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IRVING, Texas - All of the preseason hype surrounding this team was squashed by it.
When the Cowboys opened the season at 3-0, it was always brought up.
No matter what this team was projected to do, the recent December struggles have always been mentioned.
Anything positive surrounding the Cowboys has always been followed with a, "yeah, yeah, well let's see what they do in December."
Fair enough, the Cowboys are 10-17 in the final month of the season in the last six seasons.
OK, guess what. It's December. The time is here.
The Cowboys may not be exactly where they want to be, sitting at 8-4 and currently on the outside of the NFC playoff race looking in.
But just less than a month ago, these Cowboys limped off the field at Giants Stadium with a 21-point loss to the defending champions. Their quarterback had a broken pinkie, the defense just gave up five touchdowns and the Cowboys flew home with a 5-4 record.
Since then, Tony Romo has returned, leading the Cowboys to three straight wins, which is crucial considering what awaits this team down the stretch.
The Cowboys hit the road Sunday to play 9-3 Pittsburgh, owners of the No. 1 defensive ranking in the NFL. After that, it's home games against the Giants (11-1) and Ravens (8-4) before a season-finale trip to Philadelphia (6-5-1).
If Romo has indeed turned things around, the Cowboys will need their offense to be on point more than ever. Not only are the Steelers the No. 1 defense in the league, but the Cowboys will face the top three defenses in the next three weeks, as the Ravens and Giants are ranked second and third, respectively, while the Eagles are seventh.
"We play against good defensive teams obviously," head coach Wade Phillips said. "We play the Giants again, who we've played before. It's those kinds of teams we play against. It's still the game plan that we feel like we can do and matchups we feel like we can do well. But they give you problems."
And as of late, any game in December has seemed to pose problems for the Cowboys. In fact, it's not even of late. Dating back to 1996, which is also the last season the Cowboys won a playoff game, the Cowboys have not posted a winning record among regular-season games played in December and January.
Last year, the Cowboys entered the final month of the season with an 11-1 mark, only to finish 2-2 and wind up 13-3. The season before, the Cowboys were 7-4 and riding high, before a 2-3 dip in the last five games landed them with a 9-7 record.
And the same goes for 2005. The Cowboys were also 7-4, but a 2-3 finish put them on the outside of the playoffs with a 9-7 mark.
Obviously, Phillips has only been here for one season but the Cowboys weren't able to buck the December trend under his guidance.
When asked on Monday if anything can be done to reverse the downward spiral in the final month, Phillips said little things can be tweaked here and there, but overall, the mindset won't change much.
"I think we try - we are going to try," Phillips said of changing some things about the approach. "It's still one game at a time, all those things coaches say. We are going to try to keep them fresh for the remainder of the season. I think that's important. Mental practices, like today, are going to be important as far as us getting ready. It's just bearing down the rest of the season. Obviously, our schedule is probably the toughest in the league these last four games."
Make no mistake, Phillips and the players are not looking past the Steelers game this week when referring to the entire month. But since December has been an Achilles heel for this team, facing the 9-3 Steelers on the road is just the start of what is shaping up to be a big month for the team.
Scratch that. Wide receiver Patrick Crayton has his own adjectives.
"Major. Huge," said Crayton, who says this year should be different because unlike last season, the Cowboys are not in the playoff race currently and will have to win games to play themselves in the mix. "It's got to be different this time. The playoffs are really already started, basically. We have to win out just to get some good positioning. Not only just to get in, we need to win these and maybe get a game at the house. It doesn't look like the Giants are going anywhere."
Defensive end Marcus Spears said this year is also different because if the Cowboys falter again in December, there won't be anything left for January.
"We had some wiggle room a couple years back," Spears said, referring to the Cowboys' wrapping up the NFC East title in 2007 with nearly the entire month still to play. "Now, the approach is just . . . one game, one play. We used to get to December and wanted to get to this position when we get to the playoffs, instead of just going out and playing. Now you have a chance to go out and play and it'll be worth a whole lot, because we're not in yet."
Key word is yet.
The Cowboys still believe they will get where they want to go.
"We have the talent on this team," tight end Jason Witten said. "We know we can compete with any team out there. We just have to get it together and keep playing well. This is the best time to do it."
Crayton certainly agrees. Remember, his off-season was longer emotionally than some of his teammates considering he had a crucial drop in the Cowboys' playoff loss to the Giants.
While he was anxious to start the season like everyone else, Crayton knows this team hasn't been truly measured and won't be, until they play well in December.
"Personally, I usually can't wait until December, especially the way last year went," Crayton said. "That's how we're always judged around here, which is good. That's when we decide what the Cowboys are - this month right here."
Right now, the Cowboys are not a playoff team. But things can certainly change in a hurry.
After all, it is December.
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Nick Eatman - 
