Not too long ago the Cowboys were serving as the butt of jokes and appeared dead in the water as they carried a 3-5-1 record into a Monday Night Football test against the Raiders. Then Brian Schottenheimer's team surprised NFL fans by using that victory as a springboard to far more impressive ones against the Eagles and Chiefs. They now enter Thursday night's showcase against the Lions with playoff hopes that actually have a pulse. And they'll encounter a side just as desperate to keep their own postseason belief alive, setting the stage for what could very well prove to be an early-December elimination game.
