The Dallas Cowboys walked off with a win on Sunday, but nobody around this team sounded relieved for long. The result mattered, badly, because losing would have pushed them four games back in the loss column to the New York Giants and left them with a hole that looked too deep to climb out of with a brutal stretch still ahead. Even so, the victory did little to calm the nerves.
What keeps hanging over the Cowboys is how familiar all of this feels. They keep putting themselves in the same kind of mess, even against teams they should be handling. Sunday had the same uneasy shape as last week’s collapse against the Arizona Cardinals: a game that looked under control, then slowly slipped until the Cowboys were suddenly staring at another late deficit in the fourth quarter.
That pattern has become the real problem. The Cowboys start slow, eventually settle in and build a lead, and then let it evaporate.
Fans have already lived through this kind of stress twice before in the same season, in those tense weeks against Baltimore and Houston. Against the Texans, they survived with a game-winning drive and a clutch fourth-down conversion.
Against the Ravens in Rio, it ended differently, with the offense stalling late and settling for a field goal before Baltimore delivered the game-winning play.
So when Sunday started turning into another uncomfortable finish, the reaction felt inevitable. The offense had been grinding through a rough afternoon against a poor Colts defense, and up until the final 70 seconds, Dallas had only reached the end zone twice.
One score came on a clutch fourth-down grab by Jake Ferguson. The other came right before halftime, when CeeDee Lamb benefited from a huge coverage breakdown and turned it into a big touchdown.
Those same two players had already been the difference in one of the Cowboys’ close wins over an AFC South opponent this year. Lamb finished with over 180 receiving yards, and Ferguson came through again on fourth down.
Without those moments, the picture around this team would look even uglier. At 2-7, the season would be hanging by a thread, and the New York Jets would be sitting on a top-five draft pick courtesy of the front office.
Instead, Dallas is still technically alive in the NFC East race. But that comes with a huge warning label.
The Cowboys have not beaten a single opponent with a winning record this season, and they are 1-5 against teams with a record of 3-6 or better. That is the kind of number that tells you exactly where this team stands.
The schedule only makes the concern louder. Five of the final eight opponents on the slate currently have winning records, and December looks especially rough with a four-game run against teams that all own winning records right now. For a team that keeps making life harder than it needs to be, that’s a dangerous setup.
What’s most alarming is that there’s no sign this group is cleaning any of it up. The Cowboys keep repeating the same mistakes, keep inviting chaos, and keep turning games into unnecessary drama.
They have enough talent to stay in the conversation, but not enough consistency to make anyone comfortable. The storm is coming, and right now this team looks nowhere near ready for it.
In Other News...
Cowboys Face A Risky DeMarvion Overshown Decision Soon
DeMarvion Overshown has given the Cowboys enough flashes to make the conversation worth having, but the bigger issue has always been whether they can count on him. Since being drafted in 2023, the linebacker has appeared in only 22 of a possible 60 games because of injuries, and that kind of availability makes any long-term commitment a tricky one for a team already working under tight salary cap constraints.
With free agency looming next spring, Dallas is heading toward a decision that could shape how it handles one of its more intriguing young defenders. The promise is there, but so is the risk, and the Cowboys may end up needing Overshown to accept a low-cost or prove-it type of arrangement if they want to keep him in the fold. [Read more 🡒]
Cowboys Face A Brutal Week 10 Test With NFC East Pressure Building
The Cowboys head into Week 10 at 4-5, still hanging around the NFC East race but with little margin for error as the schedule turns sharply uphill. Next up is a trip to face the 7-1 49ers, a matchup that has plenty of attention not just because of the records, but because Dallas is trying to keep its season from slipping further while the division picture remains open.
San Francisco brings the kind of balance that makes every angle of this game worth studying, from the 49ers injury situation to the play of quarterback Brock Purdy, who has been steady enough to keep the offense on course. For Dallas, the challenge is obvious: find a way to handle one of the leagues toughest teams and stay relevant in a division where every week seems to matter a little more than the last. [Read more 🡒]
Cowboys Just Got A Reality Check On George Pickens' Value
The trade deadline came and went with plenty of buzz around wide receivers, but George Pickens never actually turned into a real Cowboys discussion point. ESPNs Jeremy Fowler reported that Dallas did not get any trade inquiries for the wideout, a notable detail in a market where receiver prices have been pushed up by demand and deadline chatter alike. For a team that has spent plenty of time under the microscope for every roster move, the silence around Pickens said plenty on its own.
Pickens had been the subject of speculation, but the Cowboys were not operating with a trade in mind, and the lack of outside interest only sharpened the contrast between rumor and reality. In a deadline season where wide receiver value can be inflated fast, Dallas was left with a clearer read on where things stood than some of the chatter suggested, even if the bigger question around Pickens place with the team still lingers. [Read more 🡒]