Many declared the Dallas Cowboys' season over before it even started after the team traded Micah Parsons away to the Green Bay Packers. It certainly felt as if their season was over when they started the year 3-5-1. Well, after defeating both of the teams that participated in Super Bowl LIX in a four-day span, the Cowboys have now won three in a row and have a record of 6-5-1.
Dallas' defensive line, particularly with Quinnen Williams, has been dominant. The team's wide receiver duo of CeeDee Lamb and George Pickens has been among the best in the NFL. Dak Prescott has played at an All-Pro level. A look at the NFC's current playoff field shows that while Dallas isn't in a playoff spot yet, the team is a clear threat to do serious damage in the league.
NFC playoff field after Cowboys win Thanksgiving thriller
Current field
Here's how things shake out in the NFC after the Cowboys were able to defeat the Kansas City Chiefs with the entire country watching.
Seed | Team | Record |
|---|---|---|
1 | Los Angeles Rams | 9-2 |
2 | Chicago Bears | 9-3 |
3 | Philadelphia Eagles | 8-4 |
4 | Tampa Bay Buccaneers | 6-5 |
5 | Seattle Seahawks | 8-3 |
6 | Green Bay Packers | 8-3-1 |
7 | San Francisco 49ers | 8-4 |
The NFC certainly feels like the Los Angeles Rams' conference to lose, particularly given how they've played, lately, but the NFC is stacked with some of the league's best teams. The Chicago Bears keep finding ways to win close games, the Seattle Seahawks have looked like one of the league's most complete teams all year, and while things haven't been pretty in Philadelphia, the Philadelphia Eagles are defending Super Bowl champions for a reason — they won't go down easily.
Dallas is on the outside looking in, but continues to creep closer to a playoff spot. With how they've played, it's honestly getting harder to envision them missing out.
In the hunt
Team | Record | Games back of playoff spot |
|---|---|---|
Detroit Lions | 7-5 | 1.0 |
Dallas Cowboys | 6-5-1 | 1.5 |
Carolina Panthers | 6-6 | 2.0 (0.5 in NFC South) |
Atlanta Falcons | 4-7 | 3.5 (2.0 in NFC South) |
Minnesota Vikings | 4-7 | 3.5 |
The Cowboys' three-game winning streak means they're just one game in the loss column behind the San Francisco 49ers, who currently hold the last playoff spot, and they're on mostly even ground with the Detroit Lions. The Lions having an extra win right now has them slightly ahead of Dallas, but as long as the Cowboys win one more game than the Lions this season, Dallas will finish ahead of Detroit in the standings.
It feels like only the Lions and Cowboys are truly alive in the Wild Card race among the teams in the hunt. For the Carolina Panthers and Atlanta Falcons to get in, they'd likely need to win the NFC South. The Minnesota Vikings, on the other hand, will probably need a miracle to squeak in. This is good news for the Cowboys, especially since their schedule the rest of the way is very manageable.
Cowboys remaining schedule gives them a clear postseason shot
Week | Opponent |
|---|---|
14 | at Lions (7-5) |
15 | vs. Vikings (4-7) |
16 | vs. Chargers (7-4) |
17 | at Commanders (3-8) |
18 | at Giants (2-10) |
This schedule is as good as it gets for Dallas. Their next game is going to be a challenge, as Dallas has to travel to Detroit to face the Lions, but the Lions just lost on their home field to a Green Bay Packers team that Dallas tied with earlier this season. The Cowboys are a much better team now than they were then. Why can't they beat the Lions?
If they're able to take care of business, who else poses as a threat? The Los Angeles Chargers are pretty good, but with home-field advantage, the Cowboys will be favored to win that Week 16 game. The rest of their schedule is filled with teams at least three games under .500.
Winning out would give the Cowboys a record of 11-5-1. Even if they lose a game and finish 10-6-1, they'd have a good shot of being playoff-bound. The league had its chance to bury the Cowboys during this recent stretch, but Dallas persevered and has set itself up to get to the playoffs, where anything can happen.
Tie could make or break Cowboys playoff chances
The Cowboys having a tie on their record adds an interesting wrinkle when discussing their playoff odds. On one hand, a tie can benefit them greatly if they finish equal in the win column with a team in a playoff spot, but the tie can also come back to bite them if they end up even in the loss column.
For example, the Cowboys have the same number of losses as the Lions, but their tie has them slightly behind Detroit in the standings. The Cowboys also have the same number of wins as the Panthers, so the tie has them ahead of Carolina.
It'll be interesting to see if the tie hurts or helps Dallas in the end. They'll have to play their best football down the stretch for this to be a discussion, though.