How sneaking out a few more wins could do more harm than good to the Cowboys

Photo by Kevin Sabitus/Getty Images

The Cowboys are on a winning streak, but should we be happy about that?

The Dallas Cowboys won their second-straight game on Thursday beating the New York Giants 27-20. This victory gives the Cowboys a 5-7 record and has provided a glimmer of hope that they could go on a run and earn the final playoff spot in the NFC. Whether that actually turns into anything or not, winning more games down the stretch will bring out a mixture of feelings from fans who are rooting for different things.

Let’s bottom line this. The Cowboys' chances of making the postseason are very slim as they would need a lot of things to go right for them. One of those things is winning football games, which let’s be real, they’ve shown some improvement over the last two games, but these recent victories could have more to do with them playing against struggling NFC East teams. The Cowboys’ two-game winning streak has come against teams who have lost 10 straight games collectively. Having some perspective is important.

A more likely outcome is that the Cowboys add on a couple more wins this season and finish the season with a 7-10 record. We can see them beating Carolina and maybe Tampa Bay or Washington depending on how well those teams are playing when they meet up.

In these types of situations, you typically have a divided fan base. Some fans want to see their team win on Sundays, regardless of anything else. Others see this team ultimately going nowhere this season and would prefer them to lose, exposing real problems and earning better draft capital. But which way is better long term? Let’s take a look at the “cost” of winning and see how it might affect the Cowboys going forward.

They are killing their draft position

Just a couple of weeks ago, the Cowboys were poised to be in the running for a Top 5 draft pick. Not only would they get one of the top collegiate prospects in next year’s draft, but they’d be picking at the top of the order in every round. That’s a big advantage.

However, now, those aspirations are gone. With Thursday’s win, they currently hold the 14th pick overall. Winning more games continues to push them further away from a blue-chip player. In a season that is not likely to result in anything meaningful, watching their draft position slip away kind of sucks.

If you want something positive to think about, remember this. Since the turn of the century, the Cowboys have picked in the range of 8th to 17th six times, and every single one of those picks was an All-Pro player - Roy Williams (2002), DeMarcus Ware (2005), Tyron Smith (2011), Zack Martin (2014), CeeDee Lamb (2020), and Micah Parsons (2021). Yes, higher draft capital is always better, but what truly matters is the personnel department making the picks.

Jerry Jones may give McCarthy another chance

Many fans are sour on Mike McCarthy. The Cowboys have won games under him, so something good is happening in Dallas, but how much of that is from their head coach? If you think the front office is terrible at supplying the groceries, then McCarthy may look like a godsend. However, if you believe the Cowboys have a talented roster, then you probably feel like Magic Mike is not doing enough with what he’s given.

After their Thanksgiving win on Sunday, Jones indicated that extending McCarthy is not out of the question. The Cowboys have been hit hard with injuries this season. Is it possible the terrible performance we’ve seen from the Cowboys could get blamed on injuries?

Even as bad as it’s been this year with missing key guys, the Cowboy's problems go a lot further than that. There have been many instances where they don’t look very prepared. The Cowboys are always near the bottom in penalties as this is something McCarthy can never seem to shake. When they lose, they lose badly and sometimes in embarrassing fashion.

Additionally, his contribution as an offensive coordinator is not good. Since he and Brian Schottenheimer have taken over the offense, their red zone efficiency has been dreadful. Too many times when the Cowboys need a key conversion, they falter. There is no creativity in this offense.

He also doesn’t seem to have a grasp on how to utilize his players. Why has it taken so long for Rico Dowdle to be the clear lead back? Why can’t they get KaVontae Turpin more involved in the offense? Even when they were at full strength, the offense underperformed. There is no excuse for the offense to perform the way they have been. A better coach/playcaller is needed for the Cowboys.

The Joneses will start to feel validated about their roster-building approach

The Cowboys have good players. They repeatedly have one of the stronger rosters in the league, however, this season has come under fire because of how they’ve performed. The front office skimped (as they always do) and didn’t spend money to fill some of the voids when some of their own players left in free agency. Having them fall on their face would serve as an indictment of the front office’s “poor roster building” practices.

The front office’s continual stubbornness in liking their own guys appeared to finally bite them this season when a run on injuries tested the depths of their roster. But now, some of these players are starting to play better. Let’s take a look...

Trusting a rookie left tackle over Tyron Smith seemed reckless, but was it necessary? Tyler Guyton has struggled at times, but he’s slowly putting things together and Tyron is, not surprisingly, hurt again. Cooper Beebe has done a great job replacing Tyler Biadasz. Even the Cowboys' biggest weakness, the run game, is starting to look better. Would you believe that Rico Dowdle has a better yards per carry, rushing success rate, and EPA than Tony Pollard? And despite all the injuries to their pass-rushing group this year, would you believe Carl Lawson ($1M per year) has more sacks than Dorance Armstrong ($11M per year)? Even guys from the Cowboys “bust” 2023 draft class are starting to show up.

Asim Richards is a good player.
Luke Schoonmaker continues to get better.
DeMarvion Overshown is a star in the making.
Even Mazi Smith is showing some good improvement.

Don't look now, but that "wasted" 2023 draft class is starting to look pretty decent.

— Dan Rogers (@DannyPhantom24) November 29, 2024

Watching these guys start to turn a corner has to be especially satisfying for the front office. Continued growth from these players will further validate the Joneses' decisions and it doesn’t bode well for those hoping they change their stripes next offseason.

To tank or not to tank, that is the question. Being a better football team is always the right answer. None of us should want the Cowboys to be bad. Losing games from a depleted roster due to injuries (like in 2015 or 2020) is one thing. Teams can come out of that. But losing games because they’re terrible. That’s hard to come out of.

The problem though is that the Cowboys are still not playing all that great. They are seeking out wins from teams that aren’t playing well, but how valuable is that? And remember, they were losing long before the injuries started piling up.

If the Cowboys win a couple more games it could give them a heightened sense of confidence that there are no real issues in Big D and the changes some of us were hoping to see, might not come. And tack on worse draft capital and it gives us even more to be upset about.

To tank or not to tank? That remains the question.