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The crazy thing about this six-game losing streak for the Dallas Cowboys is how many of those games they could have won.
Dallas led the Falcons by 14 points two different times, and lost. The Cowboys lost to the Saints in overtime. They had nearly twice as many yards as the Giants, but blew the game through some poorly timed mistakes. Dallas led Seattle late into the fourth quarter and lost. And then the Cowboys lost in overtime to the Eagles.
That's five of six games that you can make a reasonable argument the Cowboys could have won. Look at this stretch optimistically and you can say the Cowboys are really close to being a good team, especially when Tony Romo comes back. But the realistic view is that this is a 2-6 team that needs an unbelievable run to make the playoffs.
But that might not be too crazy.
The NFC East hasn't put anything out of reach. The New York Giants are clearly a flawed team, and leading the way at just 5-4. The Philadelphia Eagles haven't been good and needed overtime to beat a team quarterbacked by Matt Cassel. The Washington Redskins are far from unbeatable.
The Cowboys play one more game without Romo, and that's Sunday at the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. They probably need to win that one, which would make them 3-6. Let's look at the final seven games. Remember, Romo should be back for these games:
Week 11, at Miami
Week 12, vs. Carolina
Week 13, at Washington
Week 14, at Green Bay
Week 15, vs. N.Y. Jets
Week 16, at Buffalo
Week 17, vs. Washington
This isn't an easy stretch, but it's not impossible. The key game might be beating Carolina at home on Thanksgiving. They'll lose at Green Bay, you'd assume (though, Cowboys fans would argue they beat them in the playoffs there last season and the officials stole it on the Dez Bryant non-catch ruling). What other game looks unwinnable for a Romo-led Cowboys team? And a sweep against the Redskins would put the Cowboys in decent shape to win the tiebreaker if they can get to 9-7. Do any of the NFC East teams look to you like they'll get 10 wins? It's also possible 9-7 wins the division outright.
Let's be honest, it'll take a great finish for the Cowboys to get in the playoffs. And it's likely all moot if they can't beat the Buccaneers on Sunday, and they'll spend the offseason regretting all those close losses. But the point is the Cowboys have been competitive even without Romo. Four of the losses have come by 20 combined points. And it's possible they could be a really good team with Romo. If they can just make it to Romo's comeback at 3-6, and Romo is sharp right away against Miami in Week 11, there's a chance. And if a hot and healthy Cowboys team can just make it in the playoffs, they could also make some noise.
And wouldn't that be fun?
Here are Shutdown Corner's power rankings after Week 9:
32. Detroit Lions (1-7, Last week: 32)
The thing about people questioning if Matthew Stafford will be around after 2015 is this: How can the Lions sell a GM job, and presumably a coaching job, with no quarterback in place? (This could change, of course, if the Lions get the first pick. And they might.)
31. Jacksonville Jaguars (2-6, LW: 29)
Allen Hurns has 635 yards and six touchdowns. He was undrafted last year. And he might be a good reason the Jaguars ship 2014 second-round pick Marqise Lee out of town if Lee doesn't show something soon.
30. San Francisco 49ers (3-6, LW: 31)
Gets harder to blame Colin Kaepernick's supporting cast for all his troubles when Blaine Gabbert comes in and the 49ers win in his first start.
29. Tennessee Titans (2-6, LW: 30)
Marcus Mariota has a 101.5 rating. For whatever it's worth, he was at 102.9 in the preseason. The record for a rookie quarterback is Robert Griffin III at 102.4.
28. Cleveland Browns (2-7, LW: 26)
The Cleveland Plain-Dealer ran a poll, after Bernie Kosar said he wanted to take control of the Browns, asking what role Kosar should have, if any. As of Monday evening, about 73 percent were in favor of Kosar being the general manager or president of football operations. Desperation is thick in Cleveland.
27. Tampa Bay Buccaneers (3-5, LW: 27)
So Mike Evans' six drops were the most in the NFL in 10 seasons? What's truly crazy about that is Troy Williamson played in the NFL in the last 10 years and doesn't hold that record.
26. San Diego Chargers (2-7, LW: 24)
It's going to be tough watching the great Philip Rivers play out the string with this beat up team.
25. Houston Texans (3-5, LW: 25)
If you're hoping for a better Monday night matchup next week, we get the Texans at the Bengals. Let the good times roll.
24. Baltimore Ravens (2-6, LW: 23)
Since I have nothing of much interest to say about the Ravens, now is as good of a time as any to complain about this: Why is the College Football Playoff on New Year's Eve? Doesn't the fact that ESPN is already playing that Jimmy Kimmel "Auld Lang Syne" ad basically apologizing for it and imploring people to give up their plans to watch indicate to anyone in charge that this was really, really dumb?
23. Chicago Bears (3-5, LW: 28)
Jay Cutler passed Sid Luckman for the most touchdown passes thrown in franchise history. Luckman was a great player, but it still says something about the Bears that until Monday night that record was held by someone who last played in 1950.
22. Washington Redskins (3-5, LW: 22)
DeSean Jackson hadn't played since Week 1. He had 15 yards in his return. Then he explained his quiet day to NBC4 by saying he couldn't call the plays or throw the ball to himself, blaming the coaches and quarterback in one quote. That's efficiency.
21. Dallas Cowboys (2-6, LW: 21)
Running back Christine Michael didn't play a snap on Sunday. Yet, I'm sure when there's some shred of news this week like he took one snap in warm-ups with the starting offense in practice or whatever, he'll be written about on Twitter like he's Gale Sayers in 1965.
20. Miami Dolphins (3-5, LW: 18)
If you chose "The Dolphins aren't any good, they just beat the Titans and Texans" a couple weeks ago when they were showing signs of life, you win.
19. Kansas City Chiefs (3-5, LW: 20)
So the Chiefs get an angry Broncos team in Denver on Sunday? Good luck.
18. Indianapolis Colts (4-5, LW: 19)
I'm not sure it's going to turn their entire season around or anything, but the Colts desperately needed that win over Denver. If nothing else it puts off the "The Colts aren't really going to blow the AFC South, are they?" questions.
17. New Orleans Saints (4-5, LW: 15)
With firing coordinators midseason seemingly becoming the thing to do in the NFL this season, it's surprising Saints defensive coordinator Rob Ryan still has a job. Who knows, by the time you read this he might not.
16. New York Giants (5-4, LW: 17)
Tampa Bay dropped back 36 times. The Giants didn't have one sack. The sooner Jason Pierre-Paul knocks off that rust and makes an impact, the better. They can't win the NFC East with zero pass rush. Can they?
15. Philadelphia Eagles (4-4, LW: 16)
Sam Bradford had 295 yards and a touchdown on Sunday night. If you watched that game, you know his performance didn't seem nearly that good.*
14. Atlanta Falcons (6-3, LW: 11)
Shocking what has become of them. Their utter collapse is summed up by that horrible decision to kick a field goal down four points late in the game. I'm not sure why it's so hard for some coaches to figure this stuff out.
13. Buffalo Bills (4-4, LW: 14)
The Bills are 4-2 in games Tyrod Taylor has started. The win over the Dolphins and some guys getting healthy should give Buffalo some optimism it can make a playoff run in the second half.
12. New York Jets (5-3, LW: 13)
Weirdest stat line of the NFL season: Chris Ivory with his 26 yards on 23 carries ... and two touchdowns. Can't imagine we'll see a stranger one the rest of this year either.
11. Oakland Raiders (4-4, LW: 12)
No idea why they lined up 8 yards off Antonio Brown (bottom of the screen below) on that late third-and-2 that Brown took 57 yards to set up the game-winning field goal. What did the Raiders think the Steelers would do on that play, once they saw that coverage?
10. Seattle Seahawks (4-4, LW: 10)
Seattle gets Arizona at home next week. If they can't win that, it might be time to write the eulogy for the 2015 Seahawks. As must win as it can be in Week 10.
9. St. Louis Rams (4-4, LW: 8)
The Rams just don't pass the ball well enough with Nick Foles. But, at least they got a second-round pick from the Eagles and aren't paying Bradford's salary anymore. That has to be a Rams win.
8. Pittsburgh Steelers (5-4, LW: 9)
Hopefully Antonio Brown doesn't disappear again now that Ben Roethlisberger will miss some time. Getting 17 catches for 284 yards shouldn't be possible in an NFL game. Great player.
7. Minnesota Vikings (6-2, LW: 7)
Interesting by Mike Zimmer to take the wind at his team's back instead of the ball when the Vikings won the overtime coin toss. Makes more sense with the new overtime rules. It was a gamble that the Rams wouldn't hit a big touchdown on their first possession, but that seemed like a safe bet. Unlike some other weird coaching moves through the league this season, at least Zimmer seemed to think this one through. Results were good, too.
6. Green Bay Packers (6-2, LW: 5)
Hard to know what to make of them now. Look at it this way: They've lost road games to two of the top four or five teams in the NFL. No shame in that. Assuming they win at home against Detroit this week, their next game at Minnesota becomes a very interesting measuring stick.*
5. Arizona Cardinals (6-2, LW: 6)
If Carson Palmer has a big game in a win at Seattle this week, you're going to start to hear a lot of MVP buzz for him.
4. Denver Broncos (7-1, LW: 3)
No real reason to panic losing a pretty close game on the road. But it really seems like someone in the AFC is going to put up a 13-3 (14-2?) type record and get a 3 seed.
3. Carolina Panthers (8-0, LW: 4)
Good to see rookie receiver Devin Funchess show some signs of life with 71 yards and a touchdown. Then again, the Panthers are undefeated despite getting almost nothing at receiver. Maybe it doesn't matter for them.
2. Cincinnati Bengals (8-0, LW: 2)
I know there's a lot of Cam Newton talk, but at this point I'll take Andy Dalton for the non-Tom Brady MVP award.
1. New England Patriots (8-0, LW: 1)
Make no mistake, the Dion Lewis injury is a huge blow. He played a really important role in the offense. If James White takes that spot, he hasn't shown anything in the NFL that would lead one to believe he can replace Lewis. Between that and the offensive line injuries, at some point the offense might slow down just a little.
Dallas led the Falcons by 14 points two different times, and lost. The Cowboys lost to the Saints in overtime. They had nearly twice as many yards as the Giants, but blew the game through some poorly timed mistakes. Dallas led Seattle late into the fourth quarter and lost. And then the Cowboys lost in overtime to the Eagles.
That's five of six games that you can make a reasonable argument the Cowboys could have won. Look at this stretch optimistically and you can say the Cowboys are really close to being a good team, especially when Tony Romo comes back. But the realistic view is that this is a 2-6 team that needs an unbelievable run to make the playoffs.
But that might not be too crazy.
The NFC East hasn't put anything out of reach. The New York Giants are clearly a flawed team, and leading the way at just 5-4. The Philadelphia Eagles haven't been good and needed overtime to beat a team quarterbacked by Matt Cassel. The Washington Redskins are far from unbeatable.
The Cowboys play one more game without Romo, and that's Sunday at the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. They probably need to win that one, which would make them 3-6. Let's look at the final seven games. Remember, Romo should be back for these games:
Week 11, at Miami
Week 12, vs. Carolina
Week 13, at Washington
Week 14, at Green Bay
Week 15, vs. N.Y. Jets
Week 16, at Buffalo
Week 17, vs. Washington
This isn't an easy stretch, but it's not impossible. The key game might be beating Carolina at home on Thanksgiving. They'll lose at Green Bay, you'd assume (though, Cowboys fans would argue they beat them in the playoffs there last season and the officials stole it on the Dez Bryant non-catch ruling). What other game looks unwinnable for a Romo-led Cowboys team? And a sweep against the Redskins would put the Cowboys in decent shape to win the tiebreaker if they can get to 9-7. Do any of the NFC East teams look to you like they'll get 10 wins? It's also possible 9-7 wins the division outright.
Let's be honest, it'll take a great finish for the Cowboys to get in the playoffs. And it's likely all moot if they can't beat the Buccaneers on Sunday, and they'll spend the offseason regretting all those close losses. But the point is the Cowboys have been competitive even without Romo. Four of the losses have come by 20 combined points. And it's possible they could be a really good team with Romo. If they can just make it to Romo's comeback at 3-6, and Romo is sharp right away against Miami in Week 11, there's a chance. And if a hot and healthy Cowboys team can just make it in the playoffs, they could also make some noise.
And wouldn't that be fun?
Here are Shutdown Corner's power rankings after Week 9:
32. Detroit Lions (1-7, Last week: 32)
The thing about people questioning if Matthew Stafford will be around after 2015 is this: How can the Lions sell a GM job, and presumably a coaching job, with no quarterback in place? (This could change, of course, if the Lions get the first pick. And they might.)
31. Jacksonville Jaguars (2-6, LW: 29)
Allen Hurns has 635 yards and six touchdowns. He was undrafted last year. And he might be a good reason the Jaguars ship 2014 second-round pick Marqise Lee out of town if Lee doesn't show something soon.
30. San Francisco 49ers (3-6, LW: 31)
Gets harder to blame Colin Kaepernick's supporting cast for all his troubles when Blaine Gabbert comes in and the 49ers win in his first start.
29. Tennessee Titans (2-6, LW: 30)
28. Cleveland Browns (2-7, LW: 26)
The Cleveland Plain-Dealer ran a poll, after Bernie Kosar said he wanted to take control of the Browns, asking what role Kosar should have, if any. As of Monday evening, about 73 percent were in favor of Kosar being the general manager or president of football operations. Desperation is thick in Cleveland.
27. Tampa Bay Buccaneers (3-5, LW: 27)
So Mike Evans' six drops were the most in the NFL in 10 seasons? What's truly crazy about that is Troy Williamson played in the NFL in the last 10 years and doesn't hold that record.
26. San Diego Chargers (2-7, LW: 24)
It's going to be tough watching the great Philip Rivers play out the string with this beat up team.
25. Houston Texans (3-5, LW: 25)
If you're hoping for a better Monday night matchup next week, we get the Texans at the Bengals. Let the good times roll.
24. Baltimore Ravens (2-6, LW: 23)
Since I have nothing of much interest to say about the Ravens, now is as good of a time as any to complain about this: Why is the College Football Playoff on New Year's Eve? Doesn't the fact that ESPN is already playing that Jimmy Kimmel "Auld Lang Syne" ad basically apologizing for it and imploring people to give up their plans to watch indicate to anyone in charge that this was really, really dumb?
23. Chicago Bears (3-5, LW: 28)
Jay Cutler passed Sid Luckman for the most touchdown passes thrown in franchise history. Luckman was a great player, but it still says something about the Bears that until Monday night that record was held by someone who last played in 1950.
22. Washington Redskins (3-5, LW: 22)
DeSean Jackson hadn't played since Week 1. He had 15 yards in his return. Then he explained his quiet day to NBC4 by saying he couldn't call the plays or throw the ball to himself, blaming the coaches and quarterback in one quote. That's efficiency.
21. Dallas Cowboys (2-6, LW: 21)
Running back Christine Michael didn't play a snap on Sunday. Yet, I'm sure when there's some shred of news this week like he took one snap in warm-ups with the starting offense in practice or whatever, he'll be written about on Twitter like he's Gale Sayers in 1965.
20. Miami Dolphins (3-5, LW: 18)
If you chose "The Dolphins aren't any good, they just beat the Titans and Texans" a couple weeks ago when they were showing signs of life, you win.
19. Kansas City Chiefs (3-5, LW: 20)
So the Chiefs get an angry Broncos team in Denver on Sunday? Good luck.
18. Indianapolis Colts (4-5, LW: 19)
17. New Orleans Saints (4-5, LW: 15)
With firing coordinators midseason seemingly becoming the thing to do in the NFL this season, it's surprising Saints defensive coordinator Rob Ryan still has a job. Who knows, by the time you read this he might not.
16. New York Giants (5-4, LW: 17)
Tampa Bay dropped back 36 times. The Giants didn't have one sack. The sooner Jason Pierre-Paul knocks off that rust and makes an impact, the better. They can't win the NFC East with zero pass rush. Can they?
15. Philadelphia Eagles (4-4, LW: 16)
Sam Bradford had 295 yards and a touchdown on Sunday night. If you watched that game, you know his performance didn't seem nearly that good.*
14. Atlanta Falcons (6-3, LW: 11)
Shocking what has become of them. Their utter collapse is summed up by that horrible decision to kick a field goal down four points late in the game. I'm not sure why it's so hard for some coaches to figure this stuff out.
13. Buffalo Bills (4-4, LW: 14)
The Bills are 4-2 in games Tyrod Taylor has started. The win over the Dolphins and some guys getting healthy should give Buffalo some optimism it can make a playoff run in the second half.
12. New York Jets (5-3, LW: 13)
Weirdest stat line of the NFL season: Chris Ivory with his 26 yards on 23 carries ... and two touchdowns. Can't imagine we'll see a stranger one the rest of this year either.
11. Oakland Raiders (4-4, LW: 12)
No idea why they lined up 8 yards off Antonio Brown (bottom of the screen below) on that late third-and-2 that Brown took 57 yards to set up the game-winning field goal. What did the Raiders think the Steelers would do on that play, once they saw that coverage?
Seattle gets Arizona at home next week. If they can't win that, it might be time to write the eulogy for the 2015 Seahawks. As must win as it can be in Week 10.
9. St. Louis Rams (4-4, LW: 8)
The Rams just don't pass the ball well enough with Nick Foles. But, at least they got a second-round pick from the Eagles and aren't paying Bradford's salary anymore. That has to be a Rams win.
8. Pittsburgh Steelers (5-4, LW: 9)
Hopefully Antonio Brown doesn't disappear again now that Ben Roethlisberger will miss some time. Getting 17 catches for 284 yards shouldn't be possible in an NFL game. Great player.
7. Minnesota Vikings (6-2, LW: 7)
Interesting by Mike Zimmer to take the wind at his team's back instead of the ball when the Vikings won the overtime coin toss. Makes more sense with the new overtime rules. It was a gamble that the Rams wouldn't hit a big touchdown on their first possession, but that seemed like a safe bet. Unlike some other weird coaching moves through the league this season, at least Zimmer seemed to think this one through. Results were good, too.
6. Green Bay Packers (6-2, LW: 5)
5. Arizona Cardinals (6-2, LW: 6)
If Carson Palmer has a big game in a win at Seattle this week, you're going to start to hear a lot of MVP buzz for him.
4. Denver Broncos (7-1, LW: 3)
No real reason to panic losing a pretty close game on the road. But it really seems like someone in the AFC is going to put up a 13-3 (14-2?) type record and get a 3 seed.
3. Carolina Panthers (8-0, LW: 4)
Good to see rookie receiver Devin Funchess show some signs of life with 71 yards and a touchdown. Then again, the Panthers are undefeated despite getting almost nothing at receiver. Maybe it doesn't matter for them.
2. Cincinnati Bengals (8-0, LW: 2)
I know there's a lot of Cam Newton talk, but at this point I'll take Andy Dalton for the non-Tom Brady MVP award.
1. New England Patriots (8-0, LW: 1)
Make no mistake, the Dion Lewis injury is a huge blow. He played a really important role in the offense. If James White takes that spot, he hasn't shown anything in the NFL that would lead one to believe he can replace Lewis. Between that and the offensive line injuries, at some point the offense might slow down just a little.
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Frank Schwab is the editor of Shutdown Corner on Yahoo Sports. Have a tip? Email him at [email protected] or follow him on Twitter! Follow @YahooSchwab