SAN ANTONIO – A harsh reality set in for the Dallas Cowboys when the halfway mark of the NFL regular season arrived last week.
The Cowboys went into their Week 10 divisional clash against Philadelphia with approximately a 3% chance of making the playoffs according to ESPN’s Football Power Index (FPI).
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After Dallas suffered a 34-6 defeat to the Eagles for its sixth loss of the season, the Cowboys’ playoff chances dropped to 0.4%.
At this time last year, the script was flipped. The franchise was 6-3 overall and undefeated at AT&T Stadium. The Cowboys’ faithful has yet to experience a win at home in 2024.
So, what changed from last year’s NFC East-winning season to having a less-than-1% chance to make the 14-team playoff as early as Week 11?
The Cowboys’ lack of aggression ahead of the NFL’s Free Agency Deadline was the first indicator that — after losing their former defensive coordinator Dan Quinn along with a few key players to Washington — the team would not immediately overcome their losses entering the new year.
However, when training camp in Oxnard, California, rolled around, the Dallas front office expressed a heightened level of expectation that contradicted what many saw as an unproductive offseason.
“We’re all in. We’re all in. We are all in,” Dallas Cowboys Owner and General Manager Jerry Jones said during training camp.
Jones attributed his “all in” approach to his belief in the team’s newly drafted players and his efforts to work out contracts with the team’s trio of stars: quarterback Dak Prescott, wide receiver CeeDee Lamb and edge rusher Micah Parsons.
Since then, Lamb signed a four-year, $136 million contract extension to become the second-highest-paid wide receiver in the NFL. Prescott’s four-year, $240 million contract made him the highest-paid player in the league ever.
But that wasn’t enough to suddenly make Dallas Super Bowl contenders.
With the benefit of hindsight, the Cowboys are also playing in a much more competitive NFC East. After the Eagles stumbled into the playoffs — going 1-5 in their last six games of the season — Philadelphia is now 8-2 overall.
The Washington Commanders are also on the rise at 7-4 overall and currently sit 1.5 games back of the division-leading Eagles.
This season, injuries quickly became the story of 2024 for Dallas. Injuries aren’t the reason for the Cowboys’ struggles, but they’ve prevented any chance of the team turning its season around.
Prescott underwent season-ending surgery on a torn hamstring he sustained in Week 9 versus the Falcons and Parsons just returned from an ankle injury.
Now, the question is: How will the Cowboys approach their final eight games of the season?
KSAT 12 Sports Director Larry Ramirez and sports reporter Mary Rominger will be live at AT&T Stadium in Arlington, Texas, to get you ready for Monday night’s Cowboys-Texans game. Join Larry and Mary for our KSAT Gameday pregame show at 6:30 p.m. Monday live on KSAT 12 before the Cowboys and Texans face off at 7 p.m. Monday live on KSAT 12.
