Cowboys roundtable discussion: Playoff hopes, failures in Detroit, and the Minnesota game

Every week, we gather to discuss the latest news about the Dallas Cowboys and seek our writer’s perspective on each headline. Welcome back to the roundtable. This week we have David Howman, Sean Martin, and Tom Ryle.

Have all playoff hopes diminished after the Detroit loss? Or do you still have a small bit of hope?

Mike: You’re talking to Mr. Positive here so the way to put this is the Cowboys playoff hopes aren’t dead, but they’re on life support. The path to postseason hopes are very narrow. The team has to stack wins immediately, literally zero losses between now January. To do that we need to see the team clean up early-down efficiency, and convert red-zone trips at a touchdown rate north of 60% while staying at least +1 in turnover margin.

Defensively, where to start here after watching the Lions game. Stopping explosive plays is a first and start getting a better pressure rate, much better rush-lane integrity is needed, and at the top of Santa’s wish-list would be much better tackling. If Dallas takes care of the next two weeks and flips those situational edges, they have a chance.

Sean: Just because the Eagles have made a similar collapse to the one that will be needed for the Cowboys to reach the playoffs, there’s a small bit of hope still to be had. The loss to the Lions wasn’t just a letdown in the way the defense regressed, stars didn’t play like stars, and turnovers didn’t go Dallas’ way, it also exposed areas where the Cowboys frankly don’t deserve to be a playoff team. The struggles at linebacker and safety are ones that can’t be addressed until the offseason, and were both letdowns against a Lions offense built to expose these spots.

Tom: Like Sean, I also saw the Detroit loss as evidence Dallas doesn’t belong in the playoffs. It also supports the idea that we made too much of the wins over Philadelphia and Kansas City, a couple of teams that don’t feel at all like the dominant forces of recent seasons. I have no hope really, but can’t discount the possibility of a lot of things going just right. The NFL is just a bit confusing with very few powerhouses. Still any trip to the playoffs would almost certainly be short lived. I will be pulling for the Cowboys to win out. I just don’t think it would be enough.

Howman: I hate to invoke the words of a certain aging quarterback, but everyone just needs to R-E-L-A-X. The Cowboys needed some help to make the playoffs going into Detroit, and they still need some help. Do they need a little bit more now? Sure. But is this thing over? Absolutely not.

What was the single biggest driver of the road loss to Detroit? Early-down inefficiency on offense, too many explosive plays allowed, or something else?

Mike: There was way too many explosive plays allowed. Detroit turned play-action crossers and perimeter screens...