Jerry Jones leans into ‘daydream’ as Cowboys cling to fading playoff hopes – Randy Gurzi, SI.com
A fan (and the Cowboys owner) can only dream.
The Dallas Cowboys are in danger of missing the playoffs following their Thursday night loss to the Detroit Lions. That ended their three-game winning streak and dropped their odds of making the postseason to just 9%. They’re still alive, however, and can increase those odds to roughly 47% if they win out. Still, that means they will need a lot of help even if they win the final four games.
Jerry Jones understands what it will take, but he’s remaining optimistic. While speaking to 105.3 The Fan on Friday, Jones said he likes to “daydream” and said “crazy things happen” in the NFL.“I, too, knew what was at stake about our odds of getting in the playoffs. We… We have a better team than we played last night. We do. Detroit is a good team, but we have a better team. And so can we literally win out? Of course, we can win out. Is it going to be hard? Double, of course, it is to win out,” Jones said.
“And a lot of crazy things happen. And so I think very much that we should look at last night with what might have been. And I like to do that. Nothing wrong. I live in a lot of my past, and it never kept me from doing something for the future. and present day. So I like to daydream.”
Jones also said there’s a lot of work to be done, but he knows the Cowboys can play better than they did against the Lions.“But we’ve got to look at the very narrow chance that if we get out here and play better than we played last night, yeah, we can be still playing when playoff time comes.”
Week 14 rooting guide for Cowboys fans-Jess Haynie, Blogging the Boys
Here’s where the Cowboys can start getting help to keep the hope alive.
Wait, they’re still playing games this weekend? Despite what happened to our Cowboys on Thursday night, the rest of the NFL isn’t respecting the mourning period. If you’re like-minded, and especially if you’re still holding out hope for Dallas to get into the playoffs, the door is still open and worth watching.
Granted, Thursday’s loss to the Lions didn’t help. But the Cowboys could still get to 10 wins in the regular season, which gives them a reasonable shot at qualifying for the tournament. Playing Detroit on the road was arguably the toughest game left on Dallas’ schedule. If they can do their part and win the next four, what happens throughout the rest of the NFC will decide their fate.
Current 2025 NFC Playoff Standings
1. Chicago Bears 9-3 (6-2 vs NFC)
2. Los Angeles Rams 9-3 (4-3)
3. Philadelphia Eagles 8-4 (7-3)
4. Tampa Bay Buccaneers 7-5 (5-3)
5. Seattle Seahawks 9-3 (5-3)
6. Green Bay Packers 8-3-1 (6-2-1)
7. San Francisco 49ers 9-4 (8-2)
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8. Detroit Lions 8-5 (5-4)
9. Carolina Panthers 7-6 (5-3)
10. Dallas Cowboys 6-6-1 (3-5-1)What needs to happen in the remaining Week 14 games to improve Dallas’ chances? With both a wild card spot and winning the NFC East still possible, we’ll get into the schedule. The 49ers and Panthers are on a bye week, so no help there.
Monday night’s game would be a huge help if Los Angeles can keep Philly crying. The 8-4 Chargers are working on their own playoff spot, so they should prove solid competition. If the Eagles lose their third straight, it could lead to a major implosion. Dallas catching them in the division is still the clearest path to the postseason, so we need this one badly.
With only four weeks left after this one, Dallas has a better shot of catching the eight-win Packers than the nine-win Bears. Neither is likely, of course, but we have to root for math at this point.
There are currently three nine-win teams in the NFC West, so hard to say who’s actually going to win it between the Seahawks, 49ers, and Rams. Whoever does, Dallas needs to be able to catch one of them in the wild card race.
Dan Orlovsky just dropped a harsh reality the Cowboys aren’t ready to face – Michael Haney, The Landry Hat
The Cowboys defense still needs to improve.
After a brutal loss on Thursday night to the Detroit Lions, the Dallas Cowboys’ momentum toward a postseason appearance has come screeching to a halt. Now, their odds of making the playoffs have plummeted to just 9%, according to The Athletic. What was set up to be a thrilling end to the season has shifted to become a brutal month-long reality check, forcing this front office to take a long look in the mirror before moving into the offseason.
The Cowboys’ likely absence from the playoff picture is difficult to accept at first. Dak Prescott, equipped with an elite group of weapons, is playing some of the best football of his career. Brian Schottenheimer has rallied the locker room in a way that few experts expected.
Especially after the Quinnen Williams trade, things seemed to be moving in the right direction for Dallas. But one harsh truth has kept the Cowboys from accomplishing their goals this season. As NFL analyst Dan Orlovsky laid out, you can’t compete in the NFL without having a capable defense.
Dan Orlovsky gives Cowboys’ defense the reality check they need
The morning after the Cowboys’ loss to the Lions, Orlovsky put the team’s shortcomings in clear terms. As he laid out, it’s nearly impossible for teams that allow as many points as the Cowboys do to make the playoffs. The only team to make the postseason with comparable numbers on defense was the 2000 Rams, commonly known as the “Greatest Show on Turf.” This Cowboys offense may be playing at a high level, but Orlovsky showed that it takes an all-time great offense to overcome a defense as porous as theirs has been this season.
Still making sense of what happened on Thursday.
Three weeks of ecstasy as a fan came crashing down Thursday night in the Motor City, as the Dallas Cowboys got stomped at the hand of the Lions in a 44-30 defeat. At the end of the day, fans should still be proud of the team who nobody expected to go 2-1 in the “gauntlet” part of their schedule. In the span of 17 days, the Cowboys defeated both Super Bowl participants from the 2024 season, and played competitively in a loss to a Lions team that finished the season 15-2 last year. Winning two out of three in that stretch should have fans ecstatic, but with the margin for error so thin, the loss feels like the Cowboys’ season is over, and it very well could be. Before moving on to the Minnesota Vikings, here is the good, the bad, and the ugly from the devastating loss in Detroit.
The Good
Ryan Flournoy
In a season that may be lost, it is important to start thinking about the future. If Thursday night is any indication, WR Ryan Flournoy should be part of that future. Thrust into the WR2 role after CeeDee Lamb was lost to a concussion, Flournoy responded with nine receptions for 115 yards and the recipient of Dak Prescott’s only touchdown pass of the evening. Should Lamb miss extended time in concussion protocol, the WR2 spot appears to be in good hands with Flournoy. No pun intended.
The Bad
George Pickens
WR George Pickens has been a blessing to a Cowboys’ offense that has desperately needed a 1b to CeeDee Lamb since Amari Cooper was traded away. Pickens finally showed us some of the behavior that got him traded out of Pittsburgh, and it came at a time when he was needed most. Lack of effort is the main culprit, and Pickens’ body language Thursday night at times seemed to suggest he was disinterested in the game. One such play was a deep ball from Prescott late in the 4th quarter that Pickens either lost in the lights, or he really did just watch it land a few feet in front of him. Anybody can have an off night, and hopefully we don’t see any more of that moving forward.
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