The Dallas Cowboys likely lost a chance to be a part of the 2020 NFL tournament with their 17-9 defeat at the hands of the Philadelphia Eagles on Sunday. The defeat dropped the club to 7-8, a full game behind the Eagles in the NFC East race with just one game to go.
Dallas would need to defeat Washington in the friendly confines of AT&T Stadium next week, coupled with a New York Giants upset of the Eagles, in order to win the division by virtue of tiebreaker with an 8-8 mark.
Odds are that’s unlikely to happen, meaning that Dallas will be one of the 20 teams on the outside looking in at the playoffs and starting their offseason early. It’s expected the Cowboys will be searching for a new coach to replace Jason Garrett, and if things stand as they do at the end of Week 16, Dallas will have the No. 15 draft pick in the first round, per Pro Football Network.
For the playoffs, head-to-head results play a role in tiebreakers but for draft order, only strength of schedule (SOS) comes into play before a coin toss.
- Cincinnati (1-14) SOS: .560
- Washington (3-12) SOS: .500
- Detroit (3-11-1) SOS: .509
- New York Giants (4-11) SOS: .473
- Miami Dolphins (4-11) SOS: .492
- Jacksonville Jaguars (5-10) SOS: .481
- LA Chargers (5-10) SOS: .509
- Carolina Panthers (5-10) SOS: .546
- Arizona Cardinals (5-9-1) SOS: .531
- New York Jets (6-9) SOS: .475
- Denver Broncos (6-9) SOS: .517
- Cleveland Browns (6-9) SOS: .517
- Atlanta Falcons (6-9) SOS: .554
- Oakland Raiders (7-8) SOS: .470
- Dallas Cowboys (7-8) SOS: .479
- Indianapolis Colts (7-8) SOS: .485
- Tampa Bay Buccaneers (7-8) SOS: .500
- Oakland Raiders [Bears] (7-7) SOS: .506
- Miami Dolphins [Steelers] (8-7) SOS: .502
- Los Angeles Rams (8-7)
If Dallas were to lose their season finale against Washington, the earliest they could draft would be No. 10, and that would require the Jets (@ Bills), Broncos (vs Raiders), Browns (@ Bengals) and Falcons (@ Bucs) to all win.
If Dallas were to win their season finale, but still miss the playoffs, the latest they would draft would likely be No. 18, as even if the Steelers and Rams lose in Week 17, the strength of schedules would give Dallas the advantage in positioning.
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