The Cowboys have bigger business to handle Sunday night in Green Bay, but Week 6 still comes with a rooting agenda. If Dallas gets past the Packers and moves to 3-3, the rest of the slate could help tighten things up in the NFC East picture and keep a few rivals from getting too comfortable in the conference race.
That matters because the NFC is still messy. San Francisco and Minnesota have separated themselves with 5-0 starts, but no other team in the conference has even four wins. The East and South are wide open, and the wild-card race is still more guesswork than science.
So while Dallas tries to take care of its own part, here’s the rest of the schedule that could break the right way.
For starters, there are the NFC East games. The ideal setup would be Saints over the Giants, Panthers over the Eagles, and Commanders over the 49ers.
The New Orleans-New York matchup is the least convincing of the bunch. The Giants have handled weaker competition well enough so far, so New Orleans may not offer much help there.
Carolina, on the other hand, looks more credible. The Panthers are 2-2 and have shown enough to make life difficult for Philadelphia, which still feels like the more important divisional threat to Dallas.
If only one of those games goes the Cowboys’ way, that’s the one that matters most.
Washington is a different story. At 1-3-1, and with a midseason coaching change possibly on the horizon, it’s getting easier to write them off.
Even so, there’s a case for wanting the Commanders to keep winning. More victories for them also means a worse draft position for a longtime rival, and a win this week would also hand the undefeated 49ers a loss.
Outside the division, Cowboys fans have plenty to monitor in NFC-on-NFC matchups. If Dallas reaches 3-3, the goal is to see as many other NFC teams sitting at or below that mark as possible.
Chicago is already 3-2, while Atlanta is 2-3, so that one is straightforward. The Bears are a real concern if they catch fire, especially with Caleb Williams returning, and they look like one of the teams that could matter if Dallas ends up in the wild-card chase.
The Rams fit that same general bucket. At 2-3, they’ve been more surprised and disappointed by their record than Dallas has been by its own.
They also have the kind of profile that could flip quickly. Arizona getting a win there and pushing Los Angeles deeper into the hole would help.
Then there are the AFC teams that can do Dallas a favor by beating NFC opponents. Denver hosting Seattle is one of those spots. The Seahawks are 3-2 and loom as a threat if the Cowboys wind up in the wild-card conversation, so an extra loss for Seattle would be welcome.
Tampa Bay over Pittsburgh is a little different. The Steelers are in the AFC, but Dallas does own Pittsburgh’s 2027 fourth-round pick.
Even so, the Bucs don’t feel like a major concern in the larger picture. They embarrassed Dallas last week, but they were 0-4 at the time and not really a team to fear.
They also don’t get to line up against the Cowboys’ disastrous defense every week.
There are also two all-AFC games worth tracking. Dallas holds the Patriots’ 2027 seventh-round pick through the Nate Thomas trade with Houston, and the pick the Texans sent originally belonged to New England. That means the Patriots’ final standing still matters.
Houston is worth a look for another reason, too. The Texans play Jacksonville in a London game this Sunday morning, then turn around and host the Giants next week. That could leave them a little short on rest and prep, but a win over the Jaguars could still give them some momentum heading into New York.
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