In the popular video game from my childhood, Star Wars Battlefront II, there’s an opening line from the narrator during the campaign mission “A Line in the Sand” that summarizes where the Dallas Cowboys are at.
This is it men… No retrats. No excuses.
The Cowboys have no choice but to keep pushing and have zero margin for error. Before Monday night, Dallas’ playoff hopes were on life support after losing to the Detroit Lions. Thanks to the Los Angeles Chargers and Justin Herbert, there are signs of life.
The Philadelphia Eagles’ loss on Monday Night Football puts them at 8-5. With that loss, the Cowboys’ playoff chances have increased to ten percent and eight percent to win the division, per The Athletic’s playoff simulator. This wouldn’t be the first time in the last decade that the Cowboys tried to win out on the way to the playoffs. Dallas tried to do so in 2015, when Tony Romo returned from a collarbone injury. Seems fitting that the Cowboys find themselves in a similar position on their tenth anniversary of trying to manipulate their own destiny.
Here are five things Dallas needs to do if they want to “run the table” in the final month of the season.
First point: Take Kenneth Murray off the field
Before the trade deadline, this same column pointed out the Cowboys needed to make a move at linebacker and say goodbye to Kenneth Murray. Dallas did trade for a starting-caliber linebacker in Logan Wilson, but while he’s trying to get up to speed, it’s been a timeshare in the middle between him and Murray.
Murray has had his moments this season, but the terrible play at times on the field just outweighs any good he’s shown.
In the clips above, if you watch No. 59, there are a few plays where he takes himself entirely out of the play. You can’t have a middle linebacker who is purposely avoiding contact. Maybe that’s what he’s being told to do, but if that’s the case, Brian Schottenheimer needs to really look hard at the coaching staff on that side of the ball.
Last week, Schottenheimer said he’s liked what he’s seen from Murray and Wilson and that they would continue to share snaps in the middle.
Schotty will never throw his players under the bus, but he can’t believe that statement. Murray’s Pro Football Focus grade on defense this season ranks 57th out of 59 starting linebackers who have played more than 50 percent of the snaps. Instead, the starting linebackers should be Wilson and DeMarvion Overshown, with Marist Liufau and Shemar James sprinkled in.
Second point: Keep leaning on the passing attack
If the Cowboys hope to run the table, it’ll be on the shoulders of Dak Prescott, CeeDee Lamb, and George Pickens. In recent weeks, Dallas’ rushing success rate has dropped, and they are not as effective running the ball with Javonte Williams as they were at the start of the season.
That doesn’t mean Dallas should abandon the run entirely, but when the team has two alpha wide receivers on the outside like they do in Pickens and Lamb, that’s where the ball should go. Pickens has been everything the Cowboys have hoped for and more. When healthy, Lamb is still one of the top five players at his position.
Those two aren’t the only playmakers that have developed in the passing game. While Pickens was virtually erased from the matchup against the Lions, Ryan Flournoy emerged yet again as a strong No. 3 wide receiver. He was Prescott’s go-to receiver on Thursday night when Lamb went out with a concussion. It was the second time this season that Flournoy went over 100 yards in a game.
Prescott has his choice of where he wants to go with the football and should have some favorable matchups in the final four games. Dallas is averaging 275.5 yards per game through the air, and Prescott leads the NFL in passing yards with 3,637. If Lamb is good to go for Sunday night, Dallas shouldn’t pivot from what’s working.
Third point: Change the approach on special teams
People don’t usually blink twice when a team makes a change at their special teams coordinator position. However, losing someone in John Fassel has been palpable. “Bones” is one of, if not the best, special teams coaches in the league, and when he left to join the Tennessee Titans this offseason, whoever Dallas replaced him with would not be as good.
Dallas hired Nick Sorensen, the San Francisco 49ers’ defensive coordinator, to lead their special teams unit. Before joining the Cowboys, Sorensen held the same title just one time in his coaching career back in 2021 with the Jacksonville Jaguars. Whatever he’s been teaching has to change.
Against the Lions, their special teams coverage on kickoffs and punts gave the Detroit offense favorable field position, and it was one of the main reasons they lost the game. KaVontae Turpin was also flagged in back-to-back games for having an invalid fair catch signal, something rarely seen in the NFL.
On kickoff returns, Turpin averaged 35.4 yards per return in 2024. This year, he’s averaging 25.8 yards. That’s almost a ten-yard difference in starting field position for the offense. Something has to change on special teams because it’s an area of the game that might not be flashy, but the Cowboys have too much talent in that area to not be one of the best in the league.
Fourth point: Figure out the best three at cornerback
After sitting out Thursday night, Trevon Diggs has an opportunity to come back on Sunday night, and the Cowboys could use a boost at cornerback. Given the lack of availability this offseason rehabbing from his knee injury, rookie Shavon Revel has done everything asked of him and has looked decent. However, against the Lions’ offense, he had his “welcome to the NFL” moment.
The secondary for Dallas this year has been one of its biggest mysteries. In Week 1 against the Philadelphia Eagles, they were competent. The starting trio of Diggs, DaRon Bland, and Kaiir Elam seemed to be working out. Fast forward to this weekend, and Bland has not been his All-Pro self, Diggs has been on the shelf for most of the season, and Elam packed up his bags weeks ago.
With the hope that Diggs can come back this weekend healthy, the Cowboys and their star corner need to put aside whatever beef has been built all season and play good football down the stretch. Even if a return to Dallas is unlikely this offseason, Diggs could still show other teams he can be the same corner he once was.
With Justin Jefferson and Jordan Addison coming up, Dallas needs to figure out who their best starting three corners are and stick with them. My vote would be Diggs, Bland, and Reddy Steward in the slot. We’ll see if the Cowboys feel the same.
Fifth point: Hope that history will repeat itself
If the Cowboys do the first four things correctly, then they should be able to run the table and win their final four games. Winning won’t be the only thing they need to do. They will need significant help from the Washington Commanders (twice), the Las Vegas Raiders, and the Buffalo Bills. The Eagles need to lose two of their remaining matchups to any of those teams, and if Dallas wins out, they win the NFC East.
The Eagles have collapsed in significant fashion before. In 2023, they were 10-1 on November 26. They would go on to lose five of their remaining six games and finish 11-6, giving the Cowboys the division title with a 12-5 record. Philadelphia should be favored in all of their final four games, outside of maybe their matchup with Buffalo.
Dallas needs Las Vegas and Washington to punch above their weight class and spoil the Eagles’ season the same way the Chargers did on Monday night. The other part of the Cowboys’ history is that no team has won the NFC East in back-to-back seasons since 2004, the longest active streak in North American sports.
If the Cowboys don’t handle their business, then none of this matters. However, having a little hope during the Holiday season isn’t the worst thing in the world. If the Grinch’s heart can grow and Santa can deliver presents all over the world in one night, then it’s possible Dallas could win the division.
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