Dak Prescott, Jerry Jones share blunt assessments of Cowboys' pursuit of playoffs

While the Dallas Cowboys looked impressive as they notched a 33-16 win over the lowly Las Vegas Raiders (2-8) on Monday night, that victory only improved Dallas to 4-5-1 on the season. 

The Cowboys ended that evening outside of the postseason spots in the NFC standings. Cowboys quarterback Dak Prescott spoke with Michael Silver of The Athletic about Dallas' pursuit of a playoff berth. 

Dak Prescott challenges Cowboys to not "lose focus"

"We’ve got a hell of a road ahead of us," Prescott admitted. "And I think that’s the best part of it — we ain’t got no bulls— ahead, where we can lose focus. Like, hell no, we can’t lose focus — not for a second, not for a day, not for a moment of the training."

The Cowboys next host the reigning Super Bowl champion Philadelphia Eagles (8-2) this coming Sunday. Following that matchup, the Cowboys will welcome the Kansas City Chiefs (5-5) to AT&T Stadium for a Thanksgiving Day showdown. On Dec. 4, Dallas plays at the Detroit Lions (6-4). 

"S—, we want to make the playoffs? We got to go beat some playoff teams," Prescott added. "And it’s not 'one game at a time.' We don’t have that luxury. We’ve got to think of the whole thing. We have to go on a run. And we’re going to do it together."

Jerry Jones not embracing "playoffs or bust" mindset?

Cowboys owner and general manager Jerry Jones bought ahead of the Nov. 4 trade deadline when he acquired defensive tackle Quinnen Williams from the New York Jets and linebacker Logan Wilson from the Cincinnati Bengals. Despite those moves, Jones seemed realistic regarding what the Cowboys can achieve through Week 18 while chatting with Silver. 

"It’s probably a little late in the game," Jones said about Dallas possibly going on a playoff run . "But if not this season, our future is looking brighter." 

As of Wednesday, ESPN's Football Power Index gave Dallas a 6.6 percent chance to make the playoffs. Also on Wednesday, ESPN BET had the Cowboys as 3.5-point home underdogs versus the Eagles.