FRISCO, Texas -- Now it gets interesting for the Dallas Cowboys.
At 4-1, the Cowboys have equaled last year’s win total. At 4-1, only the undefeated Minnesota Vikings have a better record than the Cowboys. At 4-1, the Cowboys are in first place in the NFC East.
Now they get to show if they are merely in the middle of a good run or truly a good team.
Now the Cowboys have to deal with expectations.
“Our expectations are our own, the standards we set each and every day for how we do things,” coach Jason Garrett said. “That’s really what we focus on. Nothing outside of our building really concerns us. I think that’s the best thing this team has done. They come to work every day. They focus on what they need to do to prepare and play the best we can on Sunday afternoons. We’ve done a good job of that, we certainly have to continue that going forward.”
Garrett pulled a page out of the Bill Parcells playbook on Monday. Parcells was famous for riding his team when things were going well and propping it up when things were going poorly.
In reviewing Sunday’s 28-14 win against the Cincinnati Bengals, Garrett mentioned the number of things the Cowboys did well.
“But you have to identify the things that weren’t good, and there was plenty of that in this game, and in order to get better you have to really have an objective view of the ballgame,” Garrett said. “And that’s how we do that as coaches and that’s how we do it with our players, and hopefully if you approach it the right way, you will get better each day and each week.”
So what did the Cowboys do poorly?
Garrett used 430 words in answering the question. It was almost as if the Cowboys didn’t do anything well. While the hosannas are heaped on Ezekiel Elliott, Dak Prescott, the offensive line, the four sacks by the defense and the solid job on A.J. Green, Garrett went through a list of all the things the Cowboys did not do well.
The Cowboys failed to convert on a two-minute drive at the end of the first half.
In the third quarter, Prescott had a red zone turnover with a fumble on a sack.
The Cowboys allowed 5.1 yards per carry.
The defense allowed two touchdowns late because of a busted coverage and the wrong leverage by the defensive back.
On special teams, there was a muffed punt.
The Bengals nearly blocked a Chris Jones punt.
“You look at those things, you try to identify what the issues are, and you get better at them,” Garrett said.
Standing at his locker after Sunday’s win, left guard Ronald Leary was asked about where the Cowboys are in the standings.
“I mean, I don’t even know where we stand,” Leary said. “I just know we’re 4-1. That’s the thing we care about.”
When told the Cowboys are in first place in the division, Leary said, “Oh well, that’s good, yeah.”
The schedule also gets more difficult. The Cowboys have not played a team with a winning record yet. That changes Sunday when they play the 3-1 Green Bay Packers. Their 2014 season ended in Green Bay with a controversial loss in the divisional round of the playoffs. They lost there last year, 28-7, in what was their second-worst loss of the season.
The Cowboys’ next seven opponents are 21-12 and five of those losses belong to the winless Cleveland Browns (Nov. 6). Of course, the Cowboys also should see the return of quarterback Tony Romo, wide receiver Dez Bryant and cornerback Orlando Scandrick over the next few weeks, which should make them better.
Even with those three coming back, the mindset doesn’t change.
“We have to continue to understand this is our style,” tight end Jason Witten said. “Each week is a new challenge. We’re not just better than anybody else. We have to go earn that.”
So far they have earned it. But now it gets interesting.