The Cowboys got a little help in the NFC East on Thursday night, and it came from an unexpected place.
Washington’s late push against the Giants ended with Jayden Daniels finding Stefon Diggs for the go-ahead score, and that result kept New York from taking a major step toward locking up the division. For Dallas, that matters. A Giants win would have pushed them to six victories and, with the tie already on their record from the earlier meeting with Washington, would have made the math in the division look a lot uglier for everyone else.
New York is now sitting at 5-3-1, and the rest of its schedule still points toward a finish somewhere in the 9-10 win range. The Giants still have Jacksonville, Indianapolis, San Francisco, Seattle, Cleveland, Detroit, Dallas and Philadelphia left on the slate.
That’s where the Cowboys come back into the picture. Dallas is 4-5 right now and has San Francisco coming up Sunday.
From there, the road gets no easier: Tennessee, Philadelphia, Seattle, the Rams, Jacksonville, the Giants and Washington remain. With that kind of finish line, it’s not hard to see why a 10- or 11-win chase for Dallas would have been a tough sell if New York had handled business on Thursday.
Instead, the door stays cracked open.
Dallas still gets one more shot at the Giants, which at least gives them a direct swing at the division race. The Cowboys are not out of the woods by any stretch, but Washington’s win made the idea of a division title - and the playoff berth that comes with it - feel a little less far-fetched.
And Washington isn’t out of it either. At 3-5-1, the Commanders still have a path, too, depending on how their own remaining schedule plays out.
For now, the Cowboys can thank the Commanders for keeping the NFC East picture from getting any tighter against them. The dream is still alive.
In Other News...
Cowboys Just Got A Real NFC East Opening
The NFC East picture tightened a bit after Washington handled the Giants, and Dallas suddenly has a little more room to breathe in a division race that had been tilting away from it. The result narrowed the Cowboys gap in the standings and also showed up in the betting market, where their path to the division title got a noticeable boost while New Yorks outlook slipped.
For a Cowboys team getting ready to face the 49ers in Week 10, the timing matters. Dallas still has a stretch ahead that includes three straight home games and more divisional chances, which keeps the door open if it can take care of business and keep the pressure on the teams above it. [Read more 🡒]
Cowboys Get A Live Test Of Two Recent Trade Decisions
The Cowboys will get a fresh look at two trade decisions when they meet the 49ers in Week 10, with each side carrying a piece of the others roster history into the matchup. Dallas sent Osa Odighizuwa to San Francisco in March 2025, while later bringing in linebacker Dee Winters through the 2026 NFL Draft, giving this game a built-in layer of evaluation beyond the usual NFC measuring stick.
Odighizuwa has brought pass-rush value but has also had issues holding up against the run, which makes him worth watching against a Cowboys offense that will want to know what kind of impact he can still make. Winters, meanwhile, has had a mixed start of his own, and this matchup offers Dallas a live test of whether the move made sense on both sides of the ball, even if the fuller answer may not come until after the game. [Read more 🡒]
Cowboys Get A Timely Boost But One 49ers Worry Just Grew
With a crucial Week 10 matchup against the 49ers looming, the Cowboys are getting some needed help back on the field. George Pickens and linebacker DeMarvion Overshown are off the injury report and expected to play, a timely boost as Dallas tries to steady itself for one of the tougher offensive tests on the schedule.
The secondary, though, is still a concern as the week closes. DaRon Blands status is suddenly in question after a recent injury, and the Cowboys are already juggling multiple issues back there while trying to match up with a San Francisco attack that can punish even small cracks. For a defense that needs as many healthy bodies as it can get, the timing of that uncertainty is less than ideal. [Read more 🡒]