From 3-5 to NFC East Champs for 3rd time under Garrett, how the Cowboys never gave up
Say what you will about Jason Garrett and his prowess as a head coach.
But what can’t be argued is the team always plays hard for him and never quits on him.
That’s never been more evident than in 2018.
The season began with him on the hot seat and with open talk about possible replacements when the Cowboys were left for dead at 3-5. They rebounded with six wins in the next seven games, including a five-game winning streak, capped by Sunday’s, 27-20, victory against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers that secured a third division title in five years and a second in three years for Garrett.
“It’s important,” Garrett said of winning the NFC East title. “It’s the first tangible goal that you have with your team. You want to win the division and get into the playoffs. We accomplished that goal. It’s certainly something to be proud of and hopefully the start of something.”
They now head into the season finale at the New York Giants with an opportunity to unwind before hosting a home wildcard playoff game.
Sure, a change could still be made if the Cowboys go one-and-done in the postseason; Garrett has just one win in two previous playoff appearances.
And there are no guarantees because of an offense that struggles to score points in the red zone.
But it won’t be because the Cowboys gave up. They don’t do that under Garrett.
“It shows the character of this team,” running back Ezekiel Elliott said. “It shows how much fight and how much grit this team has. We got the job done. It’s just crazy to think about. Probably seven or eight weeks ago everybody was writing us off and now we clinch a division title and our spot for the playoffs.”
The Cowboys have been led by a top-five defense all season. But they turned things around after the addition of receiver Amari Cooper during the bye week, giving quarterback Dak Prescott the comfort of a game-breaking threat on the outside and balancing out the offense so Elliott could reach his full potential as the league’s leading rusher.
But the biggest key was that no one ever gave up hope and always believed this was possible.
“We knew it all along,” Prescott said. “You’re probably the only ones in this room that counted us out. At 1-2, at 3-3, at 3-5, we knew exactly what we had. We knew the team that we had, and we still have that. Like I’ve said before, there is a lot of work to be done.
“We expected to this. We expected to win. We win this game and have the right approach. Let’s win this game and what comes with it… at the same this just gives us the chance for the greater goal and we are excited for that.”
Garrett has now tied Barry Switzer with three division titles as Cowboys’ head coach, behind only the legendary Tom Landry. He now has secured a third straight winning second.
Does it guarantee that he’ll be back next season? How this team fairs in the playoffs will go a long way toward deciding that.
But he and the team have a chance to impact that decision because they never gave up.
This story was originally published December 24, 2018 at 8:34 AM.
