IRVING, Texas -The Cowboys don't play Philadelphia for another week, but it's pretty clear the two teams are on a collision course to likely decide the NFC East when it's all said and done.
The Cowboys and Eagles are tied again atop the division stands after Philly's 53-20 loss to Green Bay on Sunday. That dropped the Eagles to 7-3, now tied with the Cowboys, who were on their much-needed bye.
Finally, the two teams are even in games played, and now even in the standings as well.
Technically, Philadelphia would hold a tiebreaker edge on the Cowboys with their 2-0 division record. The Cowboys are 1-1 after losing to the Redskins a week after beating the Giants. Dallas still has four division games to play, including Sunday in New York against the Giants and two more with the Eagles, who come to town to face Dallas on Thanksgiving Day. It'll be the first meeting between the two on Turkey Day since 1989, the year of the infamous "Bounty Bowl."
The Cowboys and Eagles will meet twice in the final six weeks of the season – Nov. 27 at AT&T Stadium and then Dec. 14 in Philly.
But at this point in the season, the Cowboys will be looking at the entire NFC playoff picture, not just the division race.
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If the season ended now, although they have yet to face the Eagles, the Cowboys would be the No. 6 seed and would face third-seeded Philly because of conference tiebreaker rules. Arizona (9-1) and Detroit (7-3) would earn the first-round byes, while the Eagles would be No. 3, followed by Atlanta (4-6) as the fourth-seed and leader of the NFC South. Green Bay (7-3) currently has a slight edge over the Cowboys with its NFC record and would be No. 5, followed by Dallas.
But again, it's still way early to dissect the playoff race, considering the Cowboys still have four division games to play and five of their final six games are against NFC teams.
But only one team – Arizona – has a better record than the Cowboys in the NFC and only New England (8-2) sits better than Dallas over in the AFC.
So with 10 games in, and six to go, the Cowboys certainly find themselves in the hunt, not only the playoff picture, but for the NFC East title and even one of the top two seeds in the conference, which comes with a first-round bye.
