Dallas Cowboys Schedule Reset: No Tony Romo, no playoffs

Oct 11, 2015; Arlington, TX, USA; Dallas Cowboys injured quarterback Tony Romo (9) on the sidelines during the third quarter against the New England Patriots at AT&T Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Matthew Emmons-USA TODAY Sports

The Dallas Cowboys have completed the first seven weeks of their NFL season with a 2-4 overall record, in a season that has already seen three major injuries, a bye week and players making the franchise look bad with their play on the field and their antics on the sideline.

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Let’s just say this for beginners, basically stating the obvious … the team is built around having Tony Romo on the field, and when he’s not, it shows.

The offense looks lost without him, the team can’t settle on a cornerback, the replacement quarterbacks wouldn’t be cast in the movie “The Replacements” and the team still has wide receivers running routes the wrong way!

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Don’t get me wrong, I want to see the Cowboys be successful. When they are good, the NFL is overall a better product to watch, but when they are bad, the Cowboys take that to another level.

They’ve yet to win a game without Romo as the starting quarterback, with Brandon Weeden being 0-3 this year, and Matt Cassel lost his first start of the season Sunday against the New York Giants at MetLife Stadium.

Romo isn’t scheduled to be back as the starting quarterback of the Cowboys for another month or so, and when that Nov. 22 game against the Miami Dolphins arrives, it might be too little, too late for No. 9’s return.

Before Romo is eligible to return, the Cowboys will have to play Nov. 1 vs. the Seattle Seahawks, Nov. 8 vs. the Philadelphia Eagles and Nov. 15 at the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.

If the Cowboys are lucky and win one of those games without Romo (remember, they are 0-4 without him this season) that will leave them 3-6 headed into that Week 11 game at Miami, who all of a sudden is playing with a new (and improved attitude) and isn’t a gimme win anymore.

It will be very tough if the Cowboys continue losing without Romo to make the playoffs. Say the Cowboys go winless until Nov. 22 … they would be 2-7, and even if they won every game Romo played in from Week 11-17, that would make them 9-7, and with the way the schedule reads, it includes some very tough opponents.

Here is the remaining schedule for the Cowboys:

Nov. 1 vs. Seattle Seahawks
Nov. 8 vs. Philadelphia Eagles
Nov. 15 at Tampa Bay Buccaneers
Nov. 22 at Miami Dolphins
Nov. 26 vs. Carolina Panthers
Dec. 7 at Washington Redskins
Dec. 13 at Green Bay Packers
Dec. 19 vs. New York Jets
Dec. 27 at Buffalo Bills
Jan. 3 vs. Washington Redskins

With how things have gone this season for the Cowboys, does that look like a playoff-friendly schedule? It is going to be tough, and they’ve done themselves no favors this season in rallying past the injuries of not only Romo, but Dez Bryant (returning soon) and Orlando Scandrick (out for season).

Before we come to a final decision, let’s look at the remaining schedule of the Cowboys, look at some stats, give some opinions and see where they could end up after the 17th week of the regular season is complete.

(Hint: You many want to start watching some top collegiate prospects really soon.)

Next: Week 8: vs. Seahawks