The Cowboys lost Monday Night Football’s game to the in-state Houston Texans, 34-10. After dropping down 14-0 after the first quarter, it looked like the Cowboys were staying in it at halftime with a score 17-10. Houston without a second-half touchdown this year, scored their first one in the fourth quarter on a defensive scoop, followed by the third Joe Mixon rushing touchdown of the night, and that’s all she wrote. The Cowboys let the game get away from them, again, and drop to 3-7.

The Dallas Cowboys are the only team in American sports who haven’t won a home game in the calendar year of 2024. They’re well behind the Eagles (8-2) and Commanders (7-4) for the NFC East crown, and all signs point to this team missing the 2024 playoffs.

But should they outrightly tank for a better selection in the 2025 NFL Draft?

Mike McCarthy doesn’t want to. He knows after three consecutive 12-win seasons, this year has been a disaster. What makes this worse for McCarthy? It’s a contract year. CeeDee Lamb and Dak Prescott were extended by the Cowboys right before the season began, but McCarthy was left out to dry with his job being very performance-based. A 12-win season and a playoff berth wouldn’t have cut it for McCarthy this year. Most likely, he would’ve had to reach the first NFC Championship game in three decades for the franchise to remain with the team.

So it’s not in Mike McCarthy’s best interest to tank, because if his team doesn’t string along games and show some sign of improvement, he’ll likely be unemployed at the beginning of 2025.

Does anyone else on the team do? “Tanking” is a seven-letter cuss word for sports professionals; coaches and players alike. How can you tell a coach to draw up a half-hazard plan without job security? How can you tell a player to put their body on the line for 60 minutes when your team is trying to lose games?

So while I don’t see the Dallas Cowboys roster or coaching staff “intentionally losing games,” I think it is in their best interest to drop some games.

Looking at the schedule ahead, it is brutal:

11/24: @ Commanders

11/28: vs. Giants (Thanksgiving)

12/9: @ Bengals (Monday Night Football)

12/15: @ Panthers

12/22: vs. Buccaneers

12/29: @ Eagles

1/5: vs. Commanders

Outside of their NFC East rivals Eagles and Commanders, this is the easiest schedule the Cowboys have faced all year. After having the likes of the Ravens, Lions, 49ers, Falcons, Eagles, and Texans; the schedule finally gets slightly easier for them after the Commanders game. But with the amount of confidence this team is playing with, and the injuries piling up, there is no win on any given Sunday, Monday, or Thanksgiving Day the Cowboys suit up.

The injuries are a reason the Cowboys might lose their games, intentionally or not.

Here are all the players who have been hurt or out this season for Dallas:

• QB Dak Prescott
• WR Brandin Cooks
• TE Jake Ferguson
• LT Tyler Guyton
• RG Zack Martin
• DE DeMarcus Lawrence
• DE Sam Williams
• DE Micah Parsons
• DE Marshawn Kneeland
• CB DaRon Bland
• CB Caelen Carson
• CB Jourdan Lewis

And to be fully transparent, I’m not even convinced that list is all-inclusive of the players who have missed games this year for Dallas due to injury. Guys like CeeDee Lamb and Trevon Diggs have played hobbled much of the year, trying to play through as much as they can to give this team the best chance to win. When you have that amount of injuries at those key positions, your team is going to suffer, no matter what you did or didn’t do in the offseason.

The worst injuries, outside of Dak Prescott’s season-ending hamstring injury, have been on the offensive and defensive lines. The Cowboys were playing with their 5th and 6th-best defensive edge rushers this year. Last night, Tyler Guyton, Tyler Smith, and Zack Martin all left the game injured, only down to two starters; rookie center Cooper Beebe and struggling right tackle Terence Steele. No team, no matter how talented, could overcome that.

At the end of the day, it is frustrating to watch three hours of Cowboys football. After getting accustomed to a winning regular season, this season has been nothing short of disappointing. Looking at the draft order, the Cowboys at 3-7 currently would pick 9th. They play two teams ahead of them currently, the Panthers (8th) and Giants (4th). Losses to those squads could potentially pull you up to 7th, and then it’s up to the rest of the league.

Acquiring a talent like WR/CB Travis Hunter, DL Mason Graham, OL Will Campbell, or RB Ashton Jeanty, just to name a few, could be an incentive for the Cowboys to look more towards 2025.