Cowboys clinch NFC East without ever taking the field on Sunday

The Dallas Cowboys clinched the NFC East title thanks to the Las Vegas Raiders win over the Denver Broncos and the NFL’s strength of victory tiebreaker.

Whatever happens on Sunday Night Football between the Cowboys and Washington Football Team, Dallas is assured the NFC East title.

That’s because the Raiders beat the Broncos and settled a tiebreaker in favor of the Cowboys.

It’s all about “strength of victory,” which is calculated from the combined winning percentages of opponents each team has beaten this season.

Cowboys clinched the NFC East over the Eagles with the Raiders win

When Las Vegas handed Denver a loss, they lowered the value of Philadelphia’s victory over the Broncos.

Strength of victory is the fifth tiebreaker for determining a division winner. Even if the Eagles beat the Cowboys to end the season, the head-to-head record would be 1-1. The division record would be tied if Dallas lost to Washington as well. It would then go to common games and conference record, which would still be tied, before being settled by strength of victory.

Essentially, the winning percentages of the teams Dallas has beaten is assured to outweigh the winning percentages of teams Philadelphia has beaten. It’s a convoluted process but the result is simple: The Cowboys have clinched the NFC East for the first time since 2018 and the fourth time in eight years.

The Eagles are still fighting for a playoff spot, and they can get it by winning their last two games against the WFT and the Cowboys, but they’ll only make it in as a wild card team.

Meanwhile, Dallas is in the running for the No. 1 seed in the NFC. They have to win out in order to have a chance so there is still motivation for them to give their all on Sunday Night Football and in the remaining games of the regular season.