Cowboys are playoff bound

[MFFL]

Dallas earns postseason bid for the first time since 2003
10:26 AM CST on Monday, December 18, 2006
By TODD ARCHER / The Dallas Morning News

IRVING – The Cowboys had one of their most rewarding Sundays of the 2006 season and they did not even play.

Thanks to wins by the New York Jets and Pittsburgh, the Cowboys clinched a playoff spot for the 28th time in team history and know their season will at least extend into the first weekend of January.

This is the 10th time in Bill Parcells' 18 years as a head coach that he has taken a team to the postseason and second time in four seasons with the Cowboys.

The Cowboys' final two regular-season games are about positioning and keeping momentum in looking for their first playoff victory since 1996 and their first Super Bowl appearance since 1995.

The Cowboys can clinch their first NFC East title since 1998 by beating Philadelphia (8-6) on Christmas at Texas Stadium. The Eagles have won three straight games, including two straight division road games.

"The most important thing for our team is we should look at this thing as if we didn't clinch anything," receiver Terry Glenn said. Making the playoffs, "that's not really satisfying to me. We should just go out there and finish these last two games with victories and finish at 11-5 and then see where we are."

The Cowboys took care of part of their playoff equation Saturday night with a 38-28 win at Atlanta, but to qualify for the playoffs they needed Minnesota and Carolina to lose to the Jets and Steelers. The Vikings (26-13) and Panthers (37-3) complied, and the Cowboys can also send a note of thanks to their most heated rival, Washington.

The Redskins' 16-10 victory at New Orleans opened up the debate for a possible first-round bye in the NFC playoffs. While tied with the same 9-5 records, the Saints hold the tiebreaker edge on the Cowboys based on last week's 42-17 win at Texas Stadium.

To clinch a first-round bye for the first time since 1995, the Cowboys would need to win their final two games (Philadelphia, Detroit) and have the Saints lose one of their final two (Giants, Carolina).

"That would be lovely if that falls in place," cornerback Terence Newman said. "It would give time for people to heal up and an extra week to prepare."

Chicago (12-2) clinched home-field advantage throughout the NFC playoffs with its overtime win against Tampa Bay, but the road has not been an unfriendly place for the Cowboys this season. For the first time since 1995, the Cowboys have a winning record (5-3) away from home and would have been 6-2 if not for the crazy finish at Washington on Nov. 5.

"You always want home-field advantage if you can get it, but at the same time we're not feeling like our confidence would go down because it's cold and windy up there," Pro Bowl tight end Jason Witten said. "It seems like for whatever reason we have played well on the road."


VERNON BRYANT / DMN
Marion Barber (24) leads the Cowboys with 13 touchdowns, including two in Saturday's win over Atlanta.
What has owner and general manager Jerry Jones confident about his team's chances is the offense.

The Cowboys are the only team that has scored at least 17 points in every game this season, and quarterback Tony Romo is the second-rated passer (98.4) in the conference. In his eight starts, Romo has completed 167 of 249 passes for 2,178 yards with 13 touchdowns and seven interceptions. Most important, the Cowboys are 6-2 with Romo as the starter.

"Offensively, I feel like when it's our turn, we're going to score," Jones said in the locker room Saturday night. "At the end of the day, we're showing how to stay in the ballgame and not giving it away."

But Jones, Parcells and the defenders know that the play on the other side of the ball has to improve over the final two weeks for the Cowboys to make a run in the playoffs.

In the last three games, against the Giants, New Orleans and Atlanta, the defense has allowed 11 touchdown passes after giving up only nine in the previous 11 games.

"I don't think it's anything to jump overboard about, but it definitely raises some questions within the defensive players," Newman said. "But at the same time people are going to make plays, and you've got to understand that."

[Drbio]

[MavsX]

F'n right

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Damn skippy.