Cowboys found home in the playoffs

By David Mullen

After a long and substandard NFL regular season, the 13-game second season begins on Saturday, Jan. 13. The Dallas Cowboys finished as the NFC East Champions thanks to home cooking and an epic Philadelphia Eagles collapse.

Dallas, 12-5, appears ready to make a viable run for the NFC Championship and a Super Bowl berth. A Game 17 road win over hapless Washington Commanders coupled with a stunning collapse by the Eagles against the New York Giants assured that NFC playoff teams must visit AT&T Stadium.    

For the Cowboys, charity begins at home. The Cowboys were 8-0 at home this season and 4-5 on the road. 

None of the other 31 NFL teams were undefeated on their home turf. 

But before anointing the Cowboys, remember that their 12 victories were against teams with a collective winning percentage of .390. Of their five losses, four were to playoff teams, and they narrowly escaped another loss to the playoff-bound Detroit Lions. 

It was the late NFL Commissioner Pete Rozelle’s vision that, “On any given Sunday, any team can be beaten.” He called it parity. He would have been pleased with the results of the 2023 season, where 21 teams had at least eight wins. The Green Bay Packers and Tampa Bay Buccaneers qualified for the playoffs with a 9-8 record. New Orleans, Seattle, Indianapolis, Cincinnati and Jacksonville, also 9-8, did not.  

Due to the parity-driven, unbalanced schedule, teams can play inferior divisions during the season. The AFC South has three playoff teams by feasting on a menu of unpalatable NFC South opponents. In the NFL, a win against the 13-4 Baltimore Ravens counts the same as a win against the 2-14 Carolina Panthers. 

The 10-7 Pittsburgh Steelers made the playoffs in spite of giving up 20 more points than they scored. Tampa Bay will host a playoff game despite scoring less points than the 7-10 Chicago Bears. Instead of parity, the NFL is steeped in mediocrity.

And many of the first-round playoff games are underwhelming. On Saturday, Jan. 13, 11-6 Cleveland travels to the 10-7 Houston Texans in another example of the screwy NFL playoff scenarios. Led by rookie QB C.J. Stroud, the Texans are the AFC’s surprise team. But the Browns defense is too stout for Stroud, and Cleveland (-3) covers the spread in a low scoring game. 

Normally, the Miami Dolphins at the Kansas City Chiefs (-3.5) on Saturday, Jan. 13 is “Must See TV.” But instead of being on NBC, the game is only available on second tier streaming service Peacock. 

After a strong start, Miami is reeling with injuries, especially on defense. Chiefs QB Patrick Mahomes has been frustrated by poor performances from his wide receiving corps. But Mahomes favorite target remains TE Taylor, I mean, Travis Kelce and the Dolphins can’t stop him. When the Chiefs win by my predicted six points, I’ll be proud as a peacock.

On Sunday, Jan. 14, the Steelers visit the favored Buffalo Bills. The once steady Bills QB Josh Allen has shown signs of instability, but the Steelers offense is not enough to beat the Bills defense. The Bills will win, but 10 are too many points to give a Pittsburgh team coached by Mike Tomlin.

The most interesting playoff game of the week is Sunday, Jan. 14, when the Los Angeles  Rams (-3.5) face the Lions in Detroit. The Lions have been America’s darlings, but the Rams are peaking at the right time, Highland Park’s Matthew Stafford returns to his adopted hometown, and Detroit will not be able to stop All-Pro DT Aaron Donald. 

The Rams win as the clock strikes midnight on the Cinderella Lions.

NFL fans will be forced to watch the lifeless Eagles (-2.5) face the lousy Buccaneers in Tampa on Monday night, Jan. 15. Philadelphia’s fall from an elite to an inert team is unprecedented. But Tampa Bay shouldn’t even be in the playoffs. Hold your nose and pick the Eagles giving the points.

The 7.5-point favorite Cowboys are at home on Sunday, Jan. 14, facing the Packers. For the cocky Cowboys, playing this Packers team is the ideal tonic to cure past playoff hangovers. This Packers team is not led by Aaron Rodgers, but by young Jordan Love. The motivation of HC Mike Mcarthy playing his old Packers team is greatly exaggerated.

 The Green Bay defense won’t be able to stop the Prescott to WR CeeDee Lamb connection. I just don’t see the Pack keeping up with the Jones and his Cowboys. Dallas wins by at least two touchdowns.

In August, I predicted that Baltimore and the San Francisco 49ers would play in Super Bowl LVIII. There is no reason to change that expectation. Both teams enjoy a week off as the No. 1 seeds in their respective conferences.

But with playoff games at home, where Dallas has been invincible, the Cowboys have entered the Super Bowl conversation, especially when facing mediocre NFL teams in the playoffs.