Cowboys owner Jerry Jones knows making the playoffs is now a tall order after losing to Detroit.
The Dallas Cowboys' playoff hopes took a huge hit in Week 14 after losing to the Detroit Lions as it pertains to a wildcard spot.
But the NFC East title is still within theoretical reach, especially if the Philadelphia Eagles lose at the Los Angeles Chargers on Monday night.
Either way, given the predicament Dallas now finds itself in after losing in Detroit, the path now relies on the Cowboys getting help in the way of other results.
For most, there is doom and gloom over the season right now, given that playoffs feel a long way off.
But for owner Jerry Jones, who was on 105.3 The Fan on Friday, he knows it's going to be tough, but he hasn't given up hope yet.
"I, too, knew what was at stake about our odds of getting in the playoffs," Jerry said on 105.3 The Fan. "We have a better team than we played, we do. Detroit is a good team, but we have a better team (than we showed).
"And so can we literally win out? Of course, we can win out. Is it going to be hard? Double, of course, it is to win out."
Continued Jones ...
"A lot of crazy things happen. ... I like to daydream."
OK. Let's dream big.
But ...
Needing to go 4-0 in the last month, and hope the Eagles implode to have any chance? This is the bed the Cowboys made for themselves.
Dallas will also need its roster clicking just right. That goes for physical health; in Detroit, CeeDee Lamb was on his way to being a “winner’’ with six catches for 121 yards early before the concussion that now still needs monitoring.
It goes for mental health; Dak Prescott can drive the offense. But ... Does this defense really have faith in itself and its coaches?
And it goes for effort and focus; Jake Ferguson is among those who need to sharpen their "fundamentals,'' and George Pickens’ “disinterested effort’’ simply cannot happen.
The 3-5-1 start meant there was little margin for error, and we look back at the losses to the Carolina Panthers and the Arizona Cardinals as the weights pulling Dallas down to the depths, because had one or both of those games been won, the season, today, has a completely different outlook.
Yes, the 6-6-1 Cowboys are still clinging to a slim chance, but to many the only way Jerry's team might punch its ticket to the playoffs is ...
In his dreams.