Cowboys Punch Ticket to Playoffs

After three consecutive 8-8 seasons, year 4 of the Jason Garrett era has finally yielded a playoff appearance. The Cowboys took care of business today with a complete crushing victory over the Colts, 42-7 and became the NFC East Champions . In addition, the icing on the cake was the fact that we knocked those gimmick Eagles out of playoff contention, I love that!

With the Eagles loss yesterday against the Redskins, the Cowboys had the opportunity to win the NFC East and as you saw today, they were locked in from whistle-to-whistle.

The Cowboys move their record to 11-4 with one game remaining at Washington. The Cowboys could still be in play for a bye week, so the last game could have some meaning.

Here are my thoughts on the game:

— The offensive line set the tone from the first drive and everyone fed off that intensity. Parnell filled in with a solid performance in place of injured Doug Free. Zack Martin didn’t show any signs of being injured, and toughed out another quality game.

— Orlando Scandrick has taken his game to another level and he’s coming up with big plays in big moments of the game. Getting a Scandrick jersey is next on my list!

— Tyrone Crawford put in another solid game and is menacing QBs as we head deeper into the season.

— Dez Bryant will be a Cowboy for life, it’s just a matter of when, not if. Throw up the X. Dez is a beast.

— Brandon Carr had a better game today and played with some good physicalness especially in run defense.

— Rolando McClain will make you remember him with each violent hit he puts on you. There’s no doubt in my mind that McClain has helped add the violent play to the rest of the team.

— Anthony Hitchens was a name not many knew during the draft, but he has come on strong and he is playing better and better each game. He led the team with 8 tackles, all solo. He was a steal in this past draft.

— Jason Garrett needs to get some credit for what he has done with this roster. Since Garrett took over full-time duties as the Head Coach he has churned this roster into the team we have today. Everything is coming together. I wanted to see an upward tick in his 4th year and it has finally happened. Keep it going!

— Dan Bailey missed a 52 yard field goal today. That rarely happens. Still the best in the league.

— Terrance Williams came off the milk carton and pulled in two touchdowns. We will need the same production from Williams the rest of the season.

— Cole Beasley could end up getting a new contract from the Cowboys, he’s really turned into one of Romo’s favorite targets.

— Joseph Randle needs to take better care of the ball, he’s had a few dumb ones this season. We can’t have that, especially in the playoffs.

— DeMarco Murray’s hand injury clearly effected how he ran today. Hopefully Murray will feel better this week and into the playoffs, we’ll need him like we have all year.

— Tony Romo passes Troy Aikman tonight with career passing yards.

— Jason Witten put in another solid performance leading receptions with 7 for 90 yards and 1 TD.

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The Cowboys are in the playoffs, now the next test will come. This team will not be satisfied with just getting into the playoffs, they’ll want to win their wild card weekend game and make some noise. For me, I’m very happy to finally see my Cowboys back into the playoffs. The drought was too long.

Let’s keep the pedal to the metal Dallas! Go Cowboys!!