Dallas Cowboys

Take nothing away from the Dallas Cowboys. They’ve won 10 consecutive games on merit, with a rookie quarterback (Dak Prescott) and a rookie running back (Ezekiel Elliott). And they’ve done it in a season that began with four defensive starters under suspension and veteran quarterback Tony Romo sidelined by a back injury.

The Cowboys (10-1) play the Minnesota Vikings (6-5) on Thursday night and again there is, to use a word that Cowboys owner Jerry Jones loves, serendipity (good fortune).

For one, the Cowboys are not coming off a short week (nor are the Vikings, as both played on Thanksgiving). So they’re rested and ready for a road trip, and will then have a good long snooze before they play again a week from Sunday.

Second, Vikings coach Mike Zimmer was to undergo emergency eye surgery on Wednesday night and may miss the game. Just what the struggling Vikings need.

You want serendipity? Don’t forget this. When the Cowboys played on Thanksgiving, they were at home four days after another home game. The team they played, the Washington Redskins, played a Sunday night game at home and had no true practices before they left for Dallas, where they lost.

Hey, it’s been a long drought for the Cowboys, many years without any playoff success. To be good in the NFL, you also have to be lucky. Right now, the Cowboys are both, and that is a dangerous combination.

Both NBC and the NFL Network will show the Cowboys-Vikings game at 8:25 p.m. ET.
 
 
Post By: Larry Weisman, a longtime sportswriter for USA TODAY, blogs for Twistity.com. Follow him on Twitter @MrLarryWeisman