ATLANTA _ We are well into November, which means the Cowboys are making their annual assault on a .500 record, and in doing so they can actually contemplate winning the NFC East.
Better to prepare your brain and heart that they won't pull this off, of course, because you know how this all normally goes.
Forces more powerful than Jerry Jones are conspiring against you to create this playoff scenario a possibility. To give you hope, and maybe once again to ruin your holiday season more than just a visit from relatives.
Alas, the coach who cannot be fired has done it again as the Cowboys rallied to defeat the Atlanta Falcons, 22-19, on Sunday in Atlanta.
Jason Garrett's deep affection for place kickers paid off on Sunday. In their final possession in a tie game, the Cowboys had time, and timeouts, to go for a touchdown. Instead, Garrett played for another Brett Maher field goal try.
Unlike the game in Washington earlier this season, Maher made this kick. His 42-yard field goal with no time remaining drifted just inside the upright for the win.
Time for a new T-shirt: The Cowboys have won consecutive games for the first time since December of last year. Give the Boys credit; they did this on the road in Philly and here in Atlanta. They turned a 3-5 record into .500, and hope.
How they won on Sunday was typical of a team destined for mediocrity; the Cowboys took a 19-9 lead with 12:26 remaining in the game, only to gag that away when the best part of their team, their defense, could suddenly not make a stop.
Falcons' wide receiver Julio Jones, perhaps the 'Baddest Man on the Planet', caught a 34-yard touchdown pass despite tight coverage with less than two minutes remaining in the game to tie the score.
What should have been an nice-and-easy last few minutes turned into another test for Maher.
Around the same time the Cowboys were taking the game against the Falcons for good, the NFC East leading Washington Redskins lost their starting quarterback to a nasty leg injury.
It does not look like Alex Smith will be available to play against the Cowboys in four days on Thanksgiving. Now his backup, former Texas great Colt McCoy, has diced up the Cowboys before, but he's not the starter for a reason.
As long as Cowboys running back Ezekiel Elliott continues to do what he did on Sunday, the Cowboys do have a chance.
Zeke ran for 122 yards and one touchdown, and caught seven passes for an additional 79 yards, against Atlanta.
As long as he does that, the Cowboys still have hope.
The Cowboys are once again 5-5, and, for now, they can win the NFC East.
