On brink of playoffs, Cowboys still trying to fix offense

The only way the Dallas Cowboys can clinch the NFC East title in what’s left of Week 15 is if Washington and Philadelphia tie.

With the playoffs and division crown essentially wrapped up, the final three games of the regular season will be about trying to solve the mystery of an offense gone cold.

The Cowboys (10-4) also aren’t out of the running for the top seed in the NFC with Washington set to visit Sunday night. Washington could be eliminated in the division race with a loss to the Eagles on Tuesday night in a game that was postponed over COVID-19 issues.

The Dallas defense led the way again in a 21-6 victory at the New York Giants, with the Cowboys becoming the first team since Detroit in 2007 to force at least four turnovers in three consecutive games in the same season.

Now Dak Prescott and the offense go through yet another week of trying to figure out what hasn’t been right since he injured a calf in an overtime victory at New England in Week 6.

“I think it’s OK we continue to play complementary football,” coach Mike McCarthy said. “Trust me, we know who’s being productive and the things that we need to do a little better. I say it every week, they’re very accountable.”

Dallas scored on five possessions against the Giants.

The three drives that ended in field goals (68, 58 and 37 yards) were longer than the two that ended in touchdowns (13 and 29).

In the first seven games, the Cowboys never had fewer than 380 yards on offense. In the past seven, they’ve fallen short of that five times.

Put another way, if Dallas is to get past the divisional round for the first time since the last of the franchise’s five Super Bowl titles to finish the 1995 season, the offense will have to find its earlyseason form.

“I mean, we had some success,” Prescott said. “Obviously, we want to be better and we want to get some touchdowns and I think if we got touchdowns, we’d feel a whole lot better about the overall performance.”