IRVING, Texas –The Cowboys need to turn the corner here in November for any possible chance at making a playoff run. It starts Sunday against a 2-7 Browns teams that is coming off a bye. Here is the gut feeling of Nick Eatman, Rowan Kavner and Bryan Broaddus.
Rowan: DeMarco Murray's still hurt, the center position is in a state of flux and the Cowboys lost a defensive end for the year, yet out of all the games the rest of the year, this is the one they should feel confident in winning. The Browns haven't stopped the run or the pass all season and own the No. 29 offense in the league. If the Cowboys can slow down running back Trent Richardson, the Browns one real offensive weapon, they should be able to cruise. But they can't expect to roll over the Browns if they can't stop Cleveland's backfield bruiser.
Bryan:After the nice win against the Eagles last week, the Cowboys cannot afford a poor game against the Browns. It's the beginning of a stretch of three straight home games for a squad that has yet to play their best football at home. Despite the Browns record, they still get your attention on film with some of the players that they are trying to build with. If the Cowboys sleepwalk in this game, there is a chance that they will end up on the short end of the score and all that momentum from last week will be lost. The Cowboys cannot let this game against the Browns get away from them. Other than the Seahawks game, this team has taken care of the opponents that they have needed to. The Cowboys have better skill players but If they allow the Browns to hang around, there will be problems. My gut feeling this week tells me that you will see that complete game that Jason Garrett strives for from all three of his units as the Cowboys start to put some wins together.
Nick: These are games the Cowboys typically win. Looking back to last year's schedule, we all thought they might make a run in October and November when teams like the Bills, Rams, Seahawks, Dolphins and Redskins were on the tilt – and they won them all. So it's possible the Cowboys can make the same type of run here against Cleveland, Washington and Philly again. The Browns haven't been blown out much at all, but they have consistently been below average all year. Will they make it close? Probably, and the Cowboys will do their part in keeping it close, too. Overall, I see the Cowboys having too much defense with Rob Ryan calling it personal. And don't be surprised if Lawrence Vickers finds the end zone against his former team, too.
