Cowboys' playoff hopes dwindle. Brian Schottenheimer stresses the need to "stack wins" as a crucial three-game stretch begins against tough opponents.
The Dallas Cowboys come into their Week 12 game against the Philadelphia Eagles knowing it's gut-check time with their season on the brink.
At 4-5-1, there is little to no margin for error, and such is their predicament; the Cowboys can't just look ahead at the Eagles game with complete focus. They also have to keep an eye on the entire season because a loss on Sunday would be devastating to their already low playoff hopes.
The locker room knows it has gotten late early, and playoff football has arrived, and for head coach Brian Schottenheimer, he, like his team, knows that the time has come to go on a run.
“We have to stack some wins,” Schottenheimer said. “Our biggest thing is we've been too inconsistent this year. We play really well, then we take a step back, and then we play really well. We've put ourselves in this position. It's a very competitive conference, we're hanging around, but yes, we put ourselves in a position where we have to stack wins."
Dallas' three-game stretch is going to decide how Schottenheimer's first season as an NFL head coach plays out.
The Eagles, Kansas City Chiefs, and Detroit Lions are up next, with two of those three at home, and it is here where Dallas has to stack wins.
Granted, having not beaten a team with a winning record, it would be a great time to start now, and Schottenheimer knows that his team has to start winning, not only for their season, but also given that if they were to make the playoffs, they want to do so in form.
"We have to go on a little bit of a run here, obviously it starts with getting a second win in a row and then hopefully three and four," Schottenheimer said. "You want to be doing that this time of year anyways because you don't want to be able, let's win one and lose one, because going into the playoffs, you want to have confidence.”
So, everyone knows what is at stake on Sunday, so the stakes couldn't be any bigger.
At home, season on the line and your bitter rivals, who at 8-2, and riding high, are there to be got at.
And the Cowboys know they simply have to take care of business here.
But will they?