7 Reasons Dallas Cowboys Can Still Make the Playoffs

The Dallas Cowboys saw their playoff chances take a hit when they lost to the Philadelphia Eagles 34-7 on Sunday.  Suffering their biggest loss of the year, the Cowboys fell to 3-4.  This would mean having to finish 7-2 or 6-3 to make the playoffs.

Tony Romo has taken in a hit in production recently, passing for fewer than 220 yards in each of the last two games.  Against the Eagles, Romo barely completed more than half of his passes.

Romo and the Cowboys might be on the ropes, but they aren't finished yet.  With nine games left, the season is far from finished.  Following are some reasons why the Cowboys can still make the playoffs.

DeMarcus Ware

Nothing is ever finished for the Cowboys if DeMarcus Ware has a say.  Ware is the most ferocious pass-rusher in the NFL.  Through seven games, Ware has 12 sacks, trailing Jared Allen by only half a sack.  Ware is on pace for 27.5 sacks, which would break Michael Strahan's record of 22.5.

Ware had a career day against the Eagles on Sunday.  Taking advantage of the porous Eagles offensive line and pouncing on Michael Vick, Ware collected a career-high four sacks and forced a fumble.  Two of Ware's sacks came in the first half, serving notice to Romo and the Cowboys offense that the game was still there if they were interested in coming back.

Ware will play a big factor down the stretch.  Ware makes sacks that disrupts drives, attacks the quarterback and can strip the ball.  Thus far, Ware has forced two fumbles this season.

With Ware marauding the backfield, the Cowboys can remain dangerous.

Dan Bailey

Dan Bailey makes as big of a difference that a kicker can make.  Bailey has been key in Cowboys victories, as two of the Cowboys' three victories came on game-winning kicks by Bailey.  Against the Washington Redskins, Bailey scored all 18 Cowboys points.

Despite being a rookie, Bailey has been one of the best kickers in the NFL.  Bailey is tied for the NFL lead with 17 field goals made and is among the top five in field goal percentage (94.4 percent) and sixth in points (66).

Bailey can deliver wins for the Cowboys—his leg has even delivered a comeback against the Redskins.  With Bailey's leg, the Cowboys can win games in the clutch.

DeMarco Murray on the Rise

At the beginning of the season, the Cowboys pinned their hopes on running back on Felix Jones having a comeback year.  Jones didn't do well at the beginning of the season, and then became injured.

Since last Sunday, DeMarco Murray has emerged as a possible solution at running back.  Murray set a franchise record with 253 yards against the Rams.  On Sunday, he turned it on again, rushing for 74 yards on eight attempts.

Murray seems like he could be a big help for the Cowboys offense.  With Murray rising in the Cowboys offense, the Cowboys have a multidimensional attack.  Murray's running ability will help Dallas sustain its run down the stretch.

Rushing Defense

The Cowboys rushing defense has been a power this season, standing fourth from allowing 93.9 yards per game.  Before Sunday, the Cowboys were first, allowing a mere 67 yards per game.

The Cowboys took a hit in that department Sunday.  LeSean McCoy drove straight past the Cowboys for 185 yards.

Nevertheless, the McCoy outburst will only show as a blip on the radar for the Cowboys.  McCoy was the first rusher to gain more than 75 yards against the Cowboys and they have only allowed 100 yards on the ground once before Sunday.

The Cowboys will be back on track stopping the run.  In the remaining nine games, they face such fine running backs as Beanie Wells and Fred Jackson.  However, Dallas will do well against these backs.

The Cowboys rushing defense will give them an edge down the stretch.

Tony Romo Can Shake off the Rough Performances

Romo has had a few rough games in the first eight weeks, blowing two games with interceptions.  Sunday was a rare poor performance in the completion department for Romo.

Romo should be able to let go of the poor performances to move ahead towards the stretch run.  Thankfully, he is good at forgetting problems and doesn't let himself worry about drama at this point in his career.

Romo's numbers remain fairly impressive despite his struggles.  He is eighth in the NFL in passing yards per game (279.9) and 10th in yards per pass attempt (7.8).  While one might want to harp on his interceptions, Romo has a quite average interception rate (2.8 percent of dropbacks).  His is slightly lower than the league average.

Romo should be steady down the stretch as long as he keeps racking up yards and drilling his receivers—now healthy after being plagued with injuries at the beginning of the season—for touchdowns.  As Romo powers the offense, the Cowboys will roar down the stretch.

Schedule

The Cowboys can count on their remaining schedule to keep them alive.  They face a fairly easy schedule in the remaining nine games.  On the aggregate, the record for the remaining Cowboys games is 28-35 (.444) and five of the nine remaining games will be against teams with losing records.

The upcoming schedule will be especially forgiving for the Cowboys.  Four of the next five games will be against losing teams, including a Thanksgiving feast with the winless Miami Dolphins and a Dec. 4 game against the one-win Arizona Cardinals.

Now is the time for the Cowboys.  A great run in the next five weeks would put them in a strong position for a run at the playoffs.  Dallas can take advantage of this schedule to make the playoffs.

A Lackluster NFC East Division

The NFC East has not been as strong as it had been in previous seasons.  The Eagles have underwhelmed after being dubbed a "dream team" before the season began.  Michael Vick has remained healthy of late, which is amazing considering how leaky the Eagles offensive line is.  Despite having two of the best cornerbacks in the league, the Eagles are No. 14 in scoring defense.

As usual, the Redskins are spinning their wheels in the mud.  Rex Grossman fell hard after leading the Redskins to a 2-0 start.  John Beck replaced Grossman as quarterback, but hasn't fared much better.  Beck has a 69.9 QB rating and has averaged 5.8 yards per passing attempt.

The Giants happen to stand in the division lead, two games ahead of everyone else.  Eli Manning has played over his head, throwing 13 touchdowns compared with five interceptions.  Incredibly, Manning has a 2.1 percent interception rate, ranking ninth.  Also, Manning is fifth in completion percentage (64.7) and third in QB rating (102.1). 

Surely the Giants quarterback will regress to the mean.  Manning has never placed in the top 10 in QB rating.

Just like Manning, the Giants will lapse.  To start the season, the Giants have eaten up bad teams.  Six of their first seven games came against teams with losing records.  The Giants play four of their next five games against winning teams.  Overall, the Giants play five of their last nine games against teams with winning records.

Also, the Cowboys have two shots at the Giants in the last four weeks.  Truly, the Cowboys control their destiny.  The division won't mind helping, though.