Dallas Cowboys Bye Week Comes at the Perfect Time
The Dallas Cowboys are heading into their bye week through Week Seven of the NFL regular season. And it couldn’t have come at a better time.
What a difference a year makes. Around this time one year ago, the Dallas Cowboys limped into their bye week, having just been embarrassed by the New England Patriots for their third straight loss. The loss dropped the Cowboys to 2-3, and with half their offense on the injury report; there was nowhere to look for optimism.
It’s pretty safe to say that the feeling around the locker room is a little bit different, even if the team has a similar injury report to their 2015 campaign. Week Seven could prove to be pretty impactful for the Cowboys, despite them not even taking the field.
The most obvious reason this will be a crucial bye week is that the injury report has another week to shorten up. Dez Bryant has already said he’ll be healthy after the bye week. Starting quarterback Tony Romo has another week to get his bad back healthy. Cornerback Orlando Scandrick hasn’t seen the field since the Cowboys Week Two win in Washington. Even kicker Dan Bailey couldn’t avoid the injury bug, despite not missing any time with his back injury.
The bye week rolling around in the middle of a 5-game winning streak doesn’t seem ideal, but when you look at the star power that could be returning to the field on October 30th, you shouldn’t worry about momentum being broken. Regardless of where you stand on the Dak vs. Romo controversy, there is no question that getting Bryant back on the field will help the offense continue to click.
On the defensive side of the ball, we could potentially see Scandrick get back on the field on the other side of the bye, and Morris Claiborne may not miss any game time with his concussion coming right before the week off. This team should be healthy and well rested heading into a big divisional matchup with the Philadelphia Eagles.
Best of all, the Cowboys could sit on their couches this weekend and watch all three of their division rivals lose. The New York Giants head across the Atlantic to take on the Rams, who have been inconsistent, but are more than capable of handing the Giants their fourth loss on the season. The Eagles are carrying a two-game losing streak into their matchup with the undefeated Minnesota Vikings.
Finally, the second-place Washington Redskins head into the weekend squaring off in Detroit against the Lions. That means the Cowboys could potentially gain ground on the entire division without even lacing up a pair of cleats. That makes for a pretty good weekend.
The Cowboys come out of the bye facing a stumbling Eagles team, the winless Cleveland Browns, and the Pittsburgh Steelers who will likely be without their starting quarterback. The team has a chance to use this bye week to really establish themselves as one of the top teams in the NFL.
Next: Dallas Cowboys Score High On Bye Week Report Card
While Cowboys head coach Jason Garrett has a 2-3 record following the bye week, he’s never had a team as young and talented as this one. There have been a lot of big wins so far this season, but the biggest win of the season through seven weeks could be a successful bye week.