FRISCO, Texas — With the Philadelphia Eagles' shocking upset loss to the Arizona Cardinals on Sunday afternoon, the Dallas Cowboys now control their own destiny in the NFC East moving forward as a win in Week 18 against the Washington Commanders will give the Cowboys the division and the No. 2 seed in the NFC playoffs.
Despite needing an unlikely Philadelphia loss in the final two weeks to have a shot at the division, the Cowboys got just that when Kyler Murray and James Conner put together a last-minute game-winning drive at Lincoln Financial Field in Philadelphia to take down the Eagles. This comes on the heels of the Cowboys defeating the Detroit Lions 20-19 on Saturday night.
Both the Cowboys and Eagles are tied atop the NFC East at 11-5 going into the final week of the season, but the Cowboys now hold the advantage in the fourth tiebreaker with a better conference record than the Eagles. The first three tiebreakers saw the Cowboys and Eagles tie in head-to-head record, division record and record in common games played.
However, the Cowboys still have work to do as they will travel to Washington next week one year after suffering a brutal 26-6 loss at the hands of the Commanders while also being in the midst of a season that has seen them struggle mightily on the road – owning a sub-par 3-5 record away from AT&T Stadium in 2023.
With a win, the Cowboys can secure their 22nd NFC East title and the No. 2 seed in the NFC playoffs. That would set up a wild card round playoff game against the No. 7 seed in the NFC and a potential home game in the divisional round with a wild card round win.
If the Cowboys win the division, it would extend the streak of non-repeat champions in the NFC East to 19 seasons – the longest such streak in NFL history and the longest active streak for any division in the NFL, MLB, NBA and NHL.
Game times have not yet been set for Week 18 as the Cowboys will await the time and date for their matchup against the Commanders which is expected to come from the NFL either late Sunday night or early Monday morning.
