A little under a month ago, the Dallas Cowboys dropped to 3-5-1 with an ugly Week 9 loss to the Arizona Cardinals, a defeat that gave America's Team virtually no shot to make the postseason. They got a little help in the wild-card race during their Week 10 bye, but also fell four games behind the NFC East-leading Philadelphia Eagles in the win column that week when the Birds took a 10-7 victory over the Green Bay Packers.
But things have gotten very interesting since then, as the Cowboys have reeled off three consecutive victories, first besting the Las Vegas Raiders, then pulling off a historic comeback win over the Eagles, and following up four days later with a Thanksgiving Day victory over the Kansas City Chiefs to up their record to 6-5-1.
Now, where things get really wild is with the Eagles losing to the Chicago Bears to drop to 8-4 and the San Francisco 49ers sitting in the seventh and final playoff position in the NFC after improving to 9-4 on Sunday with a win over the Cleveland Browns, the Cowboys are actually closer in the NFC East race than they are in the wild-card race, which is just unfathomable, given where things stood only a few weeks ago.
Dallas, of course, must continue to win games to stay in both races, starting with this Thursday night's matchup with the Detroit Lions. And they'll obviously need the teams in front of them to lose some games.
In regard to the Eagles, their next matchup comes next Monday night against the Los Angeles Chargers. But Philly may have caught a break, both figuratively and literally, as LA quarterback Justin Herbert may not be on the field that night, as he suffered a broken bone on the back of his non-throwing hand in the Bolts' 31-14 win over the Raiders on Sunday afternoon.
The Cowboys may have to rely on Trey Lance to beat the Eagles
Herbert suffered the injury during the Chargers' opening offensive series against Las Vegas but actually played through the pain after covering his left hand with both a hard cast and a glove, ultimately completing 15 of his 20 throws for 151 yards with two touchdowns and an interception.
The 27-year-old was set to undergo surgery on Monday morning, and while he was talking as if he had every intention to still suit up against the Eagles in the aftermath of the Chargers' victory, there's certainly no guarantee that will happen. Having the extra day of recovery is helpful, but the Bolts will simply have to wait and see how the week progresses.
If Herbert can't go, Los Angeles will turn to none other than former Cowboys backup Trey Lance, who threw all of 41 regular-season passes during his two-year run in Dallas and has thrown just 13 passes in three appearances for the Chargers this season.
The Bolts, of course, are still battling for a playoff spot themselves, so they'll obviously be hoping that Herbert will recover quickly, as will the Cowboys.