The Dallas Cowboys have been having one of the biggest roller coaster seasons in recent memory. They won three in a row, then lost three in a row. Win some, lose some but on Sunday they won again, and won big to even their record at 7-7 on the season after thrashing the playoff-hopeful Los Angeles Rams, 44-21.
The game wasn’t even that close, but the victory pulled them back into a tie for first place in the NFC East with the Philadelphia Eagles. The Eagles once again needed a final-drive touchdown to defeat a woeful NFC East rival, this time the Washington Redskins. Their two-game win streak puts them in control of their own destiny as well.
If the Eagles win out, they are NFC East champs and the four seed in the conference playoffs. Dallas however doesn’t even need to win out, as they have a magic number of two thanks to an early-season blowout over the Eagles. They can clinch with a win Sunday or could also get in with some Week 17 magic as well.
Dallas now has a 67.8% chance of winning the division, according to FPI.
NFC seed projections, per FPI: pic.twitter.com/asPRRbVsSY
— Seth Walder (@SethWalder) December 16, 2019
According to the opening betting lines from Bet MGM, they stand a good chance to put a bow on things Sunday afternoon.
The opening line has the Cowboys as -2.5 road favorites to defend their division crown.
The Cowboys are currently 4-0 against the NFC East on the season, and none of the four contests have been particularly close.
In Week 1, Dallas romped the Giants 35-17 and they followed that up with a 31-21 win over Washington in Week 2. Both of those games featured late, meaningless scores by the loser, making things closer than they appeared.
Dallas went on to run roughshod over the Eagles, 37-10, in Week 7, then came out the bye week and lambasted the Giants again in Week 9, this time 37-18.
Four NFC East games, total score 140-66.
Jason Garrett might struggle against quality opponents, but he owns the ones he knows the most.
Irrationally so. I have a sickness.
We really don't lose NFC East contests often.
Our bad coach is a savant against teams he has had years to figure out.
The Eagles are really bad right now, too. https://t.co/qkfqUHqGuE
— Cal "Jon No H" Abar (@KDDrummondNFL) December 16, 2019
Garrett has a 11-8 lifetime record against the Eagles, including four in a row, and a 37-19 record against the NFC East since taking over as interim coach in 2010 before assuming full head coaching powers in 2011.
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