The Cowboys would enter their bye week at 3-2 and have the chance to reload for the rest of the month. It would also end a three-game losing streak to AFC teams and give them a 17-4 record in games before the bye, including five straight wins before the open week. Would it cure all that ails them on both sides of the ball? No, but it sure would beat the alternative.

The Cowboys would have to re-think things if they were to lose to a winless club that has lost by an average of 12 points. Would it prompt Jerry Jones to make his first in-season coaching change? A 2-3 record would not eliminate Dallas from a possible playoff run, but how confident could a team be that had lost six of its last nine regular-season games?