Cowboys head coach Brian Schottenheimer isn't using fatigue as an excuse for the loss in Detroit. And he'd like another crack at the Lions, too.
The Dallas Cowboys have just finished a stretch of four games in 17 days, with Brian Schottenheimer's team going 3-1 in that span.
The Cowboys have been through a lot, both emotionally and physically, over that span, from honoring Marshawn Kneeland after his passing in the win over the Las Vegas Raiders to getting themselves up for an NFC East showdown against the Philadelphia Eagles.
Then we add in the Thanksgiving Day game against the Kansas City Chiefs? Yup, that is a lot to deal with.
And maybe the 44-30 loss to the Detroit Lions, as some have suggested, is simply because Dallas ran out of petrol tickets mentally and physically at Ford Field.
There might be an ounce of truth to that, but not to coach Schottenheimer.
“We'd keep playing, we're ready, we'll play anybody anywhere,” Schottenheimer said. “It doesn't change because you lose to the Detroit Lions when you don't play very good. We did not play very good, and that's why we lost.
"I'd love to play them again tomorrow if they'd let us."
So, Schottenheimer isn't using what has transpired over the past 17 days as an excuse, and nor should he, with many predicting a Cowboys win over Detroit.
Now, at 6-6-1, the Cowboys' playoff hopes, which were already dangling by a thread, appear nearly over, at least from a wildcard perspective, with Dallas not having tiebreakers over teams above them, and with other wildcard teams all at eight wins before playing Sunday.
So the Cowboys' clearest path to the playoffs goes through the NFC East and hoping the Eagles stumble in such a way that allows Dallas to overtake them.
Dallas going 4-0 in the last month, and the Eagles going 2-3, would do it.
Can the Cowboys go 4-0? There is a chance, but for the Eagles to lose three games? That's asking a lot.
You don't want to be in this position, having to rely on other results to go your way, but the Cowboys, after a 3-5-1 start, that's what they need.
Did emotional and physical fatigue play a role in Dallas losing in Detroit? This much we know: With a 9-percent chance to make the playoffs, the Cowboys might get a very full offseason during which to recover.