Dallas Cowboys Dan Quinn Reveals Playoff Message: 'Herd Gets Thinner, The Strong Move Along!'
The Dallas Cowboys enter the playoffs off the back of two consecutive wins over the Detroit Lions and the Washington Commanders. While the win over the Lions was somewhat fortuitous, at FedEx Field, the Cowboys stole the Commanders' soul in a 38-10 win.
Defensively, Micah Parsons grabbed his career-best 14th sack, and DaRon Bland got his ninth interception as Dan Quinn's unit only allowed 180 total yards and forced three turnovers as it got back into its groove.
With the regular season over, Quinn is getting his defense into the right frame of mind, and from now on, it's win or go home ... and Quinn has no intentions of going home.
“They know from this point moving forward, that the herd gets thinner and the strong get to move along,” Quinn said. “That was something we had discussed and this defense is really ready to fight. ...
"From our tackling or running, the ball-hawking and so they know there's not a switch to flip on, playoffs are here like it's already on. We're ready to go get it.”
Robert Deutsch-USA TODAY Sports
The Dallas defense has proven throughout the season for its capacity to bear a resemblance to the "Doomsday" defenses of years prior by suffocating opposing offenses, sacking the quarterback and making things extremely difficult for the teams they come up against.
But now, as we enter the playoffs, that counts for nothing - it's time to do it when the lights are at their brightest.
Quinn - who is about to be a hot candidate for a head coaching job elsewhere (he's already got requests from Washington and Carolina - has no interest in the "what if" game as the Cowboys have a good draw as the No. 2 seed and if things fall their way, they won't leave AT&T until the NFC Championship game.
He is focused on stealing the soul of the Green Bay Packers, Sunday's 3:30 p.m CT focus.
“There's only 14 teams in a tournament and the strong get to move along, he said. "So you want to make sure you're at your strongest, you're at your best but I try to not look too far down. There's just this game and it just honestly goes better that way. We just got to play this weekend and fight our asses off and if we do that, it gives us our very best chance to play like we want to play.”
The Cowboys are aware of the opportunity that's in front of them, and given how the cards have fallen, it is the best chance for them to vanquish those playoff demons since 2016 (Dallas was the NFC's No.1 seed) and ironically, Dallas will be playing the same team, at the same venue.
And if Quinn has his way, the defense will be a big reason why the result will be different this time around.
Playoff football is here, folks. Buckle up.
