The Dallas Cowboys once again got off to a slow start in a regular-season contest, and their playoff lives could soon feel the brunt of these failures. In a glass-half-empty view of things, the Cowboys are losing pace with several wild-card teams and their hopes for a playoff bye are almost invisible at this point. The team has received the necessary help over the last two weeks, but Sunday night’s 28-24 loss to the Minnesota Vikings eroded whatever assistance they could have capitalized on.
In the glass-half-full view of things, the team is still dominant in their division, sitting 4-0 with four blowout victories no less, indicating they still have a very strong chance to get into the dance, where anything can happen. The team’s offense is powerful enough that they can win against anybody, provided they get a clean game of decision making from their coaching staff. Easier said than done, of course. Last year the team was 4-5 after nine games and won six of their final seven games to capture the division.
For now, by virtue of their Week 7 shellacking of the rival Philadelphia, the Cowboys sit atop the NFC East with a 5-4 record thanks to the head-to-head win over the Eagles. Beyond that, the NFC field is leaving Dallas behind.
Here’s a look at the entire NFL Playoff Picture entering Week 11.
NFC Playoff Seeding as of Week 11
- San Francisco 49ers (8-1)
- Green Bay Packers (8-2)
- New Orleans Saints (7-2)
- Dallas Cowboys (5-4)
- Seattle Seahawks (8-2)
- Minnesota Vikings (7-3)
AFC Playoff Seeding as of Week 11
- New England Patriots (8-1)
- Baltimore Ravens (7-2)
- Houston Texans (6-3)
- Kansas City Chiefs (6-4)
- Buffalo Bills (6-3)
- Pittsburgh Steelers (5-4)
The win over the Eagles is the only significant victory Dallas can lay claim to. That will have to change and they’ll have an opportunity to make that statement in several upcoming games. The schedule no longer looks as daunting as it once did.
The team will play the AFC’s best and reigning Super Bowl champion New England (8-1) in two weeks, but the Buffalo Bills (6-3) have lost two of three and will have to travel to Dallas on a short week for Thanksgiving. Neither they nor the Chicago Bears (4-5) present much in the way of offense for the struggling Cowboys’ defense to worry about. With the 3-5-1 Detroit Lions front-ending this four-game stretch, Dallas shouldn’t have an issue emerging from this stretch 3-1, and in the driver’s seat for the division crown.
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