The Dallas Cowboys season hasn't been a straight path to the playoffs and the No. 2 seed in the NFC; It has, rather, resembled a roller-coaster at times.
After a clunky start to the season that was lowlighted by the San Francisco 49ers debacle in Week 5, Dallas hit the accelerator, which then led to it rattling off seven wins in eight games. But then came back-to-back losses against the Buffalo Bills and the Miami Dolphins.
The Cowboys then steadied the ship with a narrow 20-19 win over the Detroit Lions and now, they have a chance at home field for at least one playoff game.
If you're 11-5, the roller-coaster has mostly gone up. But even in the down moments, veteran receiver Brandin Cooks says the trust within the locker room allowed an assuredness that they were on the right path.
“The biggest thing is when we had some of those ebb and flows early on [and] late in the season, no one flinched,” Cooks said. “We continue to trust our process, trust one another, and when you got that in the team, I think you really got that makeup of a championship team.”
Dallas might not have flinched, by fans and some sections of the national media did, but alas, here we are at Week 18 with everything on the line.
The Cowboys can claim the NFC East, and with it, the No. 2 seed in the NFC that will grant a home playoff game, against likely the Los Angeles Rams or Green Bay Packers if things fall the way many think.
But, that is predicated on the Cowboys handling their business on the road against a Washington Commanders team that has nothing to lose.
With so much at stake on Sunday, Cooks knows the team can't afford to look ahead.
“You know, 'One game at a time,' but yes,'' he said. "I think it's that important really to just go out there in Washington, play our best game, and come out with the win.”
If the Cowboys do take care of the Commanders, win their 12th game (for the third straight season), secure the No. 2 seed and a home playoff game, then Dallas will be in the best spot it has been in a while to perhaps vanquish those championship demons.
The Cowboys have one thing to do in the nation's capital and one thing only. And by doing that when everything is on the line, in a pressure environment, on the road, against a rival, it might just prove that this Dallas team has that "championship makeup" after all.
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