“We’re not invincible,” said Ratliff, the powerful defensive tackle. “Now we’ve had some adversity. That’s something we have to overcome. That tests the character of this team and we’ll see where we’re really at. It’s an opportunity to shut people up. This is an opportunity to come together. Sometimes adversity is what it takes to come together.”

In order for those to be more than words and promises, though, the Cowboys have to play with cohesion now. Sacrificing the individual for the good of the group — something that hasn’t been a forte of the Cowboys alpha dog, Terrell Owens — has to happen from the bottom of the roster to the top. The teams Dallas is up against — the Giants and Redskins — are that way.

The players on the Dallas roster that are not cartoons — and they are the silent majority — need to take charge.

“No matter what’s going on with someone else, I’m trying to do my job,” said Ratliff. “If you really pay attention to what everyone’s saying about you, you won’t play as well because you’re either patting yourself on the back or letting your confidence get shaken. We have to handle the distractions. It’s that simple. When things go wrong, people on the outside try to say, ‘If it wasn’t for T.O. If it wasn’t for Pacman.’ And try to find someone to blame. But the reality is most of us don’t get caught up in all that. And I look at them as good teammates and good players.”

Slide show Memorable hits Take a look at some of the biggest hits and hardest hitters in NFL history. NBCSports.com

Said Carpenter, “Certainly when there’s a lot of peripheral things going on, it may snag the attention of some players. But anytime you have a high level of success, there will be extracurriculars going on. For good and bad, that’s what success brings. Can you focus through all that and kind of funnel away everything else that doesn’t help you get where you need to go? Right now, we’re not where we were last year but we’re not in the worst position we could be in either.”

James sees Sunday as a new dawn.

“We’re back,” he said. “We’re mentally fresh and we have guys back from injury too, Pro Bowl guys. This is our time to make sure it’s about us. This is our time to show everybody where we are and what this team will be. It’s not how you start, it’s how you finish.”

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