NASHVILLE, Tenn. – You guys should know the drill by now with me, especially in these postgame columns.
I don't play the "ugly-win" card or try to take the "they won't win in the playoffs playing like that" angle either.
Sorry, I'm not built that way because covering the Cowboys over the last 25 years has made me that way. When I started covering this team, winning road games in December was borderline miraculous and certainly not something to be scoffed at.
So forgive me, if you will, if I'm not going to be overly critical about the Cowboys winning by 14 points against a team that didn't have a lot to play for, and trotted out a lineup that was reflective of that.
Again, it's all about perspective. My perspective on this isn't the same as yours and that's OK. In fact, I went around the locker room after the game and heard the players singing a little different tunes.
Some of them did the "a win is a win" dance and they weren't wrong. Others said, "We know we didn't play our best ball."
Again, perspective. It's like the "glass-half-full or half-empty" analogy. The thing is, they're both right. The glass can be half-full and half-empty. Both answers are right.
And in this case, it's OK to say both things are correct with the Cowboys. They didn't play their best game of the season – by far. The turnovers continue to pile up, the tackling was spotty and once again the pass rush wasn't a major factor.
On the flip side, they overcame their own mistakes. They made the plays they had to on both sides of the ball, and while they were playing a quarterback who just signed with the Titans eight days ago, they never really let him get into a rhythm.
Seems like the Cowboys were supposed to win this game by two touchdowns, according to the experts in Las Vegas, and that's exactly what happened.
Will they win a lot of playoff games like this? No, definitely not, and I think everyone knows that.
But guess what? It's not the playoffs. It's Week 17 of a grueling NFL regular season that still has one more week to go. It's an absolute grind and the Cowboys are just about to get past it, even though more injuries keep piling up.
While most Cowboys fans would argue that these "millionaires" should have the same focus and intensity every single week and should always strive to play flawless, inspired football, it's just not reality.
They know the Titans were resting many of their best players. They know the Eagles will probably win one of their last two games, forcing them into the No. 5 seed anyway.
As much as you try to convince yourself that this game means every bit the same as last Saturday's showdown with the Eagles, we all know that it really doesn't. Sure, a loss would've ended their slim chances of winning the NFC East, and for that reason alone they had to go out and take care of business – which they did.
Hey, I'm not going to sit here and defend them for playing a great game because it wasn't.
But I do think it's only fair to point out that it's not an easy thing to play on a short week, especially following an emotional, intense thriller with the Eagles. Sure, the Titans did the same thing, but obviously they were singing a different tune all week long, considering they didn't have to win this game to keep their playoff hopes alive.
It was a weird game all week long because of those odd circumstances for both teams, and that's exactly what you got on the field – a weird game with weird plays.
But at the end, the outcome was what we expected, a comfortable win for the Cowboys, who improved to 12-4 on the season.
And that right there is really about the only thing you can't dispute. The Cowboys won the game and now have 12 regular-season wins for the second straight year.
That's undisputable. But everything else is up for debate. It just depends on your … perspective, of course.
