Get ready for overreactions to the Cowboys’ Week 12 win over the Commanders

Holy goodness, what a game that was between the Dallas Cowboys and the Washington Commanders. Two bitter rivals went head-to-head and the Cowboys defeated the Commanders 34-26.

The first three quarters were tame, with Dallas leading 10-9 entering the final quarter. Then all hell broke loose and the Cowboys escaped with a win.

Now of course we’re getting all the overreactions because Dallas finally won a game after losing five in a row. Watch out, because the Cowboys are supposedly back.

Simply put, the answer to that is no. But that doesn’t mean you won’t hear it in the next few days and possibly beyond after a five-game losing streak ended on Sunday. Now it’s assumed that everything is fine after almost two months of getting my butt kicked every week. The Cowboys come out and, with some nonsensical plays and a lot of luck, defeat the Commanders, who have now lost three in a row themselves.

There were some positive aspects to this game that we hadn’t seen in previous weeks. Dallas had a pretty good running game as Rico Dowdle rushed for 86 yards, just one yard away from matching his career high earlier this season. But the Cowboys offense looked pretty competent for once, and it showed even more in the second half.

Ultimately, the Cowboys can’t be happy with what they accomplished on Sunday. It was a great win, but it’s a short week and they can’t afford to slip up against the Giants, who are clearly on their way to a top-three pick in next spring’s draft. Dallas may not make the playoffs, but these players have pride and none of them want to end the year without competition.

Or so we’re told, and Micah Parsons isn’t afraid to share it with the world. He made this statement days before the Washington game, right after last week’s terrible loss to Houston. Well, the Cowboys came out this week and backed up their man’s words to the Commanders.

After Sunday’s win, he stuck to it: “I’m not done yet. I don’t plan on filling up. If the higher-ups are looking for a draft pick, I hope it fails because we still have a lot of football ahead of us. “As long as I’m part of this team, we’ll always fight.

Whether someone else believes it (we don’t) doesn’t matter. If the players and coaches in this locker room buy in, there’s still a chance Dallas can turn things around this season. They next face the New York Giants on Thanksgiving, then Dallas gets 10 days off before facing the Cincinnati Bengals. After that, the Carolina Panthers are on the schedule.

Even though the Cowboys most likely won’t make the postseason, they could definitely make things more interesting with a few games where they have a chance to win. Aside from a game against Philadelphia in Week 16, Dallas could potentially win a good portion of its games moving forward. And after Sunday’s win over the Commanders, there’s still a glimmer of hope for a playoff spot with plenty of support.

Now, if the Cowboys manage to top the table, that could be enough to convince Jerry Jones to re-sign McCarthy. That seems unlikely given how we’ve seen this team perform all year, save for one or two games, including Sunday’s miraculous win over Washington.

It’s hard to imagine McCarthy’s team turning things around to where he would return next season. It just feels like this franchise reached its peak when McCarthy was running the show. Don’t get it twisted, it’s not entirely McCarthy’s fault the way things turned out, but the signs are clear and his time appears to be up.

Sunday was a nice feel-good story as they defeated the rival and former defensive coordinator in their stadium. The Cowboys and their fan base needed something after losing their last five games. They would definitely win again, it was just a matter of when. It couldn’t have faced a better team, especially since the Commanders are in the middle of the NFC Wild Card race. Still, it probably won’t be enough to keep McCarthy in the Big D beyond January.