Sunday was a good day, but it is important to not make it more than what it was.
The slide is over! The Dallas Cowboys stunned everyone, especially their fans, by pulling out a wild, record-setting win against their NFC East rival, the Washington Commanders. For one game, we can smile a little, especially at some of the bizarre twists and turns on special teams.
It hardly means that they are somehow going to go on a tear and claw their way back into playoff contention, or that Mike McCarthy is going to resurrect his future in Dallas. It’s actually hard to come up with what we should take from the game. There is always the tanking for a 2025 draft pick angle thrown in just to confuse things.
So for a change, our David Howman and Tom Ryle are going to remind us what the real meaning of the season is. No, not the holidays. They are talking about the NFL season.
Tom: Let’s take a big picture view of things. The NFL is, from the first game into September until the Lombardi Trophy is handed out in February, the most popular form of entertainment in the country. And with the draft, free agency, training camps, and preseason, the impact of professional football extends even further.
Well, if you are looking for entertainment, it is hard to find a more wildly fun game than the win over the Commanders. There was an element of comedy as all the kickers seemed to have moments that were the equivalent of pratfalls. And the drama lasted until the final seconds as the Cowboys almost blew it before pulling it all out in the end.
I actually laughed out loud at multiple times. Some were wry and sarcastic, but others were just plain joy at the humor inherent in things like not one but two kickoffs returned for scores. There is always an element of disappointment for the losing team, but when your favorite squad pulls off an almost bizarre win like this one, it should leave a smile on your face, at least until the next game.
David: Yeah, this was one of those games where you could replace the audio with a continuous loop of Yakety Sax and it would be just as entertaining, if not more so. Special teams pratfalls with a ton of punts sandwiched in between and then an explosion of scoring in the fourth quarter made for a hilarious comedy. That it came against so many former Cowboys playing/coaching for a division rival made it all the more sweet.
It does introduce a fun fantasy, though. The Cowboys looked genuinely good in this game: Cooper Rush looked comfortable, Rico Dowdle was running hard, and the defense shut down a really talented offense until they started playing soft coverages in the fourth. The Cowboys’ next four opponents all have losing records. What are the odds that they sit at 8-7 on December 29 when they waltz into Philadelphia for a rematch against the Eagles?
This is made even more interesting by the Commanders’ current slide. Suddenly, second place in the NFC East seems a bit more attainable. There’s still likely only one Wild Card spot up for grabs after the Vikings and Packers, but there’s only two NFC teams with a winning record currently after the top six.
I’m not saying, I’m just saying….
Tom: Oh, stop! Don’t get your hopes up for this season because of one game. The best way to approach this is without any expectations or real optimism and just hope they can put some more shows on the field.
But what you can feel good about is that we may finally be seeing this roster start to get its act together, which means the future may not be as dismal as we feared. Josh Butler had a breakout game. Luke Schoonmaker looked good, DeMarvion Overshown is the future at linebacker and Eric Kendricks may be worth retaining, Chauncey Golston has a couple of big moments, and that patchwork offensive line was about as good as anything we’ve seen all season. Even Mazi Smith had a highlight or two. Those are good signs for the rest of 2024.
What’s exciting is that there may be more to build on for next season than we expected coming into this game. I think a new coaching staff is inevitable, but now this may be a much more attractive destination for anyone who thinks he can deal with the owner. It’s time to look forward and not fear we are going to see a team stuck at the bottom of the NFC.
My best advice, though, is to remember this is a game. It doesn’t affect the weather or the price of eggs, so just relax and enjoy. Especially as long as things like KaVontae Turpin going full psychopath keep happening, as Jourdan Lewis put it. Football is supposed to be fun, and after five weeks of misery, we got a full dose of pure entertainment.
David: I’m with you that a coaching change is happening one way or another, but I would love to see Mike McCarthy go on a run after this and set himself up to get the bag in coaching free agency. Taking Cooper Rush to the edge of playoff contention and then being shown the door would be a hilarious indictment on this organization, though the way McCarthy was set up to fail this offseason was already a massive black eye on the way this team runs things.
Which is what I keep coming back to in the wake of this win. It’s been easy to direct criticism at the coaching staff during the losing streak, and some of it was earned, but it’s hard to look at this roster – they played this game without their top five players in cap hit – and argue that things should be any better. If anything, this win was a reminder that McCarthy (and Zimmer, and several others) is still a good football coach, but that he was given a raw deal this year.
Like you said, though, these are existential questions that will make for great talking points as the team is holding interviews for their head coaching vacancy come January. In the meantime, we ought to enjoy ourselves and have a little bit of fun. And if this past game was any indication, the team is ready to have some fun.
Up next? Micah Parsons vs Tommy Cutlets on Thanksgiving. What could be more entertaining?
