With a favorable remaining schedule, 12-win finish is not only reasonable for Cowboys, it’s expected

When Tennessee completely and completely dismantled Kansas City over the weekend, it underscored the folly of being too far ahead of yourself when it comes to NFL schedules.

Earlier this season, were there any doubts that the Cowboys’ foray into Arrowhead Stadium next month would be one of their biggest tests of the season? Did you even give Dallas a chance?

Your thoughts are likely to be different today.

Fates and perceptions change quickly in this league. When the cowboys return from their farewell week, the landscape has changed. The default mode for this team has been changed.

Don’t let Mike McCarthy get into this dirty little secret. For some reason, head coaches don’t like it when people in or around the team look ahead instead of staying in the moment.

Kill sums.

Sorry, but it’s time to reconsider early September conventional wisdom that the Cowboys will finish with nine to ten wins. Projections need to be pushed up.

Let’s set the over / under to 13.

A 5: 1 start and a schedule that currently provides no more than three games against opponents with a winning record in the last 11 games requires an adjustment. Stay in the moment?

Please.

“It’s been a good start to the season,” admitted right-wing Pro Bowl guard Zack Martin on Monday when the players returned to The Star after a week off. “We did some good things.

“Of course we love where we are. But this team has some big goals and everyone is bound by those goals. ”

Again, if you are training or playing for the cowboys, ignore this next sentence. But we all know it’s a foregone conclusion to win the NFC East and move into postseason for the first time in three seasons.

Dallas is already 31/2 games in the lead in the division. The Cowboys can be without a win for the next 31 days and still lead the division into their Thanksgiving Day game against Las Vegas.

The Cowboys are no longer just playing for a division title. The quick start got them into another discussion.

One of the conference’s top records. Possibly the best.

Six of the last 11 games on the schedule are against teams currently under .500. There are only three games against teams with a winning record.

The game on Sunday evening in Minnesota against the Vikings (3-3) seems to be one of the bigger challenges for the Cowboys. This should help the team focus after a few days off.

It should also be noted that the Vikings have a bye week.

“I think our changing room is really good at the moment,” said Martin. “I think the boys are ready to go back to work and move on.”

Coaches once divided the season into quarters to assess where their team was and to set goals for the next quarter. Switching to a 17-game schedule with this traditional approach is devastating.

McCarthy divided the schedule into three segments. The bye after six games was a natural break. The Cowboys now have six games over the next 33 days. You close the regular season with five games in the last 33 days.

This upcoming route is the most difficult. After Minnesota, the team has home games against Denver and Atlanta. Then it strikes.

The Cowboys travel to Kansas City for a game on November 21st. This begins a phase in which the team plays three games in 12 days, with a home game against Las Vegas (5-2) between tough street games in Kansas City and New Orleans.

Four of the team’s last five games are against division enemies. The exception is a January 2nd duel with Arizona, the only undefeated team in the league at the moment.

There may only be three games that don’t favor the cowboys. That doesn’t mean they’ll win all of these games, but it does make the over / under setting of 13 wins reasonable.

As a public announcement, we now return to the starting point. Don’t go too far ahead of yourself. The Chiefs could be on the cutting edge when they face the Cowboys in three weeks’ time. The landscape is constantly changing.

It’s too early for the cowboys to focus on their potential playoff seed. But a quick start and an otherwise poor breakdown gave them a comfortable cushion.

“I think the best thing this team has done is pulling it off week after week,” said Martin. “The next game is our most important game and I think the guys are convinced of it.

“We’re excited to be back together and working on Minnesota.”

Watch David Moore and Robert Wilonsky moderate Intentional Grounding on The Ticket (KTCK-AM 1310 and 96.7 FM) at the special time of Tuesday evening this week from 7-8pm

More cowboys coverage from The Dallas Morning News can be found here.

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