Do Cowboys Still Control NFC East?
With just five games to play, two games separate the 8-4 Dallas Cowboys and the 6-6 Washington Football Team. But as little as a month ago, the thought of that seemed impossible.
Welcome to the Dallas Cowboys Daily Blitz Podcast by DSP Media in association with CowboysSI.com.
The Cowboys started the season on a mission: To prove that last season's 6-10 mark was a fluke, that 2020's historically bad defense was gone, and that quarterback Dak Prescott was healed.
It took seven games and a 6-1 start, but the football world believed with the Cowboys showing up in the top 5 of most NFL power rankings.
At the bottom of the standings was Washington. A 2-6 start, questions at quarterback, and a defense with a shut-down reputation that had yet to show up.
Now fast forward to Week 14. Since the 6-1 start, Dallas is just 2-3, lost Prescott for a game with a calf injury, lost coach Mike McCarthy for one game to COVID protocol, lost receiver Amari Cooper for two games to COVID protocol, and receiver CeeDee Lamb for one game to a concussion.
Meanwhile, Washington has won four in a row and has quietly entered the playoff race as the sixth seed in the NFC. Maybe the most surprising aspect of the Washington winning streak is the performance of the defense after losing star Chase Young for the season and Montez Sweat for the last month.
Mix in the fact that Washington quarterback Taylor Heinicke seems to have figured some things out offensively, and that could spell trouble for the NFC East and the Cowboys.
Dallas and Washington play each other two of the next three weeks, in a stretch that could determine the East winner. That combined with each team's remaining schedules, Washington appears to have a clear advantage as of Week 14.
Besides the two games against Washington, Dallas has games remaining against the Giants, Arizona, and Philadelphia. Washington still must play the Giants and the Eagles twice. The schedule seems to favor Washington.
It all starts on Sunday as Washington hosts Dallas on Dec. 12 at FedEx Field in Landover, Maryland at 12:00 p.m. CT.
