The Cowboys fell short in their attempt to secure another NFC East title and possibly more in Week 18 — entering the playoffs as the fifth seed with a upcoming matchup against Tom Brady
LANDOVER, MD — As far as how the 2022 regular season unfolded, it went to the wire and the Dallas Cowboys gave a valiant effort toward potentially improving their playoff seeding heading into their Week 18 matchup against the Washington Commanders but, in the end, they end the week where they started it in the bracket.
The Cowboys will enter the tournament as owners of the No. 5 seed in the NFC, set to face off against the winners of the NFC South: Tom Brady and the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.
The game is set for Monday, Jan. 16 at 8:25 p.m. EDT — capping off NFL Super Wild Card Weekend.
The outcome of Week 18 had more than one possible scenario for the Cowboys, the team having applied pressure to the Philadelphia Eagles by virtue of defeating them on Christmas Eve before then downing the Tennessee Titans.
That put Dallas on a two-game win streak and initiated a two-game losing streak by Philadelphia that prevented them from clinching the NFC East or the top seat in the NFC.
To steal away the top seat in the division, the Cowboys needed a victory against the Commanders and a loss by the Eagles. To take the top seed in the conference, the Cowboys needed a victory, a loss by the Eagles against the New York Giants and a loss by the San Francisco 49ers against the Arizona Cardinals.
In the end, it was not to be, particularly with the 49ers and Eagles both cruising to victory.
With their seeding now solidified, the Cowboys now begin preparations this week to visit Brady at Raymond James Stadium on Super Wild Card Weekend in a rematch of the regular season opener, when the Buccaneers handed the Cowboys a 19-3 loss at AT&T Stadium.
It'll be an opportunity for Dallas to perform an exorcism against Brady, seeing as he's 7-0 against the Cowboys.
Brady has long had Dallas under his thumb, giving Dak Prescott and the Cowboys defense more than enough motivation to finally end his reign over them. It'll start with taking a long hard look at how disjointed they were in Washington to try and guarantee it doesn't happen in Tampa.
There are no more mulligans to be had.
