Cowboys 'nightmare scenario' remains clear amid late NFL playoff push

The Dallas Cowboys enter the final month of the regular season with a virtual must-win situation every week. Dallas can ill-afford to drop any of its four remaining games in order to keep the team's slim NFL playoff hopes alive.

While a Wild Card berth is out of the question, the team can still sneak into the postseason by winning the NFC East.

The Cowboys sit just 1.5 games out of first place in the division, thanks to a recent three-game slide for the Philadelphia Eagles, who are aiming for a late-season collapse. Dallas has an opportunity to do the unthinkable, but they need to take care of business.

MORE: Cowboys' latest NFC East title odds highlight massive hurdle entering Week 15

Bleacher Report's Brad Gagnon took a look at "nightmare scenarios" for every NFL team entering the final four weeks, and the Cowboys' worst-case situation couldn't be clearer.

Dallas Cowboys quarterback Dak Prescott walks off the field after a 44-30 loss at Ford Field in Detroit | Junfu Han / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

"Considering their schedule (Vikings and Chargers at home, Commanders and Giants on the road), anything short of a 4-0 finish would be a nightmare because it would almost certainly mean missing the playoffs for the second year in a row," the article states.

Even with two straight road games to finish the year, it's a favorable final stretch to the season for the Cowboys. After all, the opponents are the Washington Commanders and New York Giants, who Prescott and the Cowboys have owned in recent memory.

Let's just hope the team takes care of business with the back-to-back games at AT&T Stadium against the Minnesota Vikings and the Los Angeles Chargers to keep the playoff hopes alive.

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Dallas Cowboys' remaining schedule

A view of Dallas Cowboys players' helmets on the bench against the Washington Commanders at FedExField. | Geoff Burke-Imagn Images

WEEK 15: Dallas Cowboys vs. Minnesota Vikings (SNF) | NBC | 8:20 p.m. ET

WEEK 16: Dallas Cowboys vs. Los Angeles Chargers | FOX | 1:00 p.m. ET

WEEK 17: Dallas Cowboys at Washington Commanders (Christmas) | Netflix | 1:00 p.m. ET

WEEK 18: Dallas Cowboys at New York Giants (TBD)

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