Well, it’s finally here, Cowboys fans.
Week 14 brings us the rematch we have been waiting for since the clock hit all zeroes that Week 9 night in Philadelphia.
The Dallas Cowboys weren’t able to finish off the Eagles that night despite a 1st & Goal at the six yard line down by five points with under a minute to go.
You can blame it on many things, but I personally blamed it on penalties.
The Cowboys committed 10 penalties for 83 yards at Philadelphia a few weeks ago, and another nine for 127 yards versus Seattle shows us it hasn’t gotten any better.
Despite ranking second in the NFL for most penalties, the Cowboys find themselves with a 9-3 record, playing for first place this Sunday versus the rival Eagles.
A win would inevitably throw #CowboysNation into a frenzy, as that scenario seemed so far-fetched just four weeks ago.
Today I’d like to discuss the benefits of a win for the Cowboys, as well as the consequences of a loss.
So many scenarios are at play with five games left in the regular season. Let’s dive in.
Dallas Beats Philadelphia
Here we will discuss what every Cowboys fan is hoping to talk about Monday morning: a win, and how that win impacts outcomes for the season.
Bragging Rights
Should Dallas come out with a victory Sunday night, the first thing I’m pointing out is bragging rights.
It seems petty, but I have been straight-up harassed on social media since the five point loss in Philadelphia.
Eagles fans are relentless, and honestly, they earned that right.
Now it’s our turn to be as loud and obnoxious as possible on social media, and not let them forget that Dak Prescott is 9-4 versus their franchise.
A 3rd Straight Double-Digit Win Season
A win would push the Cowboys record to 10-3, marking the third straight season Mike McCarthy has led his team to double-digit wins.
The significance of that is encouraging.
The last time the Dallas Cowboys posted double-digit wins in consecutive seasons besides the last two years was a six-year stretch from 1991-1996.
As a matter of fact, before Mike McCarthy, no other Cowboys head coach could string together even two such seasons in that same time frame.
McCarthy has come into this organization and completely changed the culture for the better, and I’m here for all of it.
NFC East Lead
The win would even the Cowboys and Eagles record at 10-3, but the division tiebreaker would fall in the Cowboys’ favor for now.
Dallas sitting in first place in the NFC East eight weeks after mainstream media all but ruled out their chances completely would be a sight to see.
However, if Dallas wins and both teams win the remainder of their games to finish with identical records, the tie breaker would go to Philadelphia because of a better overall conference record.
You can thank the senseless loss in Arizona for that unfortunate circumstance.
Translucent Path to the #1 Seed
I say translucent because the path is almost clear, but not quite.
As I mentioned above, should the Cowboys and Eagles both win the remainder of their games, the number one seed would go to Philadelphia based on a better overall conference record.
Thinking Philadelphia was the only threat was your first mistake.
Two other teams in the NFC also boast 9-3 records, and both of those teams will also be fighting to stay alive for the number one seed.
San Francisco already beat the Cowboys, so tying the 49ers with the regular season record cedes the better seeding to them.
Detroit currently has a better conference record so they hold the tiebreaker over Dallas, but the Cowboys can flip that script with a head to head win on December 30th at AT&T Stadium.
So you see, saying the Cowboys control their own destiny would fall one Gene Steratore index card short of the truth.
For Dallas to secure the number one seed, they need to finish with a better record than both Philadelphia and San Francisco, and cannot tie with Detroit unless they win the head-to-head matchup.
Before they worry about other teams, they need to focus on their own gauntlet of a schedule coming up.
The path to the top seed might be almost clear, but it doesn’t mean it’s easy.
Dallas has this game versus Philadelphia followed by trips to Buffalo and Miami before returning home to face Detroit, then finishing the season at Washington.
They don’t have room to focus on what other teams are doing.
Dallas Loses to Philadelphia
Here is where we discuss what every Cowboys fan is dreading: a Cowboys loss to the Eagles and what it means for the rest of the season.
Insufferable Eagles Fans
Most are already insufferable on social media, but if Philadelphia manages to escape Arlington with a win, prepare yourself for a never-ending wave of trolling.
As I mentioned above, the bragging they have done since they won in Week 9 has reached insufferable amounts, and another victory on top of that would be unbearable.
Not to mention the quarterback who wins this game will likely catapult to the top of the NFL MVP odds, and they won’t let us forget who is on top.
2nd Place In the NFC East
With a loss to the Eagles on Sunday, Dallas can all but kiss their division title hopes goodbye.
Philadelphia would hold a two game lead that is essentially three games because of the head-to-head tiebreaker.
Dallas would be forced to win out the regular season, plus pray that the current two-loss Eagles will somehow drop three of their last four games.
The Eagles’ remaining schedule is at Seattle, then home in consecutive weeks versus the Giants and Cardinals, and ending the season on the road against the Giants again.
Maybe they can lose to Seattle, but unless the football gods turn on them completely, they should easily dispose of the Giants and Cardinals.
Lock In the 5th Seed
A loss would also mean the Cowboys might as well write themselves in for the fifth seed in the conference, and a Wildcard road matchup versus the winner of the NFC South.
It’s a favorable matchup comparable to traveling to the 8-9 Tampa Bay Buccaneers last season.
However, unless the sixth or seventh seed upsets their opponent, the Divisional round matchup would be a trip to the number one seed, likely a third and final match with Philadelphia.
By this time next week we will probably be talking about more scenarios as the season unfolds.