Dallas Cowboys: Clinching early could result in deep playoff run

With a chance to wrap up the NFC East with a win on Sunday, it would benefit the Dallas Cowboys greatly to clinch early and give some key players rest.

Who would have thought we would be here? A little over a month ago almost everyone, myself included, buried the Dallas Cowboys. At 3-5 and sitting two games back in the division, any thought of making the playoffs seemed like a fairy tale. It’s hard to believe now in Week 15 the Cowboys will travel to Indianapolis to take on the Colts and could walk out as NFC East champs with a victory.

The tide has completely changed in Dallas, and the Cowboys are arguably the hottest team in the National Football League. Although the Cowboys have caught some well-needed breaks on this five-game winning streak, one thing Dallas really has not caught a break with is injuries.

The team has been without key players such as linebacker Sean Lee, wideout Tavon Austin, and left tackle Tyron Smith, throughout this last month, and have several guys playing who are battling through injuries just to get on the field every week.

Against Philadelphia on Sunday Dallas also lost All-Pro right guard Zack Martin to a knee injury that he has been bothered by all year. In addition, running back Ezekiel Elliott was forced to leave the game for a few plays to go through the NFL’s concussion protocol. It was also clear Tyron Smith did not look like himself during this game, and you have to figure he is still feeling the effects of the injury suffered in the Atlanta game.

Now it is all but certain Elliott, Martin, and Smith will suit up Sunday, but that does not mean they do not need some rest if Dallas wants to make a deep run into the postseason. If Dallas can close out the division with a win on Sunday, it could pay huge dividends getting some of their key players some rest.

Elliott, in particular, has carried an extremely heavy workload over the past few weeks, and it would be a nice luxury if the Cowboys could sit him a little more and let backup Rod Smith takeover about half of his snaps. Sean Lee is also another guy who likely will be returning from injury soon, and if Dallas has the division clinched out they could ease him in more and make sure he is 100% ready for the postseason run.

There are many reasons why clinching on Sunday could be big, but rest might be just the most important of them all. Smith, Martin, Elliott, and Lee. These are four guys that Dallas must have at full strength if they want to make a deep run into the postseason. If they can wrap things up in Indy this Sunday, this will give these guys some time to rest during the final two games of the season, and be all ready to go come playoff time in January.