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Owner Jerry Jones’ fairy tale is alive, if not completely well, after the Cowboys’ 44-21 beat down of the Rams. It ended a three-game losing streak, was their first victory over a team with a winning record and gives Dallas a chance to clinch the NFC East with a win over Philadelphia next week.

“You know that I have that as a common thesis as I stand here with you, as someone who’s had a dream and lived a dream,” Jones said. “I certainly, if anyone can, believe that those kinds of things can happen to you. I don’t have to think that it’s something you read about or it happens to somebody else. I’ve had it happen to me in many ways in my life. Yes, I think we can live a dream here and have some good things happen.”

After the Cowboys lost to the Bills on Thanksgiving Day, Jones explained why he wasn’t firing Jason Garrett during the season. Garrett gives the Cowboys the best chance to get to the Super Bowl this year, Jones said with a straight face.

It’s still a longer than long shot that the Cowboys even will get as far as last season when they lost to the Rams in the divisional round.

But the win over the Rams will quiet speculation about Garrett’s replacement for at least a week, if not cause Jones to reassess the coaching staff.

“That implies that I’d concluded and had assessed the future, and that’s not correct,” Jones said. “So I had not reached that point, and wouldn’t under any circumstances until this season is over. What it does is remind me the season’s not over. That’s a plus thing. We’ve got a long road to hoe, but we’ve got a huge challenge coming up here this weekend up in Philadelphia. But this is what the doctor ordered to go get ready to play the Eagles.”

A trip to the NFC Championship Game likely is what it will take for Garrett to keep his job, but Jones’ dream is even bigger than that.