5 Things to watch when Cowboys take second crack at NFC East title
The Dallas Cowboys can make all of the second-guessing and concerns fade to the background by taking care of business on Sunday afternoon.
True, beating the Tampa Bay Buccaneers (5-9) to claim their 23rd NFC East title (25 if you include NFC Capitol titles in ‘67 and ‘69) doesn’t ensure post-season success. But it’s a start. And to do it with a one more regular-season game remaining would be beneficial for a beat-up offensive line.
Five things to watch Sunday when the Cowboys host the Bucs:
1. Let’s do this
The Cowboys get their second crack at clinching the NFC East title on Sunday. All signs point to it happening and happening in grand fashion. The setting seems ripe for a blowout win for the Cowboys and a return to some of that win-streak swagger they had been oozing. But if they don’t, and they don’t get any help from the Eagles and Redskins, then they’ll be facing a win or go home proposition in the regular-season finale against the Giants on Dec. 30. No one wants that.
2. Zack’s back
Right guard Zack Martin is hopeful he’ll return to action on Sunday. The five-year veteran who just earned his fifth pro bowl honor, missed the first game of his career last week. His absence showed. Although rookie Connor Williams was decent, there’s no replacing an All-Pro. Left guard Xavier Su’a-Filo left last week’s game after being poked in the eye but he’s expected to play.
3. NFC East dominance
The Cowboys are going for their 25th division title (and 23rd in the NFC East) since 1967. No other team in the division has won it more than 10 times. That’s the Eagles, who won it a year before winning the Super Bowl. The Redskins have nine division and titles and the Giants have eight. The St. Louis Cardinals had two before they left the division. Dallas last won the division in 2016.
4. In defense of the defense
The Cowboys are a defense-first team. The unit has been the most reliable aspect of the team all season. That’s partly why last week’s performance was a bit surprising. True, the offense offered no help by going scoreless, but the Colts rushed for 178 yards, a season-high allowed by Cowboys. The defensive line didn’t provide much pressure and there were multiple missed tackles. Maybe they shouldn’t, but the defensive players seemed more embarrassed than the offensive players and that should bode well against the Bucs.
5. Passing the Bucs
Between quarterbacks Ryan Fitzpatrick and Jameis Winston, the Buccaneers have thrown for more yards than any team in the NFL this year. Winston has started seven games, including the past four after taking over full-time for Fitzpatrick. Winston has thrown 14 touchdowns and 13 interceptions and is complete 63 percent of his passes, which is in the bottom quarter among quarterbacks.
This story was originally published December 21, 2018 at 12:00 AM.