The Dallas Cowboys are clearly a far cry from the team that started 3-5 and have turned a corner as they stare down a postseason berth.
The Dallas Cowboys were full-touchdown underdogs at home for their Thursday Night Football matchup with the then 10-1 New Orleans Saints. After all, the Saints had won 10-straight and, while the Cowboys had won three-straight of their own, Dallas looked far inferior as a whole to the NFC South leaders. None of that mattered at AT&T Stadium, however.
In the Cowboys’ most impressive effort of the 2018 season to date, the defense put the clamps on one of the best offenses in the league, holding them to just 10 points and limiting Drew Brees to under 200 yards passing. Though the offense, playing without Tyron Smith, had its hiccups, they did enough to put up 13 points and get the win.
It was just about a month ago when it seemed as if everyone was pouring dirt on the six-feet-deep Cowboys after they dropped to 3-5 on the season. Just a few short weeks later, things have turned dramatically for America’s Team. Now, they are in control of the NFC East, just upset one of the best teams in the entire NFL, and are riding an impressive four-game winning streak.
There’s no question that the Dallas defense has been at the heart of their success throughout the year. Even during their struggles early in the season, the defense kept the Cowboys in games, but the offense was unable to take advantage of that. Since the acquisition of Amari Cooper, though, that has changed dramatically.
While Cooper didn’t replicate his 180-yard, two-touchdown performance from Week 12, the newest Cowboys wide receiver affects everything around him. He allows Michael Gallup to be a factor opposite him, opens up space for Ezekiel Elliott both in the run and passing games and, of course, gives Dak Prescott a viable top option in the passing game.
It’s clear that the Cowboys are playing like a complete team, perhaps more so than most other teams in the NFL. They may not be a juggernaut on either side of the ball, but they have an innate ability to control the game and the defense can stifle any offense that’s placed before them.
With a relatively easy closing stretch to the season, if the Cowboys could roll into the playoffs on a winning streak after capturing double-digit victories. And if they can parlay that momentum into their postseason play, it’s safe to say that no one wants to come up against this version of Dallas now that they’ve truly turned the corner.