A Thanksgiving loss to the Los Angeles Chargers looked like a final stake in the heart of the dying playoff hopes of the Dallas Cowboys. At that point, they dropped to 5-6 with five games left to play. But three weeks later, the Cowboys are tied with the Jaguars and 49ers for the NFL’s longest winning streak and still have a slim shot at sneaking in.
Ezekiel Elliott is back just in time for the Cowboys’ last-ditch effort at the playoffs
The Cowboys need a lot of help to make the playoffs, but Ezekiel Elliott’s return comes in time for one last push.
Kevin Jairaj-USA TODAY Sports
The Cowboys still need a lot help to get in, but there’s still reason to be hopeful. The return of Ezekiel Elliott from a suspension means the Cowboys may be the biggest threat to the Panthers’ and Falcons’ holds on the NFC Wild Card berths.
What still looms large is a Week 10 win for the Falcons over the Cowboys, which means a tiebreaker would fall in Atlanta’s favor. But Dallas isn’t sunk yet, and the return of Elliott means a 10-6 finish looks realistic.
The Cowboys are a different team with Elliott
The second-year running back was catching his stride in the 2017 season when he was finally forced to serve a six-game suspension for domestic violence allegations. The punishment was handed down in August after an investigation spanning more than a year.
However, the lengthy back-and-forth appeals process meant he was available for the first two months of the season. He averaged 97.9 yards over that eight-game span. The Cowboys were 5-3 when he left to serve his suspension and averaged 28.25 points per game.
His absence was a problem, and the Cowboys immediately went on a three-game skid with no offense to be seen.
For the first time in franchise history, Dallas was held under 10 points in three consecutive weeks. Even the 2015 Cowboys — who started Matt Cassel, Brandon Weeden, and Kellen Moore with Tony Romo gone most of the year — avoided finishing with a single-digit scoring total in even two straight games during a 4-12 season.
Dak Prescott averaged just 166.7 yards passing per game during the losing streak with no touchdowns and five interceptions.
In the last three weeks, the Cowboys finally found a rhythm again.
Prescott turned things around with an average of 215.3 yards per game with five touchdowns. The Cowboys also found a running game without Elliott, leaning heavily on Alfred Morris, who has 250 yards rushing in the last three weeks.
Blowouts of Washington and the New York Giants were helped by six forced turnovers, and Dallas escaped Oakland by the skin of its teeth, thanks in part to some silly NFL rules.
No matter how it happened, the Cowboys survived the suspension and stayed in the mix.
Elliott is planning to finish with big numbers
In the last three games before he left for his suspension, Elliott rushed for 390 yards and five touchdowns. But he’s already planning to be even better in his return performance against the Seattle Seahawks on Sunday.
According to Hall-of-Fame running back Eric Dickerson, Elliott bet he’ll have a career day against Seattle.
“He said he’s going to get 200 yards in his return,” Dickerson told TMZ. “I said ‘No. No, you’re not going to get 200 yards.’ So the bet is if he gets 200 yards, I have to give him one of my jerseys. It’ll be one of my special jerseys I played in. And if he doesn’t get 200 yards, he has to give me the jersey he played in.”
Much of the reason Elliott is so confident is that he spent his suspension in Mexico getting in ridiculous shape.
Elliott’s career-best rushing total was 159 yards in Week 15 of the 2016 season. His goal against the Seahawks looks a little less impossible after Seattle imploded Sunday and allowed Todd Gurley to rush for 152 yards and three touchdowns.
After that, Dallas visits Philadelphia in the final week of the regular season. The Eagles have already clinched the NFC East title and a first-round bye, and they are a win away from getting home-field advantage locked up. If Philadelphia wraps that up in Week 16, it’ll enter the season finale with nothing to play for against the Cowboys.
It’d take a small miracle for the Cowboys to get in
If the Cowboys finish 10-6 with wins over the Seahawks and Eagles in the final weeks, the likely result is that it’ll be the first time in franchise history the team finished with double-digit wins but no spot in the playoffs.
The only way that won’t be the case is if one of the NFC South teams still in the race loses out: The Falcons against the Saints and Panthers, the Saints against the Falcons and Buccaneers, or the Panthers against the Buccaneers and Falcons.
If one of those teams stumbles down the stretch and leaves the door open, Dallas needs the Lions to lose at least one of their last two against the Bengals and Packers.
It’s an unlikely scenario for the Cowboys, but the return of Elliott means the team can still put the pressure on the Falcons and Panthers to finish strong.
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