By Alex Al-Kazzaz
If the Dallas Cowboys can pick up the win against the Jacksonville Jaguars, they'll officially clinch a spot in the playoffs. Dallas is looking to qualify for the playoffs in back-to-back seasons for the first time since 2006 and 2007 seasons. In addition, the Cowboys are looking to make a deep playoff run.
Dallas has never beaten Jacksonville on the road. Back in 2014, when Dallas faced Jacksonville in London, Dallas was featured as the visiting side and while Dallas won 31-17, it doesn't officially count as a road win in Jacksonville. The Cowboys are determined to finally pick up a win against the Jaguars in Jacksonville.
Last week, Dallas nearly suffered a humiliating loss to the Houston Texans. And the Jaguars picked up a very good win against the Tennessee Titans on the road. Although the Jaguars are not yet eliminated from playoff contention, they're at a point where they have nothing to lose. For Dallas it's the opposite.
The Jaguars offense looked very good against Tennessee. Evan Ingram caught eleven catches for 162 yards and two touchdowns. Trevor Lawrence had three touchdown passes with over 350 yards and a 121.9 rating and he wasn't sacked. And last week, the Dallas defense wasn't able to get a sack. Dak Prescott's performance last week wasn't the best. The two interceptions speak for themselves, but Prescott was good on that game-winning drive. Jacksonville's rushing defense forced two fumbles and recovered both. In addition, they sacked Ryan Tannehill four times.
It's quite clear that Dallas' trip to Jacksonville isn't going to be a walk in the park. Quite the contrary as it's safe to say that Dallas is should be on upset alert since they need the win to clinch a playoff berth while Jacksonville has NOTHING to lose. In a nutshell, Dallas needs to play sublime football on both offense and defense.