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IRVING, Tex. -- The Dallas Cowboys have all but been eliminated from the playoffs. But head coach Jason Garrett vows that his team will fight until the end even though their death could be made official with a loss to the New York Jets on Saturday.
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"So the makeup of the guys on our football team is outstanding," Garrett said. "The football character is outstanding. They come to work. They practice hard. They play hard. So I don't expect anything different. The approach we're going to take as coaches is come on in here. We're going to have a great Tuesday and get ready for this game on Saturday night, and we expect our guys to respond the right way."
The Cowboys (4-9) remain last in the NFC East, two games out of first place with three to play. The Redskins, the Giants and the Eagles are all at 6-7.
Dallas needs a miracle to make the postseason for the second consecutive season.
Still, no matter how slim their chances, the Cowboys will continue to play as if they have something on the line.
The Cowboys will continue to carry starting quarterback Tony Romo on the 53-player roster, Garrett said, and Kellen Moore will stay on the sideline behind Matt Cassel.
"The objective of our football team is to do everything we can to win this game on Saturday night," Garrett said of the home game against the Jets. "That's where our focus is, and we're going to play the guys that we think give us the best chance to do that."
The Cowboys are 1-8 in the nine games without Romo. They average 16.1 points per game without Romo, with only 13 touchdowns in those nine games. They average 315.6 total yards and 187.9 passing yards without Romo.
Cassel's 73.5 passer rating ranks 31st in the NFL, ahead of only Nick Foles (69.0) and Peyton Manning (67.6) among quarterbacks who qualify. He has an average gain of 6.32 - more than two yards fewer than NFL-leader Carson Palmer - and five touchdowns and six interceptions.
"He's done some good things for our team over time that he's started for us this year," Garrett said. "We have won a game with him. He's contributed to putting us in position to win other games that he's started for us. Has he played perfectly? Absolutely not, and no one knows that more than he does.
"No one knows that more than we do. We've got to create an environment for him to be successful and really for guys around him to be successful as well. So that's the approach that we're going to take."
In offensive coordinator Scott Linehan's mind, Cassel has to trust himself and his instincts more than he has shown in his starts. After all, the Cowboys are only 1-5 in the six games started by Cassel, who has a six-to-five interceptions-to-touchdowns ratio and has posted a 73.5 passer rating.
"Just go out there and cut it loose," Linehan said. "I think there's some freedom in the fact that if you just ... you're here for a reason and he is. Just trust your abilities and your instincts and sometimes that frees a player up."
Cassel sees it differently. He feels like he's done just that and operated as best as he can in the offense.
"I feel like I have played within the offense," Cassel said. "At the same time, if there are opportunities that are there I have taken my shots when I'm supposed to take the shots.
"Like I said, if something needs to be communicated or something is ever said to me, I always try to do what's best for the team and I also do what I'm being coached."
SERIES HISTORY: 11th regular-season meeting. Cowboys lead series, 7-3. Dallas has won two the last three meetings. Jets won the last meeting, 27-24, in 2011.
GAME PLAN
--The Cowboys will try to establish the run against a Jets defense that ranks first against the run, allowing just 78.9 yards per game. But it's a must if the Cowboys hope to get the passing game going with the struggling Matt Cassel. He needs some easy throws and easy conversions against what will be a blitz-happy Jets scheme, especially on obvious passing situations.
Defensively, the Cowboys must stop the run, contain receiver Brandon Marshall and find a way to get a turnover.
MATCHUPS TO WATCH
--Jets WR Brandon Marshall vs. Cowboys CB Brandon Carr.
Marshall continues to age like fine wine. He has 89 catches for 1,187 yards and 11 touchdowns this season. He has scored in all but three games. It puts Marshall on pace for his best season since 2012. In the past three games, he has 27 receptions for 387 yards and four touchdowns. He caught six passes for 125 yards and a touchdown in the Jets' 30-8 victory over the Tennessee Titans. Carr has not had an interception in almost two years. He rarely gets his hands on the ball with just five pass deflections this season. Quarterbacks have targeted Carr 63 times, with Carr allowing 37 catches for 448 yards and no touchdowns.
--Jets CB Darrell Revis vs. Cowboys WR Dez Bryant.
Bryant is coming off one of his worst games as a pro. He had one catch for nine yards with two drops against the Packers. He also had another pass tip off his hands for an interception. Bryant will be itching to make amends. No better way to do so than against Revis. Bryant has just 27 receptions for 351 yards and two touchdowns this year but Revis will be ready."I think he's the same old Dez," Revis said. "Sometimes he gets doubled, sometimes the ball just doesn't come his way and they miss him a time or two, but he's as explosive as ever as far as I'm concerned. You can't keep a good player down like that."
