Blogging The Boys
So you’re telling me there’s a chance?
Two consecutive blowout losses dropped the Cowboys to 3-5-1 before they went into their bye week. They now have a 7% chance of reaching the postseason, per the projection model from The Athletic’s Austin Mock.
That didn’t stop Jerry and Stephen Jones from making multiple deals at the trade deadline, though. Bengals linebacker Logan Wilson was had for nearly free, while Jets stud Quinnen Williams came at a rather hefty price. Between those two and impending returns of DeMarvion Overshown and rookie Shavon Revel, the Cowboys are feeling confident that a defensive turnaround can also turn around their season.
Should they feel confident, though? Our own David Howman and Tom Ryle have their own thoughts.
David: The bye week acted as a convenient reset for the Cowboys. Their defensive deficiencies have finally taken their toll, with consecutive losses for the first time all year threatening to torpedo the locker room. Getting Williams and Wilson, both team captains at their previous stops, is huge.
The rubber meets the road this week, though. The Cowboys go on the road to face a really bad Raiders team, and this is a must win game. Using the projection tool from The Athletic, the Cowboys’ odds to make the playoffs increase to 10% with a win. However, a loss drops them to 3%.
The Raiders have lost three straight and don’t have much offensive firepower outside of Brock Bowers right now. It’s a big reason why the Cowboys are 3.5-point favorites despite being on the road.
A win here not only improves their odds but creates a bit of hope in the locker room that, yes, they can do this. And, to quote a brilliant man, hope can be a dangerous thing.
Tom: Dangerous, indeed. Nothing is impossible at this point. But there is little to make us think it is anything but nearly so.
I can certainly see the value of the new additions, especially Williams. It unfortunately has a feeling of too little, too late. Had they made that kind of addition before the season started, it could have changed the entire trajectory. Of course, Williams wasn’t available until the Jets started their fire sale after things went so badly south. Still, this would have made much more sense if they were 5-3-1 instead of their current record.
Yet, even a key addition or two might not have done much to change things. There is the real concern I have. There is no real sign that Matt Eberflus could have done much more due to his relentlessly stubborn approach. I fear that the new talent will be more helpful next season – with an expected new defensive coordinator.
David: Have we been watching the same team lately? Matt Eberflus was absolutely stubborn in his scheme early on, but he’s objectively changed things in the past month.
For September, Dallas used press coverage on 6.5% of all dropbacks and blitzed on 20.7% of dropbacks, both ranking very...
