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Next four games could make or break Dallas season

By MIKE BALDWIN

The Daily Oklahoman

IRVING, Texas - The Dallas Cowboys are a team Sigmund Freud would love.

Let's see, they compile a paltry 180 yards - their worst offensive performance in 111 games - and win 27-3. The following week they total 428 yards and lose.

They win a game in which the opposing team has a chip-shot field on the final play, only to bobble the snap. They lose a game they led by 15 points in the second half. And let's not forget the opener, a game they dominated.

It's been a strange journey to 3-2 but it's the next four games - arguably the toughest stretch all season - that could determine whether the Cow boys are a legitimate Super Bowl contender or merely one of several teams scrambling for a playoff berth.

"We need to have an urgency to win these games," said defensive tackle Tony Casillas. "It's a very important stretch. We need to set a tone."

Three of the Cowboys next four opponents - Jacksonville (4-1), Philadelphia (2-3) and San Francisco (4-1) - reached the playoffs last season, and Washington (3-2) just missed. All four are legitimate playoff contenders this season. Jacksonville is the lone home game.

"We've got to come out of this stretch in good shape," said fullback Daryl Johnston, "or we could find ourselves in a position where we were last year, when we eliminated ourselves from the possibility of having a shot at home-field advantage in the playoffs."

Last year, the Cowboys started 1-3, won four consecutive games but lost at home to Philadelphia to fall to 5-4. Dallas won nine out of 11 after the dismal start but had no shot at earning a first-round bye heading into the finale.

Since the Cowboys play six of their first nine games on the road, if they can win three of these next four games, they will play five of their final seven games at Texas Stadium. At 6-3, they would have a legitimate shot at earning the No. 1 or 2 seed in the NFC playoffs.

"Hopefully we're a sleeping giant that hasn't quite awoken yet," said veteran Bill Bates. "I just hope we wake up very soon."

Most players stress you can't look ahead. The first assignment is a road game Monday night at Jack Kent Cooke Stadium.

"What happens after that game, or exactly what this four-game stretch means, that's not for me to concern myself with at this time," said quarterback Troy Aikman. "We're 3-2 and this is an extremely important game for this football team. After this game, win or lose, the next game against Jacksonville will be extremely important."

In addition to the winner moving into sole possession of first in the NFC East, the Cowboys, 1-2 in division games, can ill afford another loss to a division opponent.

"We're a little disappointed because 3-2 isn't where we wanted to be at this time," Aikman said. "We're a team that's searching a little bit right now. Hopefully we can come up with some answers. This is a pivotal game. It will be a difficult game for us. We'll probably have to play much better than we have all year to win."

(Distributed by Scripps Howard News Service.)