The Philadelphia Eagles pulled off the road upset today against the Chicago Bears, advancing in the playoffs as the NFC's sixth seed. With the Eagles now set to meet the top-seeded Saints, it confirms that the Dallas Cowboys will face the Los Angeles Rams in the Divisional Round.
Had the Bears won, it would have been the Cowboys who had to head to New Orleans.
The outcome is arguably better for Dallas. The prospect of a rematch with the Saints in the Superdome was not appealing. The Cowboys' upset win over New Orleans in Week 13 would have been tough to duplicate.
Not only that, but the Rams lost some steam to close the regular season. Their defense, despite featuring Aaron Donald, is one of the lesser groups in the league overall.
And if you have a choice between Drew Brees and Jared Goff in an elimination game, then is there really much to debate?
Of course, Dallas and New Orleans may still get their rematch. But the Cowboys will have to go through the Rams to get there. And given that Dallas hasn't been to an NFC Championship game since the Clinton administration, that's more than enough to chew on for now.
The date and time are already set; Dallas and Los Angeles will kick off at 8:15 pm EST on Saturday, January 13th.
Now that we know who to prepare for, Inside The Star will bring you plenty of analysis on the Rams in the days ahead.
