NFC Playoff Picture: Cowboys move out of dangerous 4-seed with Week 10 win

A look at how the results of Sunday’s action impacts the Cowboys’ shot at the playoffs and the battle for the No. 1 seed. There’s a new team in the NFC driver seat. | From @KDDrummondNFL

The Dallas Cowboys’ Week 9 loss could have been worse, all things being considered. After falling, embarrassingly, to the Denver Broncos in the early game last week, the Cowboys saw both the Los Angeles Rams and the Green Bay Packers go down in defeat. With three of the five teams in competition for the NFC’s No 1 seed losing, it was a good day for the Arizona Cardinals and Tampa Bay Buccaneers, but it could have been really bad for Dallas if the Rams and Packers didn’t go down.

Arizona won their game, while Tampa Bay was on their bye week. The Cowboys fell to the No. 4 seed in the race, as the tiebreaker loser to the Bucs, among the four division leaders. The fourth seed, of course, is the seed to avoid as it will likely match up with the team that doesn’t win the NFC West between the Cards and Los Angeles. Not ideal for a team that looks on pace to have at least 12 wins on the season. Sunday’s Week 10 action gave the Cowboys a bit firmer ground to stand on with seven games left in their season.

Here’s how the action played out.