FRISCO — It’s over now, but the ramifications of the Cowboys playing four games in 18 days have determined where their season sits.
A playoff appearance, as difficult as it would have been to accomplish, is almost extinguished following a 44-30 loss to the Lions on Thursday night.
The Athletic playoff predictor gives the Cowboys a 9% chance of making the postseason and a 4% chance of winning the NFC East.
NFL’s Next Gen Stats playoff probabilities also have the Cowboys reaching the postseason at 9%. If Dallas had upended Detroit on Thursday, their chances would have moved to 39% with four games to play.
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With three days off following their Thursday night loss, the Cowboys are faced with the reality that reaching the postseason might be through a complete collapse by the Eagles to win the NFC East.
In the Eagles’ next five games, the Los Angeles Chargers (8-4) and Buffalo Bills (8-4) have winning records. The defending Super Bowl champs face the 3-9 Washington Commanders twice in the last month of the season and despite the troubles on offense, it’s assumed the Eagles are in good shape.
The Cowboys?
Well, a win over the Lions would have been the Cowboys’ fourth consecutive heading into a weekend with momentum and bringing it closer to the Eagles (8-4).
At 6-6-1, the Cowboys already have losses to Detroit, Chicago and Carolina, so making the postseason as a wild card will be difficult. They’d also lose an unlikely tiebreaker against those teams.
The 18 days of football showed the Cowboys have a bright future with their defense, thanks to the trade deadline deals for defensive tackle Quinnen Williams and linebacker Logan Wilson. Also, with rookie cornerback Shavon Revel and linebacker DeMarvion Overshown returning from injury, it provides the team with more positivity.
The production of receiver George Pickens, despite his off-the-field lateness and now questions about his effort, is something the Cowboys believe they can handle.
He is someone the team must figure out how much to pay when he becomes a free agent next spring.
Quarterback Dak Prescott is having one of his best seasons in Year 10. He was mentioned in the MVP conversation but with his team on the edge of a cliff for a postseason spot, the best award Prescott can win is Comeback Player of the Year.
Coach Brian Schottenheimer was asked late Thursday night if the current stretch of games had finally caught up to his team in the loss to the Lions.
“Yeah, I don’t think so,” he said. “That’s not the reason that we put the ball on the ground, that’s not the reason we didn’t get stops in the red zone. I just think we didn’t execute very well and that starts with me, the staff. We’ve got to take a hard look at ourselves.”
A 3-1 mark over the last 18 days is impressive for the Cowboys, but beginning the season 3-5-1, with losses to Arizona, at Chicago, at Carolina and a missed opportunity to beat Philadelphia in the season opener, has come back to hurt them.
All the Cowboys can do now is move forward with a season that’s taken so much from them emotionally. You can go to the tragic loss of Marshawn Kneeland, maneuvering through this current stretch of games and dealing with the inevitable ending that a season will end with no playoff berth.
“Again, we keep playing,” Schottenheimer said. “We’re ready. We’ll play anybody, anywhere. It doesn’t change because you lose to the Detroit Lions when you don’t play very good.”
Thursday night, the Cowboys turned the ball over three times, two Prescott interceptions and tight end Jake Ferguson’s fumble. The offense lost receiver CeeDee Lamb to a concussion and Ryan Flournoy stepped up with 115 receiving yards. Pickens was targeted nine times, but caught five passes for 37 yards, his second-lowest total of the season. The defense allowed 7.2 yards per play and struggled in the red zone as the Lions went four-for-five. Prescott was sacked five times, hit 11, and there was the inability to slow down Lions edge rushers Aidan Hutchinson (10 quarterback pressures, seven in fourth quarter) and Al-Quadin Muhammad (three sacks).
The Cowboys have the weekend off and will return to The Star on Monday looking to fix what ailed them in the Lions game and hoping for a collapse of the Eagles.
“We’ll be right back at this team meeting Monday,” Prescott said. “I’m sure some active work, and then a normal week. But it’s important for guys to rest their bodies. Like I said, I know I’ll be sore. I’m sure tons of guys, I know guys in the trenches are going to be sore, but that’s part of that game. That’s part of the scheduling. It’s just part of the business. So, you sign up for it. Now it’s on us to be pros, take care of our bodies the right way, and make sure we come back Monday ready to go and to give this everything we’ve got.”
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