How the Cowboys can do the impossible and win the NFC East
The Cowboys still have a path to the postseason even if it is a little crazy.
The Dallas Cowboys are still alive in the postseason picture at 5-9. What a year it has been.
The Cowboys beat the San Francisco 49ers on a day when Washington lost. That means Dallas is just one game back in the division as the afternoon slate of games begin. Let’s get wild and look at how the Cowboys can win the division and get into the playoffs.
A path to the postseason
The first thing that needs to happen is the Cowboys need to go 2-0 to finish the season. That would get them up to 7-9 with wins over the New York Giants and Philadelphia Eagles.
If the Cowboys and Washington both finish 7-9, then the Football Team takes the division because of the head-to-head tiebreaker. So fans in Dallas need to root for two Washington losses to end the year.
No matter what the Eagles do Sunday, a loss to Dallas in Week 16 gives the Cowboys the edge if they do in fact win out. The Eagles would be up to 9.5 losses, because of a tie, and the Cowboys would have a maximum of nine if they win out.
What about the Giants? A win over Cleveland in primetime vaults them into the top spot because of the tiebreaker held over Washington. But it still doesn’t eliminate Dallas. The two teams meet up in Week 17 and even if the Giants are 7-8, a Cowboys victory gives them the head-to-head tiebreaker.
There cannot be a four-way tie because of the Eagles’ tie in the standings. But a three-way tie is possible with the other three teams at 7-9. The head-to-head records of all three teams would then be taken into account to pick a winner. And, you guessed it, all three teams could be 2-2 in the common matchups. The next tiebreaker is games against common opponents.
The easiest path for Dallas is finishing 7-9 and taking the division outright. Next up is taking a tiebreaker over Washington at 7-9. A Giants win Sunday night can get everyone thinking about the reality of a three-way tie. And don’t count out the Eagles, who could finish 7-8-1 and be ahead of Dallas.
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