Cowboys Stressing 'December Football' Theme; Tyron & Zack Martin Injury Update

The Dallas Cowboys are coming off a brutal loss to the Buffalo Bills, but from coach Mike McCarthy to tight end Jake Ferguson, they are now as much as ever stressing the importance of winning football games in December.

The Dallas Cowboys' December gauntlet got off to a winning start, as they put away the Seattle Seahawks and the Philadelphia Eagles, but Mike McCarthy's team came unstuck in a big way against the Buffalo Bills.

The 31-10 defeat raised more questions about the validity of the Cowboys being able to win on the road against quality teams. But they have a chance to silence that narrative.

The Miami Dolphins are next on the schedule, and we will see if the Cowboys can put to bed the "road win" narrative that has gotten a lot of air time of late.

“I think home or away, it's important to win,” said Cowboys tight end Jake Ferguson. “It's December football. This is where you separate yourselves.''

Part of "December football'' is being healthy enough to grind through it. At this moment, Dallas has two iffy injury situations, both along the offensive line, as left tackle Tyron Smith (back) and right guard Zack Martin (quad) both came away from Buffalo banged up.

Cowboys coach Mike McCarthy expressed optimism about Martin playing this week. And Tyron?

“I think he’ll do more today than he did yesterday,'' McCarthy said on Thursday. "We still have a lot of time.”

"Time'' in the week, yes. "Time'' in December? It's now.

Ferguson is right; winning is all that matters right now, and given how tight the NFC East is, Dallas in all likelihood has to win out and hope that the Eagles stumble in the next three weeks if it is to clinch it.

Cowboys tight end Jake Ferguson knows the importance of winning in December as the Miami Dolphins come into view / Eric Hartline-USA TODAY Sports

The Cowboys didn't start well in Buffalo and as such, were playing from behind the entire game. Dak Prescott and the offense didn't score a touchdown until 2:53 was left in the fourth quarter.

Said Ferguson: “I'm not sure what the statistics are, but I'm pretty sure when you score your first possession first drive, that percentage of winning that game goes up significantly.

"And then just confidence-wise that's always nice, get points on the board first, early drive, first drive. That's something to kind of boost you for the rest of the game.”

'Look Inward!' Cowboys Lineman Motivated by Loss

December football is where the contenders and pretenders are sorted out and depending on the outcome on Sunday, we will get a clearer picture of exactly where the Cowboys sit in that conversation.

Against a quality team, on the road, and coming off a poor loss, the Cowboys have their backs against the wall. But are they mentally tough enough to put all of that behind them and take down the Dolphins?

We're about to find out.