The new standard of performance by the Dallas Cowboys is impressing their admirers. The Cowboys are now quickly moving their position closer to the Philadelphia Eagles (who are leading the NFC East with 8-4). In the past few weeks, the Cowboys have shown such gameplay that now experts believe they can win the Super Bowl.
Super Bowl Champ Says Cowboys Are ‘Scariest Team in the NFC
On Tuesday’s episode of Get Up, six-time Pro Bowler Jeff Saturday said that he has never seen such a transformation in the NFL:
“A transformation like I’ve never seen in the NFL, and their offense was always a playoff, if not Super Bowl caliber offense, but their defense,” Super Bowl champion Saturday said. “Quinnen Williams signing, the [Logan] Wilson, the overshown coming back, the guys on the back end getting healthy… they give you different looks, and they’ve made it very difficult.
“By the way, they built, beat some very good football teams,” he added. “I dare to say, after I gave them 0%, this is the scariest team in the NFC.”
This new game level of Brian Schottenheimer’s brigade was witnessed by football followers on Thanksgiving Day when the Cowboys narrowly defeated the Kansas City Chiefs (AFC team, ranked third at 6-6) in a close game by 31-28. This match also broke an NFL record — 57.23 million people watched, which was a record-breaking number for that time slot.
Analyst Rich Eisen reacted to the massive viewership ratings and said:
“Then you place the Chiefs at six and five, and the Cowboys playing well, and the game was tight. 57.23 million viewers watched everything,” Eisen said during Wednesday’s episode of The Rich Eisen Show.
The Cowboys’ attitude is now serious – in one play, when wide receiver George Pickens dropped the ball, KaVontae Turpin ran from the other corner of the field and recovered the ball. According to ESPN’s Peter Schrager, this team is not the same team that lost to the Arizona Cardinals (27-17) on Monday Night Football at the start of the season:
“I texted a Cowboys source after the game on Thursday, and my text was this: It was like Dak and CeeDee, it was great to see them back together, says ‘Don’t worry about any of that, make sure on ESPN you guys highlight the Turpin fumble recovery,’” Schrager said. “That’s what we’re about this season, that’s what we’re about right now, this is a completely different team.”
With this new version, the Cowboys are now being called “the most dangerous team in the NFC.” The same team owner, Jerry Jones, says:
“Our best shot, I think, is to win the division,” Jones said. “I really am pleased with how this team has come together over these last two or three weeks… it would be a fairy tale, not a, not total fairy tale, but it would be wonderful to pull this thing out, get in those playoffs, and have this staff make a run at it, we’ve got the personnel that we can compete like that.”
Turning Point for Schottenheimer and Co.
On Thursday, the next match will be against the Detroit Lions (NFC North, ranked third, 7-5). This is the turning point. According to ESPN, if the Cowboys win, their chances of making the playoffs become 36%. If they lose, the chances remain only 8%.
If the Cowboys win this game, then their remaining schedule is relatively easy (4 matches vs Minnesota Vikings, Los Angeles Chargers, Washington Commanders, and New York Giants, which are winnable), where they will be seeking to become a strong playoff contender.
But the Lions are not an easy team either, analyst Peter King says:
“I feel like, for me, that’s the hardest part of what I see with the Lions, is they want to be a physical team, they want to be a run team, they want to be these kinds of things,” King said. “But they haven’t been. [Jared] Goff is a very stationary quarterback, and without [Amon-Ra] St. Brown, they’re a different team.”
The Lions’ defense is also injured, especially their secondary (defensive backs), which seems to have difficulty matching up with the Cowboys’ indoor passing attack (players like CeeDee Lamb and Jake Ferguson).
If the Cowboys secure a convincing win against Detroit, they will become the most distinct and dangerous team among the NFC contenders.
Main Photo: Kevin Jairaj-Imagn Images
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