Going Forward: Can the Dallas Cowboys conquer their December Woes/Foes?

To this point of the season the Cowboys have taken care of business, for the most part.  The Cowboys could very easily be 9-1 had they just maintained their composure against the likes of the New York Giants and Denver Broncos.  But instead of dwelling on what could have been, the ‘Boys did a good job of moving on as they went on to win 6 of their next 7 games and claim 1^st place in the NFC east.  Unfortunately, none of that matters now.  The Cowboys are 8-3 with the Philadelphia Eagles in a close trail at 7-4, and the Giants still kicking at 6-5.  And being that the final five games of this season are in the dreaded month of December, the phrase “anything can happen” is an understatement. 

In the last 3 seasons the Cowboys have gone 5-8 in the month of December.  Their December woes are well documented so I don’t have to go too far into detail to paint the picture.  They have been battered and bruised in this month and they always seem to lose the big game.   Tony Romo has taken a large share of the blame for these losses as he has QB rating of 71.9 in the month of December while posting a 93.0 QB rating during the other months of the season.  So any Cowboys fan knows that December is looming and this will be the biggest test yet for this team.

The Cowboys final 5 games is a brutal stretch that includes 3 road games and 2 home games against the red hot San Diego Chargers and revenge minded Philadelphia Eagles in the final game of the season (sound familiar).  They have 3 tough division games along with 2 tougher non-division games against the aforementioned Chargers and the best team in the leaguer right now, the New Orleans Saints.  The last time the Cowboys played the Saints they got beat worse than the Patriots did last night (and that was in December, too).  And the Redskins are no pushover either.  They eked out a 7-6 win against the struggling Redskins two weeks ago in Dallas, so you know they’re going to be a tough out in Landover.  Either way you look at it, it does not look good for the Cowboys down the stretch.  But, there is reason for hope.

The Cowboys do have 3 road games, but defense travels well.  The Cowboys don’t jump off the page as a dominant defense but they are only allowing 16.5 points per game, good for second in the league.  Over this 7 game stretch, the Cowboys have allowed over 20 points only one time (21 to Atlanta in a 37-21 win) and have held the opponent to 17 points or less 5 times.  But you don’t have to look at the stats to know that this defense is as good as it’s been in a really long time.  These guys are out there trying to knock people’s heads off.  Everybody in the secondary has an injury from laying the wood, but they play better and better every week.  Mike Jenkins is a borderline Pro Bowler at this point.  And can anyone think of a better free agent pick-up this season than Keith Brooking.  The man is a beast and he is the soul of this defense.  He and Brady James are making each other a better players and he makes you wonder how the Cowboys thought Zack Thomas would fit into this system last season.  I have a good feeling that the defense is going to come to play in December.

The special teams has also been solid if not spectacular the entire season.  By my count the Cowboys have not allowed a really big return all season. The coverage units have simply been excellent. David Buehler has been sending kickoffs through the end zone on an every game basis and is allowing the Cowboys to win the field position battle.  Punter Matt McBriar is still at Pro Bowl form as well but I am a bit concerned about Nick Folk.  He’s hitting less than 75% of his field goals and has had some untimely misses.  That will not bode well in December or the playoffs.

I’m also very concerned about the offense.  I would like to think that the defense holding a team to 17 points would lead to automatic wins for this vaunted Cowboys offense but that is just not the case.  When the Cowboys have struggled on offense this season they have really struggled.  In 2 of the last 3 games they have only been able to put up 7 points.  In both of those games they were shut-out in the 1^st three quarters. I sense at least one similar performance over the next 5 weeks, but we just have to hope that it’s not more than that.  A steady mix of run and pass early and a heavy dose of the ground game in the second half should help alleviate some of the offensive woes, but only time will tell.

This final stretch of the Cowboys season will be a very interesting one indeed.  There are a lot of legacies, jobs, futures on the line.  I would like to think that this team is different from the ones that have suffered late collapses in the past few seasons but there is just no way to tell if they are ready to get over that hump.  Whether they make the playoffs or not, the Cowboys status as a contender will be determined in this month.  Matchups against the Giants, Eagles, Chargers, and Saints will be the ultimate litmus test for a team that hasn’t passed in 3+ seasons.  But I do have one interesting (and very likely) scenario to put forth.  What if the Cowboys and Eagles both end up with identical records and they meet each other in the final game to determine who wins the NFC East?  There would be less at stake as both teams would likely make the playoffs, but how will the Cowboys respond now that the “do or die” game is in their house?  I am very anxious to witness either the building of a contender, or the destruction of a facade. 

December looms....

Later Nation.