Cowboys tight end Jake Ferguson knows the team can't get ahead of themselves.
The Dallas Cowboys, one could say, have earned the right to walk with their chests puffed out after the last two weeks that have seen the Philadelphia Eagles and Kansas City Chiefs both lose to America's Team.
But at 6-5-1, there's nothing to celebrate yet, as the Cowboys' path to an unlikely playoff spot is still a tough one. Still, the good vibes are flowing inside The Star as a three-game winning streak has Dallas in a confident mood heading into Week 14 against the Detroit Lions.
But for tight end Jake Ferguson, is there a humble element to this team, despite what has been accomplished over the last three weeks?
“I think there's a little bit of that,” Ferguson said. “You definitely know what needs to be done, and I'm a military guy, the military talks about how 'complacency kills,' and that moment when you think I don't need to do that or we're fine, or we're gonna win, that's when bad things start to happen.
"That's when you start to go down a path that you don't want to go down, and you might be missing blocks, missing catches. So you just got to stay in tune, and don't get too full of yourself.”
So, there's no cutting corners just because you're winning, and that is the mindset Dallas has to have every minute of every day, regardless of the situation.
But at Ford Field tonight? Well, without being too heavy-handed, Dallas' season is largely on the line.
Lose, and the playoffs might look a little too far out of reach. But win, and the playoffs, along with a potential division title, now come into focus (as Dallas would be just half a game behind the Eagles in the NFC East).
The Cowboys have done a mountain of work to get themselves back to this spot; they can't waste it by being tardy.
The three-game gauntlet is nearly done, and going 3-0 in that stretch, now you have some serious momentum to attack the final four games with. ... with the understanding that "complacency kills.''