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Daring to Dream: Who Could Cowboys Meet in 1st Round of 2020 Playoffs?

If the defeat the this Sunday and Washington loses to the , Dallas will have done the previously unthinkable by winning the East. That means a guaranteed home game in the of the , and one of either the or the coming to town the following week.

Thanks to a three-game winning streak and 's in Washington, the Cowboys have clawed their way back and made this finale meaningful. Any of Dallas, Washington, or New York could still win the division depending on the outcomes of this weekend's games.

Whoever wins the is already locked into the fourth seed for the ; the lowest of the four division winners. The Packers, Saints, and Seahawks all have 12-11 wins already and the best that Dallas or Washington can hope for is to finish 7-9.

As the 4th seed the NFC East winner will host the 5th seed, aka the top team, in the first round of the playoffs. Based on the current standings that would be and the 10-5 Tampa Bay Buccaneers.

While still just one game behind the Saints (11-4) in overall record, Tampa lost both of their games against New Orleans this year. That gave the Saints the head-to-head tiebreaker and means they've already clinched the NFC South as of last week.

But even the 5th seed isn't locked up yet for the Bucs. They could still fall to 6th and allow the Los Angeles Rams to move up depending on the regular-season finales.

The Rams are 9-6 and have a head-to-head tiebreaker over the Bucs from their Week 11 victory. They host the this Sunday while Tampa is hosting the . If the Rams win and the Bucs lose then LA would slide up into the 5th seed and face the winner of the NFC East.

Los Angeles should have a much tougher battle this week with the Cardinals still fighting for a wild card spot themselves. The Falcons are completely out of the playoff hunt and may not give Tampa much resistance.

And while they're already locked into a wild card spot, the Bucs will have plenty of incentive to try to keep that 5th seed and play the NFC East winner over one of the top three teams in the conference.

I know some of you are reading this and thinking, “can we make the playoffs first? Sheesh.” But by the time Philly and Washington kickoff on we will know whether or not the Cowboys are even still alive, plus who the 5th seed in the playoffs will be between the Bucs or the Rams.

If Dallas can handle their business and get a little help the Eagles, then either Tom Brady or will be leading their squads into for the most unexpected playoff game in .

Jess Haynie
Jess Haynie
Cowboys fan since 1992, blogger since 2011. Bringing you the objectivity of an outside perspective with the passion of a die-hard fan. I love to talk to my readers, so please comment on any article and I'll be sure to respond!

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