Dallas City News

In the mid-afternoon on Sunday, the Cowboys were officially eliminated from the 2024 NFC playoffs after the Washington Commanders’ upset win over the Philadelphia Eagles. Even four hours later, with plenty of time for reality to sink in, Dallas showed no signs of dejection as it earned a hard-fought victory over the playoff-contending Tampa Bay Buccaneers.

On paper, only one team on Sunday Night Football had something to play for. Tampa went into the game with a half-game lead over the Atlanta Falcons in the NFC South; a guaranteed spot in January’s playoffs and a first-round home game to boot. The only thing the Cowboys could accomplish by winning was further damaging their 2025 draft pick. The disparity in circumstances would have logically propelled one team over the other, especially given the perception that the Buccaneers were the better squad.

The Cowboys have gone 4-1 over their last five games despite the consistent overcast of a lost season. When they were 3-7 going into the Week 12 meeting in Washington, Dallas’ enduring contention for a playoff spot felt nothing more than theoretical. Winning that game sparked a flurry of “what ifs” and indulgence of hope among portions of the fanbase, but realistically we all knew that this beat-up team and its beleaguered coaches didn’t have the makings of a miracle.

The divide between probability and possibility has engulfed us for over a month now, making it hard for some to know how to feel about these arguably empty wins. If the Cowboys had followed the New York Giants’ path of openly tanking, they might be right behind them in the 2025 draft order. At worst, they’d currently hold the seventh pick and have two more weeks to improve that position. But after the recent wins, Dallas has slid to 15th in the projected draft order.

As fans, viewing the team and its fortunes from this angle is easy. We’re not the ones with expiring contracts or job-threatening salary cap hits. We have no place on next year’s depth chart. Try telling Rico Dowdle, Donovan Wilson, or Marist Liufau that these games are meaningless. Try telling it to Mike McCarthy, Brian Schottenheimer, or Mike Zimmer. Even if Jerry Jones thinks his mind’s made up about certain players or coaches, this is their last chance to make their pitch for the 2025 season and beyond.

It’s especially hard to know how to feel about McCarthy right now. If a guy hits you with his car, do you give him credit for then driving you to the emergency room? Appreciation for the team’s current display of heart and resilience is warranted, but does it negate the blame for how the Cowboys fell into this hole in the first place? Does it override three years of watching Dallas get dog-walked in playoff games?

The value of these last five games and the two still to come is the opportunity to find clarity ahead of the offseason. If you were on the fence about giving Cooper Rush another few years as QB2, he’s making that decision easier. If you were dubious about Luke Schoonmaker’s potential going forward, his play during Jake Ferguson’s absence gave reason for hope. And if you weren’t sure about how these players still responded to their head coach, McCarthy has at least earned some new respect as a leader and motivator with this late-season surge.

Of course, you shouldn’t keep the bath water with the baby. If Jones is now sold on retaining McCarthy as head coach, perhaps it comes with the caveat of finding a new offensive coordinator and play-caller. We saw this in 2014 when offensive control shifted from Jason Garrett to Scott Linehan, helping break the 8-8 cycle with a 12-4 season and the infamous Dez Bryant “no catch” moment in the playoffs.

In terms of the roster, this 4-1 stretch doesn’t change the fact that this team needs a lot of work in the offseason. With another mass exodus of free agents on the horizon, Dallas can hardly expect to return to competitive status in 2025 if they don’t get aggressive this spring in retaining or replacing talent. It’s not reasonable to rely on the draft and expect immediate results, and hopefully, the front office learned that lesson from this season.

So no, the Cowboys won’t have as good a draft pick next April as they could have. But that tangible loss may be countered by intangible gains in the locker room. A team’s spirit matters. We see what a lack of it looks like in the two New York teams or the current demise of the 49ers, or how suddenly finding some has propelled a group like the Commanders. As much as old heads decry the influence of money on modern sports, everyone’s making millions. So things like culture and chemistry still matter in separating the wheat from the chaff.

If 3-7 was a rock-bottom moment for the Mike McCarthy era with the Cowboys, maybe it’s the beginning of a comeback story. It’s up to Jerry Jones now if he believes in that story. And if the front office is going to give McCarthy a chance to write more chapters in Dallas, will they give him a more capable roster?

Those bigger questions are for the months ahead. For now, we can only pan for nuggets of meaning in these remaining games and let them shape our feelings about certain players, coaches, and what this team needs to do to make next season better than this one.