A conviction that the Cowboys are done, that behind-the-scenes attention has turned to ways to lure Lincoln Riley away from Oklahoma, is so early November.
These Cowboys have come out the other side. The presumption now as this team rides a three-game winning streak is that it should waltz to the NFC East title.
Proceed with caution.
Justification exists for this optimism. The Cowboys are improving. Their arrow points up, as owner Jerry Jones likes to say, while mounting injuries erode the ability of Washington and Philadelphia to compete.
But fortunes in the NFL can change in the blink of an eye.