Bye Week Again Proves Massively Friendly To Dallas

If you will recall, last year your Dallas Cowboys found themselves at 3-2 going into their bye week in Week 6. But it was a dubious 3-2, given that the team got beaten by a rebuilding Denver outfit, lost their home opener to New York, and just barely beat a Kansas City team that was the worst in football. This was a team that was in mild disarray, at least if you had the joy of watching them play those first five weeks.

Then the bye happened, and what a bye week it was for the Cowboys. Not only did they have a nice week off to rest and collect their thoughts, but every team in their division had the courtesy of losing that week. The Saints crushed the Giants. The Eagles faltered in Oakland, of all places. And the Skins, on the way to their worst season ever ever ever, gave those same Chiefs their first win.

It’s nice when you can get a leg up in your division without doing anything. And, wouldn’t you know it, the Cowboys had nearly the exact same good fortune yesterday. Let’s recap:

-The Eagles lost to Washington. And not only did they lose, but they also lost Michael Vick to an injury. Who knows if Vick will last out the season playing the way he’s playing. Kevin Kolb did virtually nothing in his absence. The Skins’ win knocked the Eagles out of first place.

-The Giants beat a Chicago offensive line that had the single worst game I’ve ever seen an offensive line have. It was mesmerizing in its awfulness. But lost in all those sacks is the fact that last night showed this Giants team is kind of horrible. Particularly on offense.

The bye week gave your Cowboys an extra half game in the division, and they didn’t have to do anything to earn it. Isn’t that awesome? I love being rewarded for sitting on my ass. It just feels so RIGHT.

More than that, Week 4 exposed this division as delightfully weak. None of the other three teams looks all that forbidding. I don’t see any of these outfits ripping off 11 wins in a row, or finishing 13-3 (except for, perhaps, the Cowboys). I think they all look remarkably vulnerable, especially the Giants, and the Eagles with Kolb at the helm and Andy Reid butchering the clock.

So take heart, Dallas fans. You may have started out the season on a bad note going 0-2. But suddenly, this division is right there for the taking.

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