Cowboys hope ‘battle tests’ now can pay off later

Patrik Walker DallasCowboys.com Staff Writer FRISCO, Texas — Battered and bruised, both physically and in the realm of pride, the Dallas Cowboys are entering their bye week at the perfect time. They’ve won three games on the road, the most recent being a gritty win to overcome all manner of adversity against the Steelers in Pittsburgh, but they’ve also lost three at home, with the blowout loss to the Detroit Lions technically serving as the fourth consecutive humbling at AT&T Stadium. They’ve been outscored to tune of 53-119, very near a historical worst in points allowed at home through the first three games of an NFL season, and have shown both a refusal to die and an unwillingness to live in a span of only seven days. All of this plays into who the Cowboys are currently, but with 11 regular season games remaining to right the ship, it’s at least possible that the early-season adversity might pay itself forward as the season rolls along — as stated by offensive coordinator Brian Schottenheimer. “We’re getting battle tested, and that’s the thing,” he said of the six-game body of work. “One of the things that’s happening right now is we’re being...