Riding a three-game streak and a revived defense, Dak Prescott and the Cowboys head to Detroit as the NFC team nobody wants to see in January.
The Dallas Cowboys are suddenly the NFC team nobody wants on their playoff bingo card. Winners of three straight and fresh off back-to-back wins over last season's Super Bowl participants, Dallas rolls into Ford Field for a massive Week 14 showdown with the Detroit Lions, looking more dangerous than their 6-5-1 record suggests.
Momentum is firmly on the Cowboys' side, and the national narrative is catching up.
Former Steelers corner and two-time Super Bowl champion Bryant McFadden laid it out on CBS Sports, calling Dallas "potentially the most scariest team" in the NFC playoff picture. His reasoning starts with the side of the ball that dragged them down early in the year.
"When you look at the three teams currently in the hunt, if I had to rank them, I start with the Cowboys as potentially the most scariest team because of their progression on the defensive side, which has been their Achilles heel over the first two months of the season," McFadden said.
"But now, with them making the key moves, bringing in quality players, the defense has improved, and now it’s a strong point for their team. Then, when you bring that to what they already have going on collectively with their offense, you don’t want to see this team, and they’re playing with a lot of confidence."
That confidence has been built on results.
Dallas has gone through a gauntlet and come out swinging, beating the defending Super Bowl champion Eagles and last year's AFC champion Chiefs in back-to-back weeks, with Dak Prescott outplaying Patrick Mahomes and Jalen Hurts in the process.
"When you look at what they've done the last two weeks, beating Philly, beating Kansas City, doing so when your quarterback outperforms Super Bowl-winning quarterbacks, doing so when your head coach outperforms Super Bowl-winning coaches in terms of adjustments," McFadden said. "This is a team, and I said this a few weeks ago, if they mess around and get into the playoffs, they're coming into your house, and they're moving furniture. Moving the coffee table, knocking all the magazines off the table, and saying, 'Get out of the way. We're going to have a party.'"
Then there’s Dak himself, playing at an MVP-level clip during this stretch.
"Their quarterback, name me another quarterback that's playing better than Dak Prescott right now," McFadden added. "Jared Goff, you know, a little spotty, but still can play. But Dak Prescott is him. It’s him."
All eyes now turn to Thursday night in Detroit. If the "scariest team" in the NFC keeps rolling, they won't just be in the hunt ... they'll be the wild card nobody wants to host.