Forget the injuries, Adam 'Pacman' Jones, Jerry Jones and his rant, Wade Phillips and his hot seat, Hard Knocks and the Super Bowl hype.

It's now survival time for the Dallas Cowboys.

While Sunday's game at Washington isn't the deciding factor if the Cowboys make they playoffs or not this season, a loss would mean they might have win each one of their six remaining games.

The Cowboys need this game. They want the game, but that's not enough.

They have a great opportunity since it appears Redskins star running back Clinton Portis will not play. He leads the league in rushing.

His absence should put a lot more pressure on young quarterback Jason Campbell, who is having a spectacular season. He isn't making mistakes. That's easier when you have a dominating running game. Without Portis the Redskins will have to rely more on the passing game.

It'll be time for Terence Newman to show he is back; for DeMarcus Ware to show his sacks mean something; for Anthony Spencer to show there is proverbial steak to his sizzle. (Heck it's even time for the secondary to show they don't need Pacman.)

So while the Cowboys need a win any way they can get it, they need to do more. They need to show they are contenders again. Not for their fans and not even for the media, but for themselves.

They have to really believe they can beat good teams again. Dominate them.

After the Redskins, the Cowboys have San Francisco and Seattle (both 2-7), wins over those teams, even big wins, won't show much. Both are must-wins for the Cowboys making the playoffs, but they're not message games.

Despite all of that, the bottom line is the Cowboys have to win. Everything else is just background noise. A statement win would be nice, but they'll take any win at this point.

2 Comments

Amy Parker said:

I am a Dallas fan, but what do you mean by dominate them, this franchise has not dominated anybody in 15 yrs, i am 20 yrs old and i hear about way back then, but i am going to college now and i have never seen them dominate anybody in the 20yrs of my life, i was 5 or 6, i dont remember, anyways my point is alot of people here dont remember any dominance if you are 20yrs old or younger. I am also a Patriot fan too. They have been dominant

November 16, 2008 1:16 PM

Aaron Chimbel said:

Thanks for writing.
Dominate like they did at the beginning of the season.

November 16, 2008 5:54 PM

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