Dallas Cowboys: Why Every Remaining Game in 2011 Season is a Must-Win

After a perfect November, the Dallas Cowboys have limped into the last three weeks of the season on the back of two consecutive losses. Dallas would now find itself out of the playoffs if the season ended today, with their best shot of sneaking into the postseason being to run the table.

The Cowboys have to play the Tampa Bay Buccaneers this Saturday night, before two games with NFC East rivals in the Philadelphia Eagles and New York Giants to end the regular season. If Big D was to win all three of these games, they would end up in the playoffs as the division champion.

It's as easy as that.

As fans of America's Team will tell you, none of those are overwhelmingly easy with the Eagles surely looking to play spoiler to their hated rivals when they visit Dallas Cowboys Stadium in a little over a week.

After that, there's the showdown with the G-Men at the Meadowlands to end the regular season. Despite the loss last weekend, Dallas looked just as good as New York up until the final minutes of the game. Therefore, there should be some level of confidence—or at least a few positives—for head coach Jason Garrett to show the team when preparing for the game.

First and foremost, the Cowboys must take care of business on the road in Tampa Bay tomorrow night. They need to defeat the struggling Buccaneers and showcase their sixth-ranked offense. What's more, defensive coordinator Rob Ryan's players on the other side of the ball need to have an impressive outing.

The sheer numbers and the way both teams' seasons have played out would leave many expecting Dallas to destroy the home team, but whether they win big or squeak out a win doesn't matter. The playoffs have come three weeks early for this year's Cowboys and all this team needs to worry about is going out there and earning a win no matter how pretty or ugly it looks.