Two weeks ago, the Cowboys’ chances of winning the NFC East seemed almost impossible, three games behind the Eagles with three more to play.
But now, the Cowboys are still alive to win the NFC East after the Eagles’ 20-10 loss to the Saints on Sunday in Philadelphia.
The Eagles fall to 13-3, just one game ahead of the 12-4 Cowboys.
That means Dallas must win in Washington next Sunday and the Eagles would have to lose at home again to the Giants, who clinched their own playoff spot on Sunday.
If the Cowboys win and the Eagles lose, both teams would be tied 13-4. But since both teams split the two games in the regular season, the next tiebreaker would be the division record and Dallas would be 5-1 while the Eagles would fall to 3-3.
While the Cowboys, Eagles and Commanders would have something to play for, the Giants could be the team that could rest their key players if they can’t help their own playoff standing in Week 18.
Still, the Cowboys will have a chance to win the division, something that looked pretty bleak two weeks ago after their overtime loss to the Jaguars.
But if they don’t win the NFC East, the Cowboys will be locked in the No. 5 seed in the NFC playoff race. In that scenario, they’ll play Tampa Bay, which defeated the Panthers on Sunday to cap the NFC South with an 8-8 record. That will be the worst of the four division winners, facing off against the fifth seed, which will either be the Cowboys or Eagles.
