Can Cowboys Still Win NFC East Over Eagles? How Dallas Needs Christmas Miracle From Giants
Regardless of how their final two weeks play out, the Dallas Cowboys are going to the playoffs. But anything short of their first NFC Championship Game appearance since January of 1996 will probably be considered by many a failure, and coach Mike McCarthy's squad has made their postseason path that much more difficult with consecutive road losses to the Buffalo Bills and Miami Dolphins.
"We understand that we can (beat good teams when away from home),'' said Dallas QB Dak Prescott after this 22-20 last-second loss in South Florida. "And we will.''
Well, to accomplish anything in the postseason, the Cowboys literally will have to do so. But ...
This is a team that's 7-0 at home, looking like a legitimate Super Bowl contender when playing on the artificial turf at AT&T Stadium. They are 3-5 playing anywhere else, and after two straight losses to AFC East contenders, it looks increasingly likely Prescott and company will have to travel for most or all of a potential postseason run.
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Forget the No. 1 seed for now, because it might take divine intervention for the 10-5 Cowboys to catch the 11-3 San Francisco 49ers -- who own the tiebreaker over them by virtue of a head-to-head win -- at this point. A first-round bye and home-field advantage throughout the playoffs probably isn't happening for the Cowboys.
However, at least one home playoff game and potentially two are still in play if the Cowboys are able to edge out the Philadelphia Eagles and win the NFC East. That's a more likely scenario than the Cowboys usurping the 49ers, but still may take something of a Christmas miracle.
Philadelphia has lost three straight games, but finish with what should be a relatively easy schedule. Sandwiched around a Week 17 tilt with the 3-12 Arizona Cardinals will be two matchups with the 5-9 New York Giants. For the Cowboys to win the NFC East, they'll need coach Brian Daboll's Giants to win at least one of those two matchups against the Eagles.
Put simply: If the Cowboys win out and the Eagles drop a Giants game), Dallas will clinch the NFC East based on the tiebreakers.
So, yes. If Philly loses today? Dallas, with two games left, controls its own destiny and can sweep to win the East.
The first of those two Eagles-New York matchups will come on Christmas Day, as quarterback Jalen Hurts and the Eagles will welcome the Giants to Lincoln Financial Field. The Eagles aren't without chaos of their own -- they've lost three straight games, essentially replaced defensive coordinator Sean Desai with Matt Patricia and have had questions about Hurts' leadership emerge recently. Even still, the Eagles are 13.5-point favorites over the Giants.
It would be a massive upset for quarterback Tommy DeVito to defeat the Eagles Monday afternoon, but the Cowboys are in position where they need such a thing.
However unlikely that may seem, the journey will almost certainly have to start with the Giants upsetting the Eagles Monday. Otherwise, the Cowboys entire playoff run will probably have to come away from AT&T Stadium. And if that's the case, it may not be much of a run at all.
