Eagles coach Nick Sirianni tried this week to downplay Sunday’s game against the Cowboys. Cowboys owner Jerry Jones did not.
“It is obvious,” Jones said during his Friday appearance on 105.3 The Fan in Dallas. “It has everything to do with our standings. I’ve heard someone say, ‘Well, this will be a good measuring stick,’” This isn’t about measuring sticks right here. There’s a time when you have to quit measuring, and just try to go get the win. Because the win itself means so much. The win. Not the measuring stick. Not the makeup so much of how we did it. That happens earlier, and it does happen. But man this is what you’re supposed to be doing it all for. This is like playoff.”
And he’s right. The Cowboys are 5-2. The Eagles are 7-1. A win by Dallas in Philly means that the rematch in Dallas on Sunday Night Football on December 10 could give the Cowboys a sweep — and it would give Dallas the critical tiebreaker if both teams finish with the same record.
So, yes, it’s a huge game. It could eventually determine whether the Cowboys play their playoff games at home or whether they’ll have to hit the road, Dak, when the wild-card round arrives.
Jerry later claimed in Friday’s segment that he has changed his tune about playing postseason games at home given the ability of the Texas Rangers to win on the road. Still, the Cowboys are a different team at home, where they have won 11 in a row on the faster track provided by fake grass. Regardless of whether it’s good for the long- or short-term health of the players, it’s good for a Dallas team that, when playing at home, knows how to build a lead and then feast on an offense that has been forced to become one-dimensional.
And, yes, Jerry finished his spot by dusting off a classic. Asked about the significance of the Rangers winning the World Series, Jones made a sweeping declaration.
“It is the absolute gloryhole.”