The Dallas Cowboys let a critical one slip away on Sunday night, falling 34-26 to the Minnesota Vikings in a game that felt like a gut punch to their playoff hopes. With the loss, Dallas is now clinging to a 1% chance of winning the NFC East - and at first glance, it looks like the door to the postseason might be slammed shut. But technically, it’s still cracked open.
Mathematically, the Cowboys aren’t out of it. Not yet. But for Dallas to sneak into the playoffs, they'll need to run the table - and get a whole lot of help elsewhere.
Let’s start with the obvious: the Cowboys have to win out. That’s non-negotiable.
But even if they manage to string together three straight wins to close the season, they’ll still need their NFC East rivals, the Philadelphia Eagles, to stumble hard down the stretch. Specifically, Dallas needs Philly to lose its final three games.
That’s a tall order, but not impossible - especially in a league where momentum swings weekly and injuries can derail even the best-laid plans.
So who’s got the clearer path?
On paper, it might be Dallas. Brian Schottenheimer and Dak Prescott have two very winnable games left against bottom-tier teams: the Washington Commanders (4-10) and the New York Giants (2-12).
Those two squads have struggled all year, and neither is playing for much beyond pride at this point. If Dallas can get past its next opponent, it might be able to build some late-season momentum.
But that next opponent? It’s a big one.
The Cowboys first have to get through a red-hot Los Angeles Chargers squad that just pulled off a season sweep of the defending AFC champion Kansas City Chiefs - something they hadn’t done since 2013. The Chargers are surging at the right time, and they’re not going to make it easy.
To make matters worse, the Cowboys might be without running back Javonte Williams, who exited Sunday’s game with a shoulder injury. His status moving forward is uncertain, and while kicker Brandon Aubrey briefly showed off some wheels in a rare moment of improvisation, don’t expect him to start taking handoffs anytime soon.
Meanwhile, the Eagles have their own challenges. They’ll hit the road for two of their final three games, starting with a trip to face the struggling, injury-depleted Commanders.
After that, it’s a tough road test against the Buffalo Bills - a team fighting for playoff positioning in the AFC. Philly wraps things up at home against Washington again.
Both teams have one opponent left with a winning record. But the Eagles get the Commanders twice - a team that’s been in free fall for weeks.
That could be the difference. If Philly takes care of business against Washington, they could afford to drop the Buffalo game and still keep Dallas on the outside looking in.
So yes, the Cowboys still have a pulse. But it’s faint.
They need to go perfect from here on out and hope the Eagles collapse in spectacular fashion. The margin for error?
Gone. The path?
Narrow. But until the math says otherwise, Dallas is still in the hunt - even if just barely.