Things look bleak for the Cowboys right now. They lost consecutive games for the first time this season and then went off to their bye. They\u2019ve had to sit with that feeling for a full week now, and on top of it they\u2019ve watched the Eagles rip off their third straight win. According to\u00a0the prediction model from The Athletic, Dallas has just a 7% chance of making the postseason right now.<\/p>\n
But there is still hope.<\/p>\n
The road from here is pretty challenging. Monday night\u2019s game against a struggling Raiders team is the easier battle, but after that they face the Eagles, Chiefs, and Lions over the course of just 12 days. After their mini-bye following that gauntlet, they\u2019re \u201crewarded\u201d with home games against the Vikings and Chargers before finishing off with two divisional contests.<\/p>\n
Odds won\u2019t be great for the Cowboys in any of those games.\u00a0They\u2019re favored over the Raiders, as a visitor, but that may be the last time the odds will favor them until they go to New Jersey in Week 18. Perhaps they\u2019ll be favorites over the Commanders the week before, depending on the long-term prognosis of injured quarterback Jayden Daniels, but that\u2019s probably it.<\/p>\n
So how can there possibly be any hope of a playoff run when the schedule is so stacked against them? One must only look inward, to when the Cowboys pulled off something similar just seven years ago.<\/p>\n
I\u2019m talking, of course, about the 2018 season. Where the team is at in 2025 has almost perfectly mirrored where they were at in 2018 at this point. The 2018 Cowboys were caught in a vicious cycle of winning and then losing, starting the season off 3-4 before losing to the Titans to give them their first consecutive losses on the year. They even came close to a tie, falling to the Texans in overtime in Week 5.<\/p>\n
Something changed at 3-5, though. The Cowboys came out on the road against the Eagles (who, just like in 2025, were reigning Super Bowl champions) and won. They then went to Atlanta and pulled out a victory. Suddenly, they started playing with confidence. A Thanksgiving win over Washington led straight into a home game with the Saints, who had not lost since the season opener.<\/p>\n
The Cowboys won, making them one of just three teams that year to beat the Saints; the third team to beat them did so in Week 17, when New Orleans rested their starters.<\/p>\n
Following the morale boost of upsetting the Saints, an overtime win over the Eagles followed. Suddenly, they\u2019d ripped off five straight, with three of them being divisional games and all of them being conference games. A shutout on the road against the Colts \u2013 whose elite defense was run by none other than Matt Eberflus \u2013 was a brief setback, but it being an AFC opponent did little to affect the Cowboys\u2019 playoff push.<\/p>\n
Wins over the Buccaneers and Giants solidified things: the Cowboys won the NFC East and clinched a spot in the playoffs. They wound up beating the Seahawks \u2013 whose offensive coordinator was one Brian Schottenheimer \u2013 in the Wild Card round before falling by one score to a Rams team that went all the way to the Super Bowl.<\/p>\n
It was truly a miraculous turnaround. In their seven wins to finish out the regular season, Dallas was an underdog in five of them. Of the two games they were favored, one was at home against the Eagles by just a field goal; in other words, a draw on a neutral playing site. That underscores just how unlikely the run was for the Cowboys.<\/p>\n
What was the catalyst for said turnaround? Funny you should ask that, because Zack Martin literally just spoke about that.<\/p>\n
“We were limping through the season\u2026 and then we brought in Amari Cooper and just hit the ground running. That was the turning point of our entire season.” <\/p>\n
\u2014 NFL IQ With and Cynthia Frelund & Logan Ryan (@NFLIQShow)\u00a0November 11, 2025<\/p>\n
Martin details how the team had moved on from star Dez Bryant before the season, and how the offense had been struggling to adjust to his absence:<\/p>\n
\u201cWe were kind of limping through the season a little bit. I think we were about .500 at the midway point. And we brought [Amari Cooper] in and\u2026 kind of just hit the ground running. That was the turning point of our entire season, we ended up winning our last, like, five or six games and made the playoffs.\u201d<\/p>\n
It\u2019s not hard to draw more parallels here. The Cowboys moved on from another star, Micah Parsons, right before this season began and the defense has been limping through the season as a result. Just as with the Cowboys offense in 2018, there were moments where things looked okay, but everyone knew they were missing the player the front office foolishly moved on from.<\/p>\n
So, just like 2018, the Cowboys have now made a move at the trade deadline. Not one but two trades, actually. The headline was Jets star Quinnen Williams, but Bengals linebacker Logan Wilson was a sneaky good pickup as well.<\/p>\n
Williams has been one of the most dominant defensive tackles in the league these last few years, both as a run stuffer and pass rusher. He now reunites with Aaron Whitecotton, the Cowboys defensive line coach who was with the Jets when Williams reached All Pro status.<\/p>\n
Wilson, meanwhile, led the Bengals in tackles each year from 2021 to 2023 before finishing second last season. A team captain in Cincinnati, Wilson fell out of favor with the new defensive coordinator this season, leading to his trade request. But he\u2019s a leader in the locker room who\u2019s been a tackle machine throughout his career.<\/p>\n
With Williams on the defensive line, alongside Osa Odighizuwa and Kenny Clark, and Wilson joining a linebacker corps that\u2019s expected to get DeMarvion Overshown back soon, the Cowboys have made significant upgrades on defense. Neither plays a position as high profile as Cooper did, but the Cowboys have shifted the vibe in the locker room by adding these two.<\/p>\n
Sitting at nearly the same exact point they were in 2018, the Cowboys have quietly positioned themselves for a similar type of run. Obviously it\u2019s a big ask to gamble on something as improbable as that happening again, but the Cowboys know for a fact it can happen because they\u2019ve already done it before.<\/p>\n
In an emotional moment that has captured the attention of the college football world, Bo Nix has provided an update on the health of Colorado Buffaloes head coach after he was hospitalized due to a serious medical complication earlier this week. The normally private Bo Nix took to the media to reassure the football community, acknowledging that his father, mentor, and the face of the program is now \u201cstable\u201d after undergoing crucial treatment and continues to be closely monitored by medical professionals.<\/p>\n
Bo Nix, who typically keeps family matters private, made the decision to speak out in order to keep fans and the community informed during this challenging time. His voice calm but heavy with emotion, Bo Nix shared that his father\u2019s recovery is progressing, and while the situation remains serious, he remains optimistic.<\/p>\n
“This is the toughest time I’ve ever been through,” Bo Nix admitted. “But I want everyone to know that my dad is fighting like he always does. He’s been through a lot in his life, and this time is no different. He’s a warrior, and he\u2019s staying strong.”<\/p>\n
The sudden hospitalization of the coach\u2014who is the heart and soul of the Buffaloes program\u2014has left the entire team in shock. Players, coaches, and the Colorado community immediately rallied behind the family, sending messages of support, organizing prayer sessions, and putting up banners of encouragement throughout the campus. Even other NCAA schools have expressed their well wishes for the iconic head coach.<\/p>\n
“I just want to say thank you from the bottom of my heart to everyone,” Bo Nix said. “The messages, the prayers, the love you\u2019ve shown to my dad and our family have helped me stay strong during this time. You\u2019ve shown me that football is not just a game. It\u2019s a community, it\u2019s about people, it\u2019s about unity.”<\/p>\n
Despite the personal difficulties, Bo Nix confirmed that he remains focused on leading the Buffaloes\u2019 offense. He shared that his father\u2014a man who embodies strength and determination\u2014would want him to continue pushing forward on the field and not let outside challenges affect the spirit of the team.<\/p>\n
The inside sources from the team have confirmed that the head coach will take a temporary break to fully recover, while assistants and the management team will take over coaching duties for the time being. Though there is no confirmed timeline for his return, Bo Nix\u2019s resilience has brought renewed hope.<\/p>\n
“I believe my dad will come back,” Bo Nix said confidently. “He\u2019s a fighter. He never backs down.”<\/p>\n
As the Colorado community continues to await positive news, Bo Nix\u2019s heartfelt statement has become a source of inspiration for the entire team\u2014a reminder that behind every game are real-life challenges, love, and immense strength.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Things look bleak for the Cowboys right now. They lost consecutive games for the first time this season and then went off to their bye. They\u2019ve had to sit with that feeling…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[6],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-6115","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-breaking-news"],"aioseo_notices":[],"aioseo_head":"\n\t\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t