Cowboys’ Playoff Hopes Are Hanging by a Thread - But Dak Prescott Isn’t Letting Up
The Dallas Cowboys are still technically alive in the playoff race - but just barely. After a tough 34-26 loss to the Minnesota Vikings, Dallas dropped to 6-7-1, and with only a few weeks left in the regular season, the margin for error is razor-thin.
The math says their postseason chances are slim. The fanbase?
Well, they’ve seen this movie before.
Still, even with just a 1% shot at sneaking into the playoffs, some Cowboys fans are clinging to hope - or at least embracing the chaos. Social media lit up after the loss, with one fan joking, *“Believing the Cowboys will make the playoffs is my yearly humiliation ritual.”
- Another summed it up with brutal honesty: *“Cowboys have 1% chance to make the playoffs.” *
Here’s the reality: the best-case scenario for Dallas is finishing 9-7-1. That would require winning out and getting some help - including leapfrogging teams like Green Bay for that final NFC Wild Card spot.
And that’s not even factoring in the division race. The Eagles are sitting at 9-5 heading into Week 16, and unless they completely collapse, Dallas is likely looking up at Philly when the dust settles.
But don’t expect the Cowboys to go quietly. Quarterback Dak Prescott made it clear: this team still has something to play for - even if it’s not a postseason berth.
“You're a professional football player,” Prescott said. “You have to come to work and give your absolute best, regardless. Unfortunately, I'm sure the playoffs are out of the picture, but it's about taking pride in who you are as a man... and everything that's gotten you to this point.”
That mindset matters. Prescott’s message wasn’t just about football - it was about professionalism, about showing up when things get hard, about what it means to wear an NFL jersey even when the stakes feel low. He pointed to a recent Thursday night game where a non-playoff team knocked off a contender - a reminder that pride and preparation don’t take weeks off.
“You can't just give up. You can't just stop.
You can't just say, ‘Oh, we're not going to the playoffs.’ It's the National Football League,” he added.
“We've got to show up and just do our job, and that starts throughout the week.”
That’s the tone Prescott is setting in the locker room - and it’s a crucial one. Because while the path to the postseason is nearly closed, the Cowboys still have two games left to define how this season ends.
Up next: the Los Angeles Chargers, followed by a divisional clash with the Washington Commanders. Neither team is a guaranteed win, and both games will test whether this Cowboys squad still has fight left in it.
There’s no sugarcoating it - the odds are long, and the disappointment is real. But for Prescott and the Cowboys, these final weeks are about more than numbers.
They’re about identity. About grit.
And about finishing the season with the kind of effort that says, no matter the record, this team still shows up.