The Dallas Cowboys have a first-round bye and homefield advantage throughout the NFC playoffs. How healthy they'll be when they begin postseason play in two weeks is far from certain.
"We have six starters out right now. Three of them are Pro Bowlers," Dallas coach Barry Switzer said Monday night. "We should have three of them back after next week - (linebacker) Robert Jones, (defensive tackle) Russell Maryland and (tight end) Jay Novacek. At least, I'm hoping we'll have them back."Novacek underwent arthroscopic surgery on his right knee Saturday, while Jones missed Monday night's 37-13 win over Arizona with an abdominal strain, and Maryland sat out with a sprained right foot.
Out for the season are defensive end Charles Haley (lower back), center Ray Donaldson (right ankle) and cornerback Kevin Smith (right Achilles).
"That's why getting that bye week is so important," Switzer said. "The rest will help us physically and mentally. We played all year to get to this point, and now we're in a great position to go home and play out this thing at our place."
"This is a game we deperately needed," Cowboys quarterback Troy Aikman said after completing 21 of 32 passes for 350 yards and two touchdowns. "We all felt coming in that we really had to win this one.
Dallas has struggled all this month - losing to Washington (24-17) and Philadelphia (20-17) and needing a last-second field goal to beat the New York Giants (21-20) before the Arizona game.
"I think winning last week and then winning this week on the road is a big spark for us," said Emmitt Smith, who set an NFL record with his 25th touchdown of the season Monday night.
"Coach told us to play like it was the first game," said wide receiver Kevin Williams, who had 203 yards and two touchdowns.