Five games into the Cowboys season, or 29% of the way through it, Dak Prescott and crew sit at 3-2. That so-so record includes two drastic losses and three wins over teams that aren’t all that good to begin with. But, it does feel like we‘ve seen two consecutive weeks of positive movement with the wins against the New York Giants and the Pittsburgh Steelers, regardless of their records.
A lot of you want to know: what does any of this mean? What does a 3–2 record at this point mean?! Will this year result in another playoff failure? A complete whiff of a season? Can we believe?!
The easy answer: who the hell knows?
The offense has shown some signs of life, putting up 445 yards on a Pittsburgh team that came into the game allowing an average of 261 yards. That’s impressive. They effectively ran the ball for the first time all season with a lead back in Rico Dowdle. They had a receiver not named CeeDee Lamb make plays all over the field including the game-winning touchdown catch in Jalen Tolbert. And yet, questions remain. How much do we believe in a defense that stifled two offenses back-to-back that weren’t all that good anyway?
The Giants averaged 103 yards rushing per game and the Cowboys held them to 26. That’s impressive. The Steelers averaged 121 a game and the Cowboys held them to 92. But then again, neither team really has a running back or offensive line that scares anyone. So five games in, what is this team? A work in progress, with 12 more games to figure it out.
I’ve often wondered what would appease the Cowboys fans who seem to care only if they make it to the NFC championship or the Super Bowl. Have 30 years of frustration taken the joy out of tough road wins or blowing teams off the field for what seems to be a growing gaggle who think, “Yeah, so what if they won that game, talk to me in January when they lose in the playoffs again.”
Tough way to be a fan.
Yes, the last three decades' seasons have ended with a lot of heartbreak and failure, but the week-to-week journey is still, in my view, quite thrilling. I’ve also thought it strange that there tends to be a prevailing mentality of “Well, they’re not as good as the 5-0 Minnesota Vikings or the two-time defending champion Kansas City.” OK, so what?
I’ve written about this before the season got rolling that, on paper at least, it’s hard to argue this Cowboys team is as deep or as good as the 12–5 teams of the three previous years. I’d say five weeks into this season, that still holds true.
Losing Micah Parsons, DeMarcus Lawrence and Marcus Kneeland to recent injuries doesn’t help the situation, but the team is showing signs of growth. They do struggle with penalties, however, leading the league in flags with 53. They have struggled in the red zone, as evidenced by Precott’s interception and fumble on Sunday night. Dallas is just 6 of 13 on red zone trips this year, which is not good and has them currently ranked 22nd in the NFL.
DAK TO JT!!!!!!!!!!!
— Dallas Cowboys (@dallascowboys) October 7, 2024
📺: #DALvsPIT on NBC
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And there’s that running game I’ve harped on before. The Cowboys are averaging just 3.5 yards per carry, which is also not good. Only Chicago is worse at 3.4. They finally had a run over 12 yards on Sunday night (!!!), a whopping 13-yard Dowdle run, their longest of the year. Dallas is one of just 3 teams in the NFL that has yet to have a run of 20 yards or longer this season, but they are improving.
Like many of you, I see slight improvements and positive steps moving forward. But I’m very curious to find out how the Dallas defense will look against better offenses and how the run game will look against better defenses.
Can they eliminate the mistakes that would cost them against better teams? Fortunately, or perhaps unfortunately, we’ll find out soon. In the next few weeks, Dallas faces the dangerous Detroit Lions, old rival San Francisco 49ers, the Atlanta Falcons, another classic rival in Philadelphia Eagles, the Houston Texans, and the surprising, powerful Washington Commanders. Those six teams are currently a combined 18-10. They are all .500 or better except, surprisingly, San Francisco.
If Dallas can find a way to navigate the coming weeks with a 3-3 record and emerge from this stretch at 6-5 heading into the final six weeks of the season, they’re right in the mix for a fourth consecutive playoff appearance.
The upside of winning ugly games early in the year against teams we may think aren’t that great is that it allows those other games to mean something. If Dallas had lost to Cleveland or New York or Pittsburgh and was 2-3 or even 1-4, would we look at the upcoming Detroit and San Francisco games the same way? I don’t think so.
Now, we have a team with a winning record that still seems to be fairly average. The Cowboys need to continue to improve, and they’ve got some big tests coming up to show us if the improvement is there.
As for those of you solely waiting on the playoffs, why watch the games at all?
I enjoy the weekly ups and downs as a fan. I enjoy nitpicking and hoping the mistakes are corrected and the play improves. I celebrated the winning touchdown catch on Sunday night because my team went on the road in a tough environment and drove down the field against a good defense to win, despite the mistakes they’d made earlier. Did that awesome moment mean anything to you if you claim to care only about what happens in January?
Good teams find ways to win. And, after five weeks, there are only five teams in the NFL better than 3-2: Minnesota, Kansas City, Detroit, Washington and Houston. That means the other 27 teams in the NFL are 3-2 or worse. The Cowboys are in that group of 10 teams currently sitting on 3-2. I’ll take it.
Is this team a Super Bowl contender? I’m not delusional, and right now, I don’t see it. Yet.
But I do see a team that can win some games and potentially get into the playoffs again. And, yes, I’d rather be in one of the seven NFC fan bases enjoying extra football than one of the nine waiting for next year.
Being a fan is emotional. It isn’t supposed to be a logical pursuit. It hurts sometimes. It’s joyful sometimes. But, that’s what love is. I love this team. I’m here for the duration, week in and week out. Living in the moment is a good way to go.
I often say, “You can’t get to tomorrow without living today.” So, let’s enjoy this day and enjoy the wins when they come. Then again, I do a weekly segment on my radio show called the “McClearin Insane Asylum,” and maybe I’m just living there with all the other Cowboy faithful.
The good news? Each week we get to find out a little bit more. I’ll be right there again on Sunday, ready for the next step in the season.
