FRISCO, Texas – For the second straight year, the Cowboys are sitting with 12 regular-season wins, with a chance to possibly grab one more before the postseason begins.
The Cowboys are 12-4 after beating the Titans on Thursday night, the first game of the NFL's Week 17 schedule.
So what does it all mean? Well, currently the Cowboys don't have the answers for that.
Technically, they are still in contention to win the NFC East, but need some help. The Eagles (13-2) would have to lose their last two games – this Sunday at home to the Saints and then next week against the Giants. The Cowboys would then have to defeat Washington next weekend to pull into a tie at 13-4, but would have the tiebreaker because of a better division record, which would be 5-1 if they defeat the Commanders.
But playoff seeding isn't the only gray-area for the Cowboys right now. As of Saturday, they don't know if the regular-season finale against Washington will be played on Saturday (Jan. 7) or Sunday (Jan. 8), thanks to a new setup this year by the NFL in an attempt to put the most intriguing games at the best time/day slots heading into the playoffs.
Because of that, head coach Mike McCarthy said on Friday he has two different practice/meeting schedules for the week.
The Cowboys still don't know "when" the game will be played and even "who" all will be playing for them. If the Eagles lose to the Saints, the Cowboys will obviously play to win the last game with a hope to win the division.
"I think I should probably answer that for you on Monday," McCarthy said on Friday when asked if the starters will play against Washington next weekend.
But if the Eagles win on Sunday and secure the NFC East title, the Cowboys would be locked into the No. 5 playoff seed, which means they would hit the road for the Jan. 14-16 weekend and play the No. 4 seed, which will either be Tampa Bay, Carolina or New Orleans.
For the Cowboys, 17 of their 18 weeks have been completed. Yet, still so much is still left on the table.
The waiting game continues.
