Cowboys Playoff Chances

The goal of making the playoffs is still alive for the Cowboys, but at this stage, they need help.

“Look, if someone says to you, out there in Oxnard, in week seventeen, you got a chance to do something, would you take it?” asks Head Coach Bill Parcells. “It would have been a unanimous vote. Coaches and players.”

The scenario is simple. The Cowboys have to win, and one team, either Tampa Bay or Washington has to lose. If they both win, Dallas is left out, regardless of what they do Sunday night.

Linebacker Bradie James says, “No matter what the scenario is, if we don't win, we definitely don't have a chance. I think no matter what's going on, no matter, we can't let any of these things be distractions, so if we don't take care of business, we don't have a chance.”

Rookie Defensive End Marcus Spears is realistic. “We’ve got to play and control what we can control, and ah, that's pretty much it. That's all I can say about it. You definitely wish you weren't in this position,” he says.

Usually, 10-wins is the magic number but, Dallas faces the real possibility of winning ten games, and still missing out. That would be a rarity. The last time that happened was 1991. In that year, San Francisco and Philadelphia finished with 10-wins, and yet, both the 49ers and the Eagles failed to qualify for the playoffs.

The problem this year is that as many as eight teams in the NFC could finish the year with 10 wins. That means, two would not make the playoffs.

“It’s frustrating because we controlled our own destiny early,” says Cornerback Terence Newman. “Now we have to wait for other people try to help us get in, so it’s definitely frustrating.”

“We put ourselves in this situation and we have to take responsibility for that,” says Cornerback Aaron Glenn. “We need to just go out there and play a good game against St Louis.

Says Tight End Jason Witten. “I guess it can happen you know, yeah, but ha, I can't imagine that happening you know. I don't even remember the last time it was, like fifteen years or something, 1991, so yeah.”

So as it stands now, the cowboys are still alive for a playoff spot, but it may also vanish by the time they take the field Sunday Night. That is of course if both Tampa Bay and Washington win earlier in the day.