Here's How the 6–7–1 Cowboys Can Still Make the Playoffs

The Cowboys are going to need a lot of help to get to the postseason, but there’s still a path for them.

The Dallas Cowboys need a lot of help if they’re going to make it to the postseason this year, but they still have a shot. / Kevin Jairaj-Imagn Images

For a moment, the 2025 Cowboys looked like they were ready to pull off a miracle. After starting the year 3–5–1, the Cowboys rallied to win three straight games in November, including back-to-back wins over last year’s Super Bowl teams in the Eagles and Chiefs.

As often happens, the headlines were quick to follow. This Dallas team was dangerous—if they make a run to the postseason, could this be the year?

But just as quickly as the flame of hope flourished, it has nearly burnt out. The Cowboys have now lost two straight games, and after Sunday night’s dismantling at home at the hands of the Vikings, their playoff chances are down to a mere 1% according to the NFL’s Next Gen Stats.

Still, that is a chance. While a wild-card spot is officially off the table for the Cowboys, they can still technically win the NFC East, although it will take a lot of help. Here’s what they need to happen.

1. Cowboys must win out

Cowboys’ remaining schedule: vs. Chargers, at Commanders, at Giants

The first step to a Dallas playoff run is impressively simple, but also far easier said than done. The Cowboys cannot lose again this year. They have three games left on the schedule, all of them potentially winnable, with next week’s matchup against the Chargers likely the toughest on the list.

Last week, Justin Herbert & Co. officially put the Chiefs’ slim playoff chances to rest. This week, they could do the same to Dallas.

That said, if the Cowboys can figure out a way to get past the Chargers, then finishing out the season with games against the two bottom-dwellers of the NFC East in the Commanders and Giants feels very possible.

2. Eagles must lose out

Eagles’ remaining schedule: at Commanders, at Bills, vs. Commanders

Unfortunately, the Cowboys’ fate is no longer in their own hands.

If Dallas is going to play postseason football, its only path is through winning the NFC East, and the only way they can overtake the Eagles is if Philadelphia drops all three of its final contests.

The Eagles have proven themselves combustable. They had been in the middle of a three-game losing streak until Sunday’s dominant outing against the Raiders. Philadelphia is also no stranger to a late-season collapse. Before last year’s run to the Super Bowl, the 2023 Eagles lost five of their final six games after a 10–1 start to the year and saw their postseason run cut short by the Buccaneers in the wild-card round.

Should they drop three straight to end the year, which would mean losing six of their last seven games of the season, and they could open the door for the Cowboys to steal their spot.

The Commanders hold the cards

Commanders’ remaining schedule: vs. Eagles, vs. Cowboys, at Eagles

Somewhat hilariously, the Washington Commanders are at the center of all of the potential drama in the NFC East.

While at 4–10 they are no longer in the running for the postseason, they could play for one heck of a spoiler should they beat the Eagles twice in the final three weeks sandwiched around a loss to the Cowboys.

Both the Eagles and the Cowboys have won four of their past five games against the Commanders.

It feels like a long shot at the moment, but consider this—no team has won the NFC East two years in a row since 2004, the longest such streak in NFL history. The Eagles could potentially break that streak with one more win, or one more Cowboys loss.

Even Dak Prescott has conceded that the chances of the Cowboys reaching the postseason are slim, but until the results are officially official, never doubt the NFC East’s capacity for football shenanigans.

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