Cowboys must win first, but options for divisional round down to 2

The Cowboys entered the weekend with five possible outcomes. Two have been eliminated through just the first NFC wild-card game.

The Dallas Cowboys are focused on the task at hand. Despite being slight road favorites, there’s no question that the Tampa Bay Buccaneers and Tom Brady present a ridiculous hurdle for the Cowboys to climb over. With the team’s history against the quarterback (0-7) and on the road on the playoffs (0-for-30 years), there’s no way they are looking beyond the task at hand, escaping Monday night with a win.

But on the outside, from the bleachers and couches, looking ahead has no such impact. Fans can care about the rest of the NFC playoffs, and with Saturday’s results, more is known about what kind of path Dallas would need to traverse to reach the Super Bowl for the first time since the 1995 season.