Why I Could See The Dallas Cowboys Going 8-8

It’s been an up and down type of season for the Dallas Cowboy’s this year. I would like to preface this article with the fact that I am a die hard fan of the Cowboy’s and have been since the day I was born. My Father is one, my Mother was one, my brother and most of my friends are all fans. That being said, I also happen to be a realist. See, when you grow up being a fan of a team like this, you have to be realistic about your expectations. A team like this will drive you crazy if you don’t. Let me give you a brief history lesson on the Dallas Cowboys (at least a “recent” history).

“Brief” History Lesson

Jerry Jones bought the Dallas Cowboys back in February of 1989 (I was 2 years old at the time). When he bought the team they had just finished their third losing season in a row. Keep in mind before 1986 the Cowboys hadn’t had a losing season since 1966. The first thing Jerry Jones does is fire long-term and two time Super Bowl winning head coach Tom Landry (basically considered Jesus himself in the State of Texas). Not only that but he had tallied 250 wins, 7 NFL Championship/Super Bowl appearances, 10 conference championships games, 18 playoff appearances, and 20 playoff game victories in just 29 seasons. Now what’s not dumb is he replaced him with Jimmy Johnson (who he eventually fired prematurely as well).

Since Jerry Jones bought the Cowboys they have played in and won 3 Super Bowls. This is what most fans of the team (including myself) cling to when making arguments why our team is better than yours. Very few teams in the NFL can say they have so many Super Bowl wins. The fact of the matter is, however, that since Barry Switzer led them to a Super Bowl win in 1995, the Dallas Cowboys have 4 playoff wins and 0 NFC Championship game appearances. They are on their 5th coach in 20 years and consistently choke in the playoffs even when their regular season leads you to believe they have a chance. Since Jerry bought the team they have gone 268-222 during the regular season giving them an average record of 8.75-7.25 in a 16 game season. Most years that does not make the playoffs. Winning 54% of your games is not a winning strategy in my opinion.

So while I may have lied about this history lesson being “brief” you can see where a lot of the negativity comes from when it pertains to fans of other teams. We just don’t have the stats to back up all of our talk. Jerry Jones is probably one of the smartest business minds of our modern times. No one will ever dispute that. He has taken a franchise that was worth $140 million dollars in 1989 (a little over $290 million in 2019 terms) and increased the value nearly 20 times in 30 years. So what does all of this mean? Why am I talking about this when I should be talking about why I think they will go 8-8 again?

Getting To My Point

So with the Dallas Cowboys being 6-4 at this very moment, why do I think they will end up finishing the season 2-4? I would take you back to the before the beginning of the season when the schedule was released. The schedule looked like it started out fairly easy but gradually got harder. I figured they would start out 3-0 and eventually start to lose games. I was honestly hoping to be 8-2 at this point. I figured that’s what would be needed at this point to make the playoffs. So let’s take a look at the rest of the schedule shall we?

The only virtual guarantee of a win in that list is the game at home against the Washington Redskins. Even then I am not comfortable in calling that game a win for many reasons. This game could make or break a playoff appearance for the Cowboys and they are Division rivals. This gives the Washington Redskins something to play for. Injuries are always a factor and the Cowboys have had quite a few this season already. Let’s break down the rest of their schedule week by week:

Week 12 – @ New England Patriots
This game is almost 100% going to be a loss. With all of the hype around the guy on top of the roof at the Star in Frisco (see the image below) even if the Cowboys had a chance of winning before the Patriots are obviously spying and know all their plays already (joking but…I mean???)…The Patriots have a home win streak going on right now for the ages. If Tom Brady does not play, all bets are off.

Week 13 – Buffalo Bills
The Bills have a great record at 7-3 but their wins look much like the Cowboys. They have wins over the Jets, Giants, Bengals, Titans, Dolphins (twice) and Redskins. Those are legitimately the worst teams in the NFL (with an exception in the Titans case because they are at 5-5). However, they only lost to the Patriots by 6 points and Browns by 3 points. They ended up losing to the Eagles by 18 points which makes you wonder if the Cowboys have a chance. I would say this game is most likely a loss but definitely one that the Cowboys can win.

Week 14 – @ Chicago Bears
This is another iffy game for the Cowboys. The Chicago Bears have been up and down all season. They have wins over the Broncos, Redskins, Vikings, and Lions. This will not be an easy game to get through.

Week 15 – Los Angeles Rams
A rematch of the 2018 Divisional Playoff game. This might be a home game but this is far from an easy win. The Rams defense is very stout and there will not be a lot of give.

Week 16 – @ Philadelphia Eagles
The Cowboys have had their number since Dak has started for them so I would say this is most likely a win. I will also depend on how the standings look at game time. If the Cowboys are still in the hunt for a playoff spot then this should make for a very good game. These two are currently #1 and #2 in the Division.

Week 17 – Washington Redskins
This is a win. Only thing that might stop them is the fact that the Redskins have been playing a little better since they got their new interim coach. This is still going to be a win though.

I could see the Cowboys going 2-4 in their last six games but only time will tell where they end up. I am hoping for the best but expecting the worse. Jason Garrett will undoubtedly be gone if this happens.