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IRVING, Texas The Dallas Cowboys straddle a fine line between optimism and desperation when they take the field to night against Washington.
Optimism flows from Tony Romo's return. The quarterback brings the big-play capability the offense sorely lacked in his absence.
But is it too late?
The margin of error to make the playoffs is already razor thin. Beat the Redskins and the Cowboys surge into the thick of the wild-card race.
Lose, and the team probably falls into a scramble for the final playoff spot with a handful of others that could be determined by a Byzantine series of tiebreakers.
It's an intoxicating and dangerous mix.
“I think a lot of different people may have gotten to a point where they feel we might not have a chance to do what we hoped to do at the beginning of the year,” Romo said. “So it's exciting in a way, to have a goal that no one really sees but yourself and your teammates.
“I think that's something that can bring a team together. I think that's something that is very exciting.”
Eternal optimist Jerry Jones conceded the division title after his team lost to the New York Giants two weeks ago. That shifts the focus to the two wild-card spots.
Washington has already defeated the Cowboys once. Sweep the season series and it would open up what amounts to a three-game lead since the Cowboys would have to finish ahead of the Skins to avoid losing the tiebreaker.
REUNITED: They were teammates for 11 years in Miami. On the field, they enjoyed tremendous success, combining for 13 Pro Bowl appearances. Off the field, they became the best of friends and, along the way, brothers-in-law.
Zach Thomas and Jason Taylor get to play against each other on Sunday for the first time.
Thomas leads the Cowboys with 116 tackles and has been able to stay healthy after missing 11 games last year. Taylor, picked up by Washington in a July trade with Miami, has 13 tackles and one sack, but he has missed three games because of a leg injury.
That injury prevented Taylor from playing when the teams met at Texas Stadium on Sept. 28, a game won by the Redskins, 26-24.
Elsewhere
BALTIMORE: The league's best rushing offense against the league's best run defense — the Giants being the former and the Ravens the latter.
“The only way to stop somebody like that is to run into them full speed,” Ray Lewis says of New York's 264-pound Brandon Jacobs, who is fourth in the league in rushing and averaging 5.3 yards per carry.
“The name of football is hit or be hit. So the bottom line, I don't care how big his size is. Football is football. And when you strap on your chin strap I don't care how big you are, deal with whoever has the ball and let life take care of itself. You know what I'm saying?”
MIAMI: Quarterback Chad Pennington was added to the Dolphins' injury report because of a sore foot, and he's listed as probable for today's game against Oakland.
The Dolphins didn't elaborate on the injury or say or when it happened. Pennington ranks sixth in the NFL in passing and has led surprising Miami to a 5-4 record.
If Pennington can't play, rookie Chad Henne would make his first NFL start. He was taken in the second round of the April draft.
The Dolphins signed linebacker Rob Ninkovich off their practice squad and placed guard Matt McChesney on injured reserve.
