There are not a lot of obvious similarities between the Bucs and the Cowboys, Sunday's noon combatants at AT&T Stadium, beyond the fact both were 3-3 two months ago. Tampa Bay has lost six of eight since that time and disappeared from playoff consideration long ago. Dallas is one win away from its third NFC East title in five seasons.
And yet a second similarity exists, one that calls into question exactly how this Cowboys team has achieved its first-place status -- even in a substandard division -- and whether or not it has any real hope for advancement once the playoffs commence in January.