FRISCO, Texas -- The Dallas Cowboys needed a break over the weekend.

They just finished a span of four games in 18 days with their 44-30 loss to the Detroit Lions on Thursday, which ended a three-game win streak and dropped them to 6-6-1 on the season. Bodies were sore. Minds were worn.

"I do think it's good for our players to get their bodies back right," coach Brian Schottenheimer said as preparations began for Sunday's home game against the 5-8 Minnesota Vikings ( 8:20 p.m. ET ).

While players rested, the coaches went through a self-scout process to seek out trends in their offensive and defensive schemes, even though they won three of their past four games. The organization's analytics department was given another task: figure out the Cowboys' playoff chances.

ESPN Analyt

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