NFL Week 17 Grades: Cowboys look like a team with Super Bowl potential

You're not going to believe this, but Jerry Jones said something this week that actually made sense.

Before the Cowboys played the Redskins on Sunday, Jones was asked if Dallas would be resting any starters this week. The answer was an unequivocal no.

"I feel strongly about going all out against the Redskins," Jones told KRLD-FM, via theDallas Morning News.

Jones' reasoning for playing his starters was even better.

"There's several reasons, but No. 1, I think there's a bigger concern about losing your edge than there is ever about some of those other issues that are involved," Jones said. "We need that win. We could really need it. It could really make a difference. And, so, that's that."

The Cowboys went with Jones' strategy and not only did it work, but Dallas now arguably looks like the top team in the NFC.

The team that beat Washington on Sunday was a team on a mission. Despite the fact thatTony Romo has a sore back and DeMarco Murray has a broken left hand, coach Jason Garrett didn't limit reps for anyone.

Murray was on the field doing spin moves off of defenders using only his broken left hand for leverage.

Romo was still dropping back to pass in the fourth quarter even though the Cowboys had a two touchdown lead.

Then there was Dez Bryant, who wanted every pass thrown his way -- OK, that's normal for Bryant, but the point is that this team looks hungry. Not only that, but Cowboys are starting to take on Jones' brash attitude. This is a team that walks on the field and knows that they're better than you.

December is usually the month where America can count on a Cowboys collapse, but that didn't happen this year. As a matter of fact, the opposite happened: The Cowboys crushed everyone they played.

Dallas held at least a 21-point lead in all four games they played in December and that includes wins over the 10-6 Eagles and the 11-5 Colts. Not only that, but three of the Cowboys four December wins came on the road -- and that's what makes them so dangerous.

If Dallas has to go on the road in the playoffs, they can do it. Thanks to the win over Washington, the Cowboys finished the season 8-0 on the road.

Since the NFL expanded to a 16-game schedule in 1978, there have only been six teams -- including the Cowboys -- to finish undefeated on the road. Of the prior five teams to go 8-0 on the road, four of them went to the Super Bowl (two won) and the one that didn't made it to the NFC title game (49ers in 1990).

The most dangerous place to play in the postseason is definitely Seattle, but the Cowboys have 'been there, done that.' In Week 6, Dallas beat the Seahawks 30-23 in Seattle.

Every playoff team has holes, but right now the Cowboys look like they've patched up most of theirs.

The Cowboys have won four in a row and all of the sudden are on a roll that might take them all the way to Glendale, Arizona.