By JOHN JAMES MARSHALL/Designated Writers

If you don’t believe that the NFL is a week-to-week existence, then you haven’t been watching the Dallas Cowboys.

Ever.

But particularly this year, where it’s almost gotten comical. No, actually, it is comical.

The baseball season is a marathon and no one lives or dies with each win or loss. Basketball has a regular season that nobody cares about — obviously the load-managing players don’t — but by its very nature, football lends itself to three hours of action and six days of reaction.

And the Dallas Cowboys always seem to be reacting to something.

They win, and it might as well be the mid-1990s all over again. Super Bowl, here we come. Dak Prescott is an elite quarterback. Ezekiel Elliott should start writing the Hall of Fame speech. Could this offense and/or defense be the best in the league?

They lose, and how long will it be until the coach gets fired? What’s wrong with (fill in the blank)? How many ways did the officials screw us? They’ll be lucky to make the playoffs.

Part of it is just the very nature of being the Dallas Cowboys. A bigger part of it is Jerry Jones. Lord knows, the man has been a fantastic owner of the franchise. But the poor guy can’t help himself when it comes to staying away from a camera lens. Have you ever seen the Tampa Bay owner getting interviewed after the game? Do you even know who the Tampa Bay owner is? (It’s some member of the Glazer family.) Have you ever listened to the radio show of the Cincinnati owner? There isn’t one. (There’s an owner, just not a radio show)

The talking point this week is about the quote Jones had after the loss to New England, which was a thinly veiled reference to the shaky job status of Dallas coach Jason Garrett. Which seems a little strange, because the Cowboys battled to the final horn and against the six-time Super Bowl champions. Losing a close game in miserable conditions on the road to the Patriots may not be a moral victory, but it seems like it deserves more than a verbal pink slip.

Then again, this is the Cowboys.