The Cowboys Need the Bye Week

After finally finding a way to win a game on Sunday you would think the Cowboys would need to get back on the field as soon as possible to keep the momentum going. And as much as I would have liked to have seen the Cowboys in action this weekend I think they are overdue for a break. It has been a long grind for the team from the start of training camp up to this point.

I think it will be good for the players to get a real chance to get their bodies back to as close to 100% as they can right now. Kyle Kosier and Jason Witten clearly need the break considering they are both nursing knee injuries. I'm sure Witten would have played either way this week but now he can rest his knee for a week so his minor knee injury doesn't linger all season long. And hopefully Kosier can get back in time for the Titans game since he gets basically two weeks to recover.

And it isn't just injuries that make me happy for the bye week. The Cowboys need a break mentally and physically. They started training camp before anyone else. Only the Cowboys and the Bengals had five preseason games. And the Cowboys play under a media spotlight that few teams can match.

Not every team has people like Ed Werder and the rest of the ESPN "writers" hounding them every day trying to stir up a controversy. And losing the first two games had to make things very tense around Valley Ranch. Wade Phillips snapped at the media several times last week which almost never happens. When Wade is stressed out you know the team has to be under tremendous pressure.

I think it will be good for the Cowboys to have the weight of the world lifted off their shoulders for a few days. And winning decisively against the Texans allowed that to happen. The Cowboys were reminded how hard they have to work to win against any team in the NFL. And now they can watch the other teams and spend more time thinking about the fact that they are sitting at 1-2 in last place but also only 1 game out of first place in the NFC East.

The players, the coaches, and the owner all said immediately after the Texans game that winning was great but they have only started digging out of their 0-2 hole. The team needs to get itself healthy and mentally prepared for the grind ahead. It is going to take 4 or 5 more wins in a row before anyone will be able to feel like the Cowboys are really back on track.

And recent history suggest the Cowboys will come out of the bye on a high note. They have won every game after the bye since 2006. With extra time to prepare for the Titans the Cowboys have a great chance to get themselves back to .500. They have a big hole to dig out of but the bye lets them recharge their batteries to hopefully allow for a streak of wins that will last for a long time.