The Cowboys have new life in the 2024 NFC playoff picture thanks to two straight wins and some recent struggles in Washington. It’s a longshot at best, but Dallas potentially sliding into the final wild card spot over the Commanders and other teams has added some new intrigue to the last five weeks of the season.
Catching Washington may be the least of Dallas’ worries. While the Commanders are 8-5 going into their bye week, Dallas has a head-to-head win over them and the chance to make it a sweep in Week 18. The Cowboys have four games to close the gap before the finale, which isn’t hard to imagine after Washington went 1-3 in their last four games.
The bigger issue is all the other NFC teams looking to take advantage of a Commanders collapse. Four other hopefuls stand between Washington and Dallas in overall record: Arizona, Los Angeles, San Francisco, and Tampa Bay. The Cowboys will face one of them, the Buccaneers, in Week 16. But outside of that, they’ll be looking for help from the rest of the league.
Here are the current NFC standings:
- Detroit Lions (11-1 overall, 7-1 vs NFC)
- Philadelphia Eagles (10-2 overall, 6-2 vs NFC)
- Seattle Seahawks (7-5 overall, 3-4 vs NFC)
- Atlanta Falcons (6-6 overall, 6-2 vs NFC)
- Minnesota Vikings (10-2 overall, 5-2 vs NFC)
- Green Bay Packers (9-3 overall, 4-3 vs NFC)
- Washington Commanders (8-5 overall, 5-3 vs NFC)
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- Tampa Bay Buccaneers (6-6 overall, 6-3 vs NFC)
- Arizona Cardinals (6-6 overall, 3-5 vs NFC)
- Los Angeles Rams (6-6 overall, 4-5 vs NFC)
- San Francisco 49ers (5-7 overall, 3-5 vs NFC)
- Dallas Cowboys (5-7 overall, 3-5 vs NFC)
Tiebreakers
- The Falcons are ahead of the Buccaneers in the NFC South due to a head-to-head advantage, having swept their season series.
- The Buccaneers are ahead of the Cardinals and Rams due to a better record in conference games.
- The Cardinals are ahead of the Rams due to a head-to-head advantage. They play their second game in Week 17.
- The 49ers are ahead of the Cowboys due to a head-to-head advantage from Week 8.
The objective is clear; keep winning and hope that these other teams stay at or below the .500 mark. With the stage set, let’s get into the Week 14 schedule and see how the Cowboys could get some help in their fantastic voyage.
As mentioned before, the Commanders finally get their bye this week. They’ll be watching as some teams edge a half-game closer to their wild card spot. Hopefully, the Cowboys are one of them after Monday night’s game against the Cincinnati Bengals.
Lions over Packers
There’s still the slightest chance that Dallas could catch Green Bay, which is more than we can say for Detroit. So while this one probably won’t affect the Cowboys either way, we’ll root for the outcome that at least has a shred of potential value.
Panthers over Eagles
Speaking of slight chances, Dallas can still win the NFC East if they win out and Philadelphia loses out. That dream dies if Carolina goes down on Sunday, but they’ve shown some heart lately.
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Vikings over Falcons
Raiders over Buccaneers
Dallas has as much chance of catching the 10-2 Vikings as they do the Eagles, so the more relevant discussion involves Atlanta. NFL rules dictate that someone has to win the NFC South and right now it’s razor-thin between the Falcons and Buccaneers. We need the loser of that race to not qualify for a wild card spot, so the more losses the better for both teams.
Bills over Rams
Seahawks over Cardinals
Bears over 49ers
Similarly, Dallas needs one team to win the NFC West and the rest to go away from the playoff picture. with Seattle currently leading that division at 7-5, the odds support rooting for them to run away with it and hoping the other contenders all fall apart. The Cowboys especially need to get a game ahead of San Francisco to nullify the head-to-head tiebreaker.
Giants over Saints
While New Orleans is a game behind Dallas right now, they do have their own head-to-head advantage from Week 2. A loss to the tanking Giants is unlikely but serves Dallas well, plus the damage it does to New York’s draft pick.
