Dallas finally getting it together, only to hamper its draft position
ARLINGTON — This is what Mike McCarthy wants.
There’s a sense this Dallas Cowboys team is coming together, that it’s finally reaping the dividends of what the coaching staff has been preaching in McCarthy’s first year as head coach.
It comes just in time to tick off fans even more.
During the first three months of the season, as the Cowboys endured what seemed to be an endless stream of injuries and losses, fans grudgingly adjusted their expectations to accept the race for a better draft pick. Now, in the last eight days, this team has reversed course.
A 41-33 victory over a nomadic San Francisco team Sunday afternoon at AT&T Stadium marked the first time all season that Dallas has won consecutive games. The Cowboys live to fight for the NFC East title — no matter how improbable — for another week.
The reason: Seconds after Washington lost to Seattle, corner Anthony Brown picked off a pass and Tony Pollard broke off a 40-yard touchdown run to secure the victory.
The odds are still against the Cowboys (5-9) climbing back from the brink to win this embarrassingly bad division. But these two wins also deal a crippling blow to the franchise’s chances of landing the No. 4 pick in the April draft, a position that was strengthened three days earlier with the Los Angeles Chargers’ overtime win over Oakland.
Which brings us to the perception of McCarthy. Fans frustrated with him over the team losing nine of its first 12 games are now
equally upset that the Cowboys have won two straight to slide back in the draft's pecking order.
It won't surprise you to learn that McCarthy doesn't view this as a dilemma.
“Well to me, it's all about the commitment,” McCarthy said. “The commitment doesn't change. We all signed on for 16 regular-season games. We want to see this through and be the best that we can be.”
The Cowboys had gone 13 months and 21 games — a stretch that began in early November of last year —without back-to-back wins. Dallas was outscored 117-57 in the games following its first three victories of this season.
Dallas never trailed in this one. A team that won three games by a total of seven points in the first 61 days of the regular season has now won two games in eight days by a total of 31 points.
That's significant progress. “It shows a lot,'' said quarterback Andy Dalton, who presided over an offense that hasn't turned the ball over in two consecutive games. “There has been no quit in this team.
“There's been a lot of stuff that has happened this year, you know, some adversity that we've faced. I think today was a complete game by everybody in all phases of the game, and it felt good to stack another win together.”
One player after another spoke about what the last two victories have shown about this group. Defensive end DeMarcus Lawrence talked of looking in the mirror and fighting against taking the easy way out. Cornerback Jourdan Lewis stressed how professional athletes are paid to put their best foot forward to go out and win games, regardless of the circumstances.
“We're taking steps in the right direction,” said rookie CeeDee Lamb, who had five receptions for 85 yards and returned an onside kick 47 yards for the team's final touchdown with 34 seconds remaining.
It took longer than he wanted, but McCarthy has the first backto-back wins of his tenure as the Cowboys coach.
“The biggest part that comes from stacking the success is the confidence,” McCarthy said. “It's a big chunk of confidence.
“To be able to grab that big chunk of confidence is something that will help us moving forward and get ready for Philadelphia. To me, that's what stacking success is all about.”
The Cowboys play the Eagles next weekend and finish the regular season the next week at the New York Giants. What would two more wins do to the team's draft status?
Don't ask.
“Our focus is the next two games,” Dalton said. “We've just got to handle what we can handle and control what we can control. We know that there's still a chance out there. But for us, we just have to make the most out of these last two opportunities and see how everything shakes out.”