Can Cowboys close the deal, clinch playoff spot?

The question now is, can the Cowboys close it out?

They seized control of the NFC East with a signature win Sunday at Philadelphia, and could possibly get home field, or a bye, in the playoffs if things fall their way the final two weeks.

At the very least, though, the Cowboys know they’ll be hosting a playoff game if they win out.

And owner Jerry Jones is confident that he has assembled a team capable of keeping its foot on the gas down the stretch.

If not, the Cowboys could very well find themselves out of the mix.

“I can’t even fathom a Cowboy team that is not ready and inspired to go back to our stadium for the last [home] regular-season game,” Jones said. “There’s no question in my mind that we will be a team with a fine edge when we play Indianapolis.

“You don’t have anybody taking their foot off the gas. As a matter of fact, they’re pushing it through the floorboard because these are like playoff games. And that’s where we are.”

Coach Jason Garrett and the players understand what’s at stake, of course, but continue to publicly talk about taking it day-to-day. Garrett brushed off the notion that the Cowboys have a shot to earn the No. 1 or No. 2 seed in the playoffs.

“Our focus is narrow,” Garrett said. “Our focus is on playing our best football this weekend against Indianapolis.

“If we do that, good things are going to happen for our football team.”

Added tight end Jason Witten: “We have to handle business and control what we can.

“At this point in the season, you know what you are playing for and it’s just one game at a time.”

Free out two weeks

Right tackle Doug Free is expected to miss two weeks, according to a source.

Free is dealing with an ankle/foot injury and underwent an MRI on Monday. He missed three games this season with a foot injury, and sat out the second half Sunday with an ankle injury.

Jermey Parnell replaced Free during Sunday’s game, and will start in his place.

Right guard Zack Martin is also nursing an ankle injury.

He injured it in the first half, but didn’t miss any snaps.

“Zack was just fantastic,” Garrett said. “He hurt that ankle early on in the game and just kept playing and fought through it. Really a tough, tough individual, really mature guy. I thought he handled that situation well.”

Garrett added that defensive tackle Josh Brent (calf) remains day-to-day.

Praise for Romo

Quarterback Tony Romo somehow found himself in the background of the Cowboys’ win on Sunday. He had a good game, but more attention seemed to focus on Dez Bryant’s big night and the defense stepping up late.

But Romo’s efforts didn’t go unnoticed by Garrett.

“He did a lot of good things in the game,” Garrett said. “Throughout the game, I thought he saw things well, hung in there well and really delivered the throws consistently — short, medium and long.”

Romo finished the game 22-of-31 passing for 265 yards with three touchdowns and no interceptions. He had a 129.1 passer rating. The only blemish, Garrett said, was when Romo fumbled the ball on a sack midway through the third quarter.

Outside of that, though, Garrett said Romo had great awareness of the rush and getting the ball out just before taking a hit.

“It’s a really good feeling when you know something good is going to happen and you have to kind of deal with the consequences of standing in there,” Garrett said. “If you get the payoff on the other end, that’s a really positive thing.”

Briefly

▪ Garrett on second-year safety J.J. Wilcox: “Really active. One of those guys who’s getting better and better every game he plays. It’s important to him. He really cares about it.”

▪ The Cowboys were trying to block the punt on the Eagles’ first offensive drive of the game, as returner Dwayne Harris came up to defend the free gunner. The Cowboys simply didn’t get it and the Eagles got a favorable bounce for a 68-yard punt.

This story was originally published December 15, 2014 at 8:49 PM with the headline "Can Cowboys close the deal, clinch playoff spot?."