Does anyone want the NFC East crown? Apparently, an automatic bid to the tournament isn’t very enticing to the Dallas Cowboys and Philadelphia Eagles, as neither team had a strong last month and failed to capitalize on the other team’s slide. After Dallas was embarrassed on Thanksgiving, falling to the Buffalo Bills 26-15, the Eagles did them one better.
With a chance to move into a tie for first place in the NFC East, the Eagles allowed another AFC East team to thwart those plans. The Miami Dolphins scored a touchdown on five straight drives to recover from an early 14-0 hole and win 37-31.
The loss was the Eagles third in a row and drops them to 5-7 on the season, remaining a full game behind the 6-6 Dallas Cowboys with four games remaining for both teams.
Both teams have lost 3 of their last 4 contests.
As of now, Dallas’ chances of winning the NFC East sit at 66% according to stats website Five Thirty-Eight.
The two teams will face off against each other in Week 16 when Dallas travels to Philadelphia, but the Eagles loss Sunday means the the Cowboys still have a chance to clinch a berth before that game takes place. It also opens up the possibility the Cowboys could lose that game and still win the division without too much of a miraculous finish.
In Week 14 and 15, the Cowboys will take on the Chicago Bears (6-6) and the Los Angeles Rams (6-5). Neither team has much of a chance of making the playoffs (3% and 13% respectively prior to the late after games of Week 13) as their divisions have quality teams with quality records and the wild card spots are currently occupied by equally well-performing teams.
Current NFC East Playoff Race
1. San Francisco 49ers (10-2)
2. New Orleans Saints (10-2)
3. Green Bay Packers (9-3)
4. Dallas Cowboys (6-6)
5. Seattle Seahawks (9-2)
6. Minnesota Vikings (8-3)
The 49ers have a better conference record than the Saints, giving them the No. 1 seed. The wild-card teams slot fifth and sixth behind the four division winners, regardless of record.
The Cowboys still have the longest of unbelievable long shots of earning a wild-card slot or even more ridiculous a first-round bye, but in reality their chances of making it as anything other than division winners is a spec on a probability scale.
The division winner will have a home game, then the opportunity to upset the world in a manner that would betray either team’s performance through this part of the season. Dallas has struggled to avoid early deficits, while Philadelphia has coughed up leads in their last three losses.
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