If the Cowboys' home loss to the Buffalo Bills on Thanksgiving to move them to 6-6 on the season wasn't rock bottom, they're very much within range. Despite the lackluster record and uninspired play as of late, Dallas remains in first place in the NFC East, so Jerry Jones' dream of a Super Bowl LIV title is technically still in play.
That doesn't make this most recent 26-15 loss to Buffalo where they trailed by as much 19 points any easier, however. That's why reporters on the scene in Arlington could hear shouting from inside the then-closed Cowboys locker room after the game. It was revealed later that it was recently acquired defensive end Michael Bennett, who gave an impassioned speech to the club in an attempt to thrust them out of their funk.
"The champions are the people that get remembered," Bennett told reporters when asked what the subject of his speech centered around, via The Dallas Morning News. "They don't remember who got the biggest contract. A whole bunch of great players got great contracts, but they don't get remembered as champions. Champions are the ones who get the gold plates and the jackets and they understand what it takes to win. That's just a certain mindset. That's just a certain ability to play tough in adverse moments."
Despite essentially just arriving to Dallas, Bennett certainly has the résumé to make such a speech to his new team, winning Super Bowl XLVIII with the Seattle Seahawks and being an 11-year veteran in the league.
"Because it's important that we understand that it's a small window that we have," he said. "We've got all the great players. The only thing we've got to do is execute in adversity. The enemy against greatness is the unwillingness to change. We've got to be able to change some of the things that we've been doing to demand more from ourselves and become the people we want to be.
"Every opportunity is in front of us, but it's just on us to capitalize. To win, you've got to sacrifice a lot. It's going to hurt. It's painful. You play through injury, but you do it because you have to. To win that championship, to win that [Vince] Lombardi [Trophy], there's no feeling like that. And that takes a lot."
Bennett's message to the team is said to have been well received, but it's only a matter of time before we know if they actually heard what he had to say by beginning to prove that they are a legit playoff force on the field.
The Cowboys got embarrassed on Thanksgiving there's a lot to go over. Fortunately Will Brinson, John Breech, Ryan Wilson and Sean Wagner-McGough are here to break everything down from all three games on the Pick Six Podcast. Listen to the full show below and be sure to subscribe here for daily NFL goodness fired into your eardrums.