Never say never: How the Cowboys could somehow still make the playoffs

Cooper Rush will take the Dallas Cowboys to the promised land. Well, that depends on what you consider the promised land, I guess, but he did lead the Cowboys to a strange, strange win over the Washington Commanders in Week 12 that required a lot of luck and some missed kicks, but Rush did still throw for 247 yards and 2 touchdowns!

After a whirlwind of a win, Cowboys fans are wondering if their beloved (or hated, depending on the week) Cowboys still have a shot at the postseason. A tiny shot, yes. But mathematically, a shot nonetheless!

Here's what and who Cowboys fans should be rooting for (and against) the rest of the season.

Cheer for the NFC West to beat itself up

The NFC West looks akin to how the NFC East looked in years past; no team is separating itself from the pack, with the Cardinals currently leading the division at 6-4 and the other three teams all at 5-5, meaning all four teams are ahead of the Cowboys right now.

The best case scenario for Dallas here would be one of the teams (preferably Arizona) pulls away from the pack, handing out losses to the rest of the division in the process. The Cardinals play Seattle twice still, and play the Rams and 49ers once. Passing up three teams in the same division is an extremely tall task in itself, so if Cowboys ever see an NFC West matchup happening... cheer against everyone who's not the Cardinals.

Take control of the NFC East

With games remaining against Washington, Philadelphia and the NY Giants, the Cowboys need to run the table against familiar foes to stay alive in the playoff race in the NFC. A win in Week 12 is a good start, but the climb back to contention is going to be a long, long one (that very well might end next week on Thanksgiving against the Giants.)

Washington is currently 7-5 and if the Eagles (who are 8-2) stay hot, then Dallas will have to pass Washington to snag a wild card spot, so beating the Commanders will be paramount later in the season, too.

Be a Green Bay Packers hater

The Packers are 7-3 and currently hold the last wild card spot in the NFC. This is where things get (more) complicated because Green Bay plays San Francisco and Seattle, two teams the Cowboys need to pass, as well. But with Green Bay possessing the best record out of the three, Cowboys fans should still cheer against the Packers in those games (assuming they still have the better record in the matchups).

Long story short: things just need to get mucked up in the NFC while the Cowboys win out. Simple, right? If you're a Cowboys fan and see a matchup between NFC teams, here's the formula: cheer against the team with the better record only if that team leads its division. If neither teams leads its division, cheer for the team with the worse record. Got it?

Mathematically, the chances don't look so good for the Cowboys. But that's part of the fun, right? No one believes! Fun... right?