MIAMI GARDENS, Fla. -- Mike McCarthy stepped off the podium and was about to walk inside the Dallas Cowboys' locker room when he stopped and wished the assembled media a merry Christmas.
The Cowboys had just lost 22-20 to the Miami Dolphins on a last-second field goal, and there was frustration over many things that went wrong, but the coach was not ready to concede anything about what his team's season can be.
"I think the resilience, the battle, the grit that you are looking for, I think we clearly have that," McCarthy said. "I think just the mode of the week, the pregame, the halftime, the team had a good look, but we need to be better. We have to play better than we did because you have to play above it on the road. And road warriors we will be."
Probably, unless they get some help from the struggling Philadelphia Eagles. In order to play at least one playoff game at home, the Cowboys will need to win their final two games against the Detroit Lions and Washington Commanders, while the Eagles would have to lose one of their final three games to the New York Giants (twice) or Arizona Cardinals.
It might be unlikely, but it is possible. And that's the best the Cowboys can hope for now that they are 10-5 with two games to play and have suffered back-to-back losses for the first time since the 2021 season.
Without the two wins or the Eagles' help, the Cowboys are looking at being the No. 5 seed in the NFC for the second straight season. They might be able to win one playoff game away from home against a potential sub-.500 winner from the NFC South, like last season against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. But the Cowboys have not won two playoff games on the road in the same postseason since 1975.
The Cowboys are 3-5 away from home this season, and no Dallas team has ever gone to a Super Bowl with a losing road record. The best they can be this year now is 4-5 on the road.
Narratives are tough to put away.
"I guess it feeds it, right?" Dak Prescott said. "We didn't come out with the win [but] I can tell you the confidence is high from that group. This one sucks. It hurts. Especially in the manner that we lost this one. But with the confidence, it's high in these guys. We understand that we can. Obviously we haven't done it, but we will."
Sunday's loss to Miami was at least better than last week's 31-10 loss to the Buffalo Bills, but there were too many lapses. An offense that put up 153 yards in the first two drives of the game put up 9 yards on its next four drives. CeeDee Lamb had 93 receiving yards, 8 rushing yards and a touchdown in the first quarter, but he did not touch the ball again until the fourth. An illegal shift penalty cost the Cowboys a first down on a Prescott scramble in the third quarter that ultimately forced them to settle for a field goal.
A defense that was lit up for 266 rushing yards against the Bills held Miami to 91 yards. It allowed only one touchdown, but it had just one sack, could not force a turnover and was unable to get a stop on the final drive, in part because of a face mask penalty.
"It's a game of inches," said Micah Parsons, who was angered that he was flagged for roughing the passer on Miami's only touchdown drive. "Games are decided by one or two plays. That's the league we're in. It's hard to win."
The Cowboys have a chance for a quality win Saturday against the Lions, who are 11-4. The best news for the Cowboys is that it is at AT&T Stadium, where they are 7-0 and averaging 39.9 points per game.
"We can't lean on, 'Oh, we are at home. This will be easy,'" Prescott said. "It's another great team coming in. We've got to defend that and take that confidence and go out [in Week 18 at] Washington and get that win.
"And that will be the one that starts the streak."
At least, that's what the Cowboys hope.