As of Sunday evening, the Dallas Cowboys’ playoff hopes officially flatlined. It wasn’t a shock-this team had been walking a tightrope for weeks-but the final blow came just before they even took the field.
At 6-7-1 with three games left, Dallas needed a miracle. After dropping their seventh game of the season in Week 15 to Minnesota, the door to a wild-card berth slammed shut.
From that point on, the only path to the postseason was through the NFC East crown-and even that required a perfect storm. The Cowboys had to win out, and the Philadelphia Eagles needed to lose their final three games.
Simple on paper. Nearly impossible in reality.
The first domino fell Saturday night in Washington, and it didn’t fall Dallas’ way. The Eagles, despite trailing at halftime, rallied for a 29-18 win over the Commanders. That was the 10th win of the season for Philly, and with it, they clinched the NFC East for the second straight year-something no team in the division had done since the Eagles themselves pulled it off in 2003 and 2004.
Washington had a fighting chance early, but their offense sputtered after backup quarterback Marcus Mariota went down with a hand injury-stepped on by Eagles edge rusher Nolan Smith. Josh Johnson came in cold, and the Commanders never regained their rhythm. From there, Philadelphia took control and never looked back.
For Dallas, that result meant the end of the line. No playoffs.
No miracle run. Just three games left on the calendar and a lot of decisions to make.
With their postseason hopes dashed, the Cowboys’ coaching staff now faces a different kind of challenge: how to handle the final stretch of the season. Do they push to finish strong and build momentum? Or do they start looking toward 2026, evaluating younger talent and managing veteran workloads?
One clue came in the team’s personnel decisions ahead of their matchup with the 10-4 Los Angeles Chargers. Despite opening the 21-day practice windows for rookie running back Phil Mafah and veteran defenders Payton Turner and Josh Butler earlier in the week, none of those players were activated on Saturday. It’s a sign the team is taking a cautious, calculated approach down the stretch.
Instead, Dallas brought back star cornerback Trevon Diggs and elevated Corey Ballentine from the practice squad to bolster the secondary. It’s a move that suggests the Cowboys still plan to compete hard in these final games, even if the stakes are no longer postseason-related.
Now, with the playoff picture out of reach, the Cowboys enter a new phase-one focused on pride, evaluation, and possibly the future of the franchise. How they handle these next few weeks could say a lot about where this team is headed, and who will be part of that journey.