backs carried the ball for 80 yards on four plays and Turbin finished it off with a seven yard run for the score. McFadden and Turbin were the only real bright spot on the offensive side for Dallas as they paired up to amass 170 yards on the ground. But it was not enough to offset a miserable day for the Cowboys passing attack, which saw Cassel complete just 13 of 29 passing attempts for 114 yards through the air.

The other two NFC East teams that played on Sunday, the Redskins and the Philadelphia Eagles, both won their matchups and are now two games up on Dallas with three weeks left in the season. The New York Giants face the Miami Dolphins on Monday Night Football and will be looking to keep pace. The Cowboys would be eliminated from the postseason with one more loss and a victory by either Philly or Washington, or two more wins by the Giants.

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Dallas may still have a mathematical shot at making the playoffs, but there is little chance of that happening if the offense does not improve. The Landry Hat editor, Steven Mullenax, is asking if it is time for the Cowboys to move on from Cassel and insert quarterback Kellen Moore. With three games remaining and a stagnant offense their is virtually no downside to doing so. It does not seem likely that Dallas will win enough games if they aren’t better with the ball, and the worst that can happen is you lose three games while evaluating Moore as an NFL passer. They certainly can’t be any less productive offensively than they have been with Cassel.

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