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After what felt like the longest week in some time, Dallas Cowboys action continues this Sunday as America’s Team visits the Motor City.
Dallas will be in the 3-1-3 (I hope you did the hand wave) early on Sunday afternoon as they’ll be taking on the Detroit Lions in hopes of getting back to their winning ways. The Lions will be operating without Matthew Stafford which will undoubtedly make the contest more difficult for them, and while we hope the quarterback gets well soon, any way the Cowboys can get a win right now is welcome.
Obviously you’re rooting for the Cowboys today, but who else should you be putting your efforts towards? We’ve got everything you want to have happen right here.
EARLY GAMES: COWBOYS (duh), Falcons, Broncos, Jets, Buccaneers
It goes without saying that, as a Cowboys fan, you should be rooting for the Cowboys, but there are a few other games happening in the early window that are of concern.
The Atlanta Falcons will be taking on the Carolina Panthers and while Dan Quinn’s squad successfully defeated the New Orleans Saints last week, it’s hard to see them winning two in a row. Nevertheless, if they can knock off another wildcard contender it would be nice.
Denver and the Jets are both AFC teams that are taking on NFC squads and you always root for the AFC team in that scenario, especially since the former is taking on another wildcard possibility in the Minnesota Vikings.
Finally in this window, the Buccaneers are playing the New Orleans Saints. If the Saints can continue to lose that would also give the Cowboys all the more room for error (assuming Dallas does its part).
AFTERNOON GAMES: Cardinals and Patriots
The Arizona Cardinals almost took down the San Francisco 49ers a couple of weeks ago and it would be great if they managed to actually do it this week. San Francisco finally lost last week, but if they can somehow drop a few more games it would be a welcome thing.
The most important non-Cowboys game in Week 11 involves the New England Patriots as they are visiting the Philadelphia Eagles. Any Philly loss is worth celebrating and as they have the same record as the Cowboys (Dallas has the tiebreaker); any distance that the Cowboys can gain is very important.
Sunday Night Football: Bears
A few weeks ago my wife and I got a puppy that we named Bear, so you should partly root for Chicago for him. In all seriousness, Da Bears will be in Los Angeles taking on the Rams and while they might inspire great dog names, the Bears aren’t very good.
Keeping the Rams further out of playoff contention gives the Cowboys more options and those are a very good thing as we approach Thanksgiving Day. Please Bears, do a good thing, just this once.