For the second consecutive year and fourth time in the last seven seasons, the Dallas Cowboys are not going to the playoffs.<\/p>\n
The Philadelphia Eagles\u2019 29-18 win over the Washington Commanders on Saturday officially eliminated the 6-7-1 Cowboys from playoff contention. Dallas has three games remaining: Sunday against the Los Angeles Chargers and then consecutive NFC East road trips to Washington and New York.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe get judged on winning and losing, and we haven\u2019t won enough games,\u201d Cowboys coach Brian Schottenheimer said this week. \u201cDoesn\u2019t mean there aren\u2019t going to be things when we look back that we\u2019re like, \u2018Hey, we\u2019ve built this, and this is great. We really upgraded this position, or we\u2019ve done that.\u2019 But I\u2019m gonna stay in the moment. I\u2019m going to be all about the Chargers. After we go and play the Chargers, and hopefully win, I\u2019m going to be all about the Commanders and then the Giants and see what happens.\u201d<\/p>\n
Schottenheimer\u2019s first season as head coach got off to a rough start as the Cowboys went 3-5-1 entering their bye week. Trading All-Pro pass rusher Micah Parsons a week before the season started did the new coaching staff no favors. However, the team appeared to turn the corner after its bye, getting a boost from adding All-Pro defensive tackle Quinnen Williams at the trade deadline. Dallas stayed in playoff contention with three consecutive wins that included two over the teams that played in last season\u2019s Super Bowl \u2014 the Eagles and Kansas City Chiefs.<\/p>\n
Despite having one of the NFL\u2019s best offenses, the Cowboys\u2019 defensive issues that had been a problem throughout the first half of the season came back in consecutive losses to the Detroit Lions and Minnesota Vikings.<\/p>\n
Owner and general manager Jerry Jones spoke Friday about the blame he takes for this season\u2019s failures.<\/p>\n
\u201cThere\u2019s no question, there\u2019s no manning-up or anything to know,\u201d he said on 105.3 The Fan in Dallas. \u201cI know exactly who is ultimately responsible, in my mind, for how we are doing. I\u2019ve always had that because I\u2019ve always had the responsibility. I\u2019ve known from the get-go when I got involved, if the Cowboys failed. \u2026 I\u2019ve always known that stops right there. It\u2019s critical to me to have the support of our fans. It\u2019s critical to me to basically be everything we can possibly be on the football field. I got involved not to own and have an investment. I got involved to spend my life trying to figure out how to beat a pretty competitive bunch called the rest of the NFL. I take it real serious.\u201d<\/p>\n