As much as I want to see the Cowboys sweep their final three games, I am almost wishing that the team would just lose and put everyone out of his or her misery. Terrell Owens can be shipped off to Oakland to finish his career, while the team otherwise has trouble rebuilding because: (a) Roy Williams is not a top-flight receiver, and (b) the team traded nearly half of its 2009 draft to get Williams.

What’s with the negativity? Just a sampling:

Monday: Jerry Jones makes a fool of himself by questioning Marion Barber’s toughness.

Tuesday: Jerry tries to take his comments back but still looks like a jackass.

Wednesday: Phillips now takes credit for calling the Cowboys’ defenses

Thursday: Pacman Jones will be out for the season.

Friday: A story breaks suggesting that Cowboys’ receivers are unhappy with Tony Romo’s pass distribution.

Friday: Terrell Owens says he’s not jealous of Jason Witten.

Saturday: But in a team meeting, Owens and Witten reportedly had words and nearly had a fight.

Saturday: Jean-Jacques Taylor blames the whole mess on Wade Phillips.

Questions Waiting for Answers

1. What happens if the Cowboys lose to the Giants on Sunday night?

We will know more about the overall playoff picture by the time Dallas plays New York, but things will look bleak no matter what if the Cowboys can’t beat the Giants. The Wade Phillips firing countdown will begin, as well the watch for T.O.’s final explosion in Dallas.

2. Could the Cowboys’ failures this year have long-term ramifications?

I bet they will. Wade Phillips could only do two things in Dallas: (1) win the Super Bowl, or (2) fail miserably. Since he isn’t winning any Super Bowls, he must be failing miserably. The team will need yet another new coach, which will presumably be Jason Garrett. From the looks of things, that may not go over as well as some might have thought after last season.

3. Can the Cowboys beat the Giants without Marion Barber?

Well, the Cowboys should have beaten the Steelers without Barber, so I don’t see why not. Where Dallas really missed him was at the end of the game when the Cowboys needed their closer. How much they would miss him depends on whether they are nursing a lead late in the game.

4. If the Cowboys can pull it out on Sunday, then what?

The Cowboys not only have a recent history for falling apart down the stretch, but they also have developed a knack for following up big wins with terrible losses. It would stand to reason, somehow, that the Cowboys would find a way to beat the Giants but then blow their final game at Texas Stadium to the Ravens.

Predictions

Dallas Morning News

Six of the eight writers for the Dallas Morning News think that Dallas will win. One of the two who disagrees is Taylor, who has been especially negative this year.

ESPN

Five of the eight ESPN writers picked the Cowboys to beat the Giants. Here is the preview from the site:

It is hard to believe that the Super Bowl champion Giants would lose a game at home in which they blocked two field goals and returned one for a TD. But the Giants had a field goal of their own blocked and had a very difficult time sustaining offense, and the Eagles played an excellent all-around football game and were the more physical team. Still, New York has clinched the division and will be looking to fortify a first-round bye. Dallas turned the ball over five times in its loss to Pittsburgh, a game it appeared to have in hand. The Cowboys traveled to New York in Week 9 and lost 35-14 in a game with seven turnovers, but that was with Brad Johnson behind center. Dallas’ mettle will be tested this week.

Accuscore

Surprisingly, the Cowboys won 58% of Accuscore’s simulations by an average score of 25.1 to 22.5. The simulation assumes that Barber will play for the Cowboys.

Brandon Jacobs is out and the Giants winning chances dropped from 43.5 percent to 41 percent. This is a measurable drop that translates to around 1 fewer point per simulation. If Dallas RB Marion Barber is injured the Cowboys chances would drop from 58 percent to 54 percent. AccuScore actually sides with Terrell Owens regarding the controversy with Witten and Romo. Even though Romo completes nearly 20 percent more of his passes targeting Witten, the yardage and TD production TO provides helps Dallas more than the sure-handedness of Witten. In fact, if TO were targeted 35 percent of the time, up from 23 percent in simulations, the Cowboys would win 60 percent of the time.

What If Sports

In What If Sports’ predictions, the Giants won 53.4 percent of the games, but the average score of the games was even at 21-21. The simulations included Brandon Jacobs, who will not play on Sunday night.