If you’re still watching NFL football this weekend after Thursday night in Dallas, the Week 5 rooting path is pretty straightforward for Cowboys fans: look for help wherever you can find it.
At 2-3, the Cowboys are already drifting into the territory where outside results start to matter. Maybe Dallas gets healthy, gets a breather, and strings together a run.
But after the stumble against the winless Bucs, that’s not exactly the easiest thing to picture. For now, the cleanest way forward is to hope the rest of the NFC keeps taking punches.
The NFC East offers the biggest opportunities. In London, the Jaguars getting a win over the Eagles would be a nice early jolt.
Philadelphia has dropped two straight, while Jacksonville enters at 3-1 and looks more comfortable with the transatlantic trip. Trevor Lawrence has been the better quarterback so far this season than Jalen Hurts, and that could be the difference.
Then there’s Washington against the Giants. Cowboys fans should be perfectly happy to move into a tie with the Commanders if it means New York takes a loss.
Jayden Daniels is expected back for this division game, and that gives Washington - and Dallas - a major edge. If the weekend breaks the right way, the NFC East could get a lot tighter: Dallas, Philadelphia, and Washington all sitting at 2-3, with the Giants dropping to 3-2.
The rest of the NFC schedule has plenty of spots where a little damage to conference rivals would help. The Packers over the Bears is the play, even if Dallas is still tied to Green Bay’s 2027 first-round pick. It’s still early, so the priority is seeing NFC contenders lose, especially teams that could end up in the Wild Card mix.
That’s why New Orleans over Minnesota makes sense, too. The Vikings are 4-0, but there’s still a long way to go in the NFC North, and the Saints don’t look like much of a threat. Same idea in Cardinals-Lions: a Detroit loss is more useful for Dallas down the line than a win would be.
The 49ers-Seahawks game is the trickiest one, but the lean goes to San Francisco. Both teams are in the mix, with the Niners at 4-0 and Seattle at 3-1. Still, if San Francisco looks like the team most likely to finish first in the NFC, then it helps Dallas more if the Seahawks become the easier target in the Wild Card race.
There are only two NFC-AFC matchups this week, and both are simple calls against the conference competition. Atlanta and Los Angeles are both 2-2, and with no direct AFC interest attached, Cowboys fans can comfortably root against the NFC sides. The Panthers are on bye, so they’re out of the picture.
The AFC games are worth a glance, too, because Dallas has future draft interest there. The Cowboys own the Steelers’ fourth-rounder in 2027 from the Broderick Jones trade, and they also have New England’s seventh in 2027 through Houston and the Nate Thomas deal.
In Other News...
Bucs Upset Win Left Dak Prescott Seething After A Wild Postgame Scene
The Cowboys home loss to Tampa Bay on Thursday night already had the feel of a damaging one, and the night only got stranger after the final whistle. In the tunnel at the stadium, a viral exchange unfolded when a stadium worker called Dak Prescott embarrassing, turning a rough defeat into the kind of postgame scene that tends to linger long after the score is forgotten.
Prescott was clearly bothered by what happened and addressed it in his postgame press conference, explaining why the comment struck a nerve. For Dallas, the frustration went beyond the upset itself, spilling into a moment that put the quarterback in the middle of an unexpected confrontation and added another layer to a night the Cowboys would rather move past quickly. [Read more 🡒]
George Pickens Said What Had Him So Frustrated After Cowboys Loss
George Pickens had one of his best games of the season in the Cowboys 24-16 loss to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers at AT&T Stadium, finishing with nine catches for 130 yards and a touchdown. Even with that production, the evening ended the way too many Cowboys losses do lately, with a missed chance to turn a strong individual performance into a much-needed win.
Pickens was visibly frustrated afterward, and it was easy to see why. Dallas never managed to put together a late push strong enough to seriously threaten Tampa Bay, leaving the receiver to walk off with the kind of stat line that usually feels good and the kind of result that does not. The bigger concern for the Cowboys is how often that gap has shown up when they need a comeback most. [Read more 🡒]
Dak Prescott Debate Just Got Even Worse After Cowboys Loss
The Cowboys loss to the Buccaneers dropped them to 2-3 and only sharpened the conversation around Dak Prescott, whose uneven night fit into a debate that has followed him for years. He finished 24 of 42 for 316 yards with one touchdown and two interceptions, a performance that gave Dallas plenty of offense in stretches but not enough clean play to escape Tampa Bay with a win.
Stephen A. Smith added another layer to the scrutiny on ESPNs First Take, saying Brock Purdy has been better than Prescott because of his success in the biggest moments and Prescotts limited playoff track record. For the Cowboys, it is the kind of comparison that tends to linger when the results are coming up short, and every rough outcome only makes the discussion around Prescott harder to quiet. [Read more 🡒]