Tony Romo went up and down the sideline with that impossible-to-miss shirt on Sunday, the one emblazoned with the word "FIGHT", which seemed to symbolize little of what the Dallas Cowboys have done without their star quarterback. And when Dallas' seventh straight loss wrapped, a 10-6 clunker to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, conventional wisdom suggested 2015 was over.

But this is the NFC East, a division in which mediocrity has been a season-long gift to Jerry Jones and his franchise. And it gave just a little bit more on Sunday, with the division-leading New York Giants losing to the New England Patriots and fanning that dim flicker of life for Dallas.

So breathe deep, Cowboys fans. The real starting quarterback is coming back next week against the Miami Dolphins, and the last gasp of the season begins now for Dallas. No matter how downtrodden anyone may be, there is no denying one basic fact: Romo's return gives the Cowboys a chance – and at 35 years old, you don't pull the plug on even the faintest opportunity.

It won't be easy, of course. There is going to be a lot of finger-pointing over who is most responsible for the seven-loss crater. Some will look at the micro-level and dissect specific games, plays and drives. They'll focus on foolish penalties or spaces where one unit or another failed. Others will look at it from a more macro-level, and question whether the front office understood the value of having a capable and experienced backup to Romo. All issues big and small will be part of a long, excruciating autopsy that will seek one finite answer: how much window is left, and how can Dallas take advantage of it?

That's all worthwhile. But start that process when the season has actually lost a pulse.

This isn't a classically tough NFC East. Top to bottom, every team has significant flaws. Dallas running the table and rattling off six or seven wins isn't a moonshot. Things have to go right, but they don't require absolute perfection. Particularly when you look at the schedules of the teams in front of the Cowboys. Consider:

• The Giants – New York split with Dallas this season, so the Cowboys could feasibly finish in an 8-8 or 9-7 tie and go to a series of tiebreakers for the division. After head-to-head games, the record within the division determines the NFC East champ. After that, it's best win percentage in common games – on and on, into a headache of minutiae. Dallas' surest shot is to run the table and hope the Giants go 3-3 the rest of the way. And that's not out of the realm of possibility for New York. Every team remaining on New York's schedule is going to be either fighting like mad to secure a playoff berth or positioning itself for home-field advantage. The tough non-division opponents are the Minnesota Vikings (on the road), the New York Jets and the Carolina Panthers. That trio is a combined 21-6 right now. The in-division opponents are the Washington Redskins (on the road) and the Philadelphia Eagles in a game that will likely mean something to coach Chip Kelly. Even the Dolphins game will be dangerous, playing on the road on Monday Night Football. That schedule is not a cakewalk.

• The Redskins – Washington (4-5) is feeling really good. Quarterback Kirk Cousins is tossing touchdowns like candy at a parade and there haven't been a lot of distractions lately. It's all very exciting. But Washington has four wins and none of them are against winning teams. It has the Panthers on the road next week, divisional games against the Giants and Eagles, and non-divisional games against the rejuvenated Buffalo Bills and Chicago Bears. Oh, and Dallas gets to face the Redskins twice. There's plenty of potential inside all of this for a collapse.

Story continues